Search Results

Medium:

paper; ink

Dimensions:

Height x Width: 3 1/8 x 5 1/2 in. (7.94 x 13.97 cm)

Type:

Covers & Associated Letters

Place:

United States of America

Date:

1861-1865

Object number:

0.260305.8.13.2

See more items in:

National Postal Museum Collection

Data Source:

National Postal Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8174d2942-9bca-46e6-a555-a658abd4c7b5

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npm_0.260305.8.13.2

Interviewee:

Carter, Nanette  Search this

Interviewer:

Riley, Cheryl, 1952-  Search this

Extent:

34 Items (WAV files (7 hrs., 51 min.), digital, wav)

172 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

2021 November 22 and December 7

Scope and Contents:

An interview with Nanette Carter conducted 2021 November 22 and December 7, by Cheryl R. Riley for the Archives of American Art, at Carter's home and studio in Harlem, NY.­

Biographical / Historical:

Nanette Carter (1954- ) is an African American artist and educator in New York, New York known for abstract collages that often incorporate Mylar. Carter's work often engages contemporary social issues including racial justice. She has taught at the Pratt Institute since 2001.

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds the Nanette Carter papers, 1972-2009.

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:

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Mixed-media artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

African American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

African American educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Identifier:

AAA.carter21

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9da8cfbdf-14dc-42ad-a68d-eacc1145e35d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-carter21

Creator:

Berg, Siri, 1921-2020  Search this

Names:

American Abstract Artists  Search this

Extent:

1.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Video recordings

Date:

1966-1998

Summary:

The papers of Swedish-born painter and collagist Siri Berg measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1966 to 1998. The bulk of the collection consists of studies for artwork, and may include paint color choices and samples, sketches, plans, and notes. Also found are scattered correspondence, photographs, printed material, and a video recording of Berg in her SoHo studio.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of Swedish-born painter and collagist Siri Berg measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1966 to 1998. The bulk of the collection consists of studies for artwork, and may include paint color choices and samples, sketches, plans, and notes. Also found are scattered correspondence, photographs, printed material, and a video recording of Berg in her SoHo studio.

Studies for artworks include Berg's The Black Series, Cosmic Veil, Kabala Series, La Ronde, and Tops of Kites. Photographs depict Berg, exhibitions, and works of art.

Arrangement:

Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical:

Siri Berg (1921-2020) was a collagist, abstract painter, and educator active in New York City, who was known for making collages of geometric shapes on paper she printed herself.

Berg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and studied art in Brussels, Belgium, before immigrating to the United States in 1940. Berg began her career working in window design for the New York City fashion industry. Later, in the 1970s, Berg began to focus on commissioned work and moved to a studio in SoHo. She exhibited her works throughout New York City and Philadelphia and was an active member of the American Abstract Artists group. Berg was also an educator who taught color theory at Parsons School of Design for over 25 years.

Berg died in New York City in 2020.

Provenance:

Siri Berg donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1998.

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.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. 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:

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Video recordings

Citation:

Siri Berg papers, 1966-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection received federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program

Identifier:

AAA.bergsiri

See more items in:

Siri Berg papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99f5e00f2-f26e-4bb7-9545-d750929d07c1

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-bergsiri

Creator:

Getz, Ilse, 1917-  Search this

Extent:

3.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diaries

Photographs

Date:

1928-1999

Summary:

The papers of collage artist Ilse Getz measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1928 through 1999, with the bulk of the papers dating from circa 1947-circa 1990. Her personal life is reflected through biographical material including a genealogy of the Bechhold family; marriage and death certificates; and writings that include journals, artist statement, poems and notes. The collection contains letters from friends, artists, collectors, and museum and art gallery representatives; exhibition files; and printed material relating to Getz's exhibitions. Also found are photographs, slides and transparencies of artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of collage artist Ilse Getz measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1928 through 1999, with the bulk of the papers dating from circa 1947-circa 1990. Her personal life is reflected through biographical material including a genealogy of the Bechhold family; marriage and death certificates; and writings that include journals, artist statement, poems and notes. The collection contains letters from friends, artists, collectors, and museum and art gallery representatives; exhibition files; and printed material relating to Getz's exhibitions. Also found are photographs, slides and transparencies of artwork.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized into 6 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1934-1996 (Box 1, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Letters, circa 1950-1999 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, circa 1944-1990 (Box 1, 2, 4; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1928-1987 (Box 2, 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1956-1990 (Box 2, 3, 4, OV 5; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1940-1985 (Box 3; 0.5 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Ilse Getz (1917-1992) was born in Nuremberg, Germany and immigrated to the U.S. in 1933. She studied at the Art Students League with George Grosz and Morris Kantor and at the Ozenfant School. Getz was a collage and construction artist active from the 1950s through the 1980. She exhibited at several galleries in New York City including the Bertha Schaefer Gallery and Rosenberg Gallery.

During her childhood, Ilse Getz (nee Bechhold) had been uprooted both from home and country. She was first displaced in 1929, when she was sent to Hamburg to live with her sister after her father died by suicide. In 1933, Ilse and her sister left Nazi Germany, and traveled to Italy, Spain, Cuba, and Mexico. Ilse joined immediate family in New York. In 1937, Ilse married lawyer David Getz and settled in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Three years later she had a child and became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

In 1942, while visiting her sister in Mexico, Getz created her first oil painting. Upon returning to New York, Ilse continued her artistic exploration and studied with George Grosz and Morris Kantor at the Art Students League. By 1945, Getz had already held her first solo exhibition at the Norlyst Gallery in New York.

Getz traveled extensively throughout her life, incorporating the experiences in her work. During 1947-1948, she traveled and worked in Europe, visiting Switzerland, France, Spain and Portugal among other countries before retiring for four months in Guaruja, Brazil. She destroyed most of the artwork created during that period and returned to New York City.

During the summer of 1956, Getz taught and exhibited at the Positano Art Workshop in Italy along with Piero Dorazio. She repeated the experience two years later. In 1958, Getz married her second husband, artist Manoucher Yektai. The following year, Getz and Yektai went to Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, New York after having received fellowships to the artists' community.

In 1960, Getz was commissioned by Richard Barr to create the set for Eugene Ionesco's play, The Killer. The venue was the Seven Arts Theater in New York City and she completed the set in five days. Getz spent the next two years in Paris where she was represented by the Iris Clert Gallery; she exhibited in France, Germany and England. In 1962, Getz returned to New York City and maintained a studio on the Upper East Side. Getz married for the third time in 1964 to Gibson Danes who was then the Dean of Yale School of Art and Architecture. The couple lived in New York and Connecticut, and eventually settled in Newtown, Connecticut.

Getz participated in national and international exhibitions and in solo and group shows. Her collages and constructions incorporate items such as dolls, toys, birds, eggs, playing cards, and game boards. In 1978, retrospective exhibitions of Getz's work were held at the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, New York and in her native city at the Kunsthalle Nürnberg. Retrospective exhibitions were also held in 1980 at the Goethe House and Alex Rosenberg Gallery.

Later in life, Getz suffered from advanced Alzheimer's disease. In 1992, Gibson Danes, fearful that he would no longer be able to properly care for his wife, took both his life and that of Ilse Getz. They were found dead in their garage from acute carbon monoxide toxicity after breathing the fumes of their idling car.

Provenance:

The papers were donated in 2001 by Patricia Getz-Gentle, the daughter of Ilse Getz.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diaries

Photographs

Citation:

Ilse Getz Papers, 1928-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.getzilse

See more items in:

Ilse Getz papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9eaa347d5-7fa5-4528-9c0e-cfbdfce62a96

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-getzilse

Creator:

Stewart, Regina Serniak, 1942-  Search this

Names:

New York Artists Equity Association  Search this

Blackburn, Robert Hamilton, 1920-  Search this

Candell, Victor, 1903-1977  Search this

Facci, Domenico, 1916-1994  Search this

Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009  Search this

Kuniyoshi, Sara Mazo  Search this

McMurtry, Larry  Search this

Stewart, Jack, 1926-2005  Search this

Extent:

0.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Date:

1959-2010

Summary:

Three scrapbooks, 1959-2010, assembled by Regina Serniak Stewart document her career as a costume designer, painter, board member and Executive Director of the New York Artists Equity Association.

Scope and Content Note:

Three scrapbooks, 1959-2010, assembled by Regina Serniak Stewart (b. 1942) document her career as a costume designer, painter, board member and Executive Director of the New York Artists Equity Association.

The scrapbooks contain: letters from Robert Blackburn, Victor Candell, Domenico Facci, Edward M. Kennedy, Sara M. Kuniyoshi, Larry McMurtry, Jack Stewart, and letters from various museums and galleries; costume sketches, 1963-1974, for the Paterson, New Jersey Lyric Opera Theatre; curriculum vitae, awards and profiles of the artist; photographs of Stewart, her work, and events; and printed material including clippings, articles, programs, brochures, flyers, and exhibition catalogs. The collection also includes some loose printed materials consisting of collectors' guides to kitchen utensils and stoneware co-written by Stewart and an article and exhibition catalog about her painting.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 2 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Scrapbooks, 1959-2010 (Boxes 1-2; 0.7 linear ft.)

Series 2: Printed Materials, circa 1977, 2003-2008 (Box 2; 0.1 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Regina Serniak Stewart (b. 1942), a painter, administrator, and writer in New York City is the Executive Director of the New York Artists Equity Association.

Stewart is a graduate of the Cooper Union School of Art and Achitecture whose paintings have been exhibited in New York and throughout the United States. In addition to painting, Ms. Stewart was a set and costume designer for the Paterson Lyric Opera Theatre, a jewelry designer, an art consultant, and an art instructor. She was elected to the board of the New York Artists Equity Association in 1989 and is now Executive Director.

Provenance:

Donated by Regina Stewart, July 27, 2010.

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.

Occupation:

Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Costume designers  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women arts administrators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Citation:

The Regina Stewart papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.stewregi

See more items in:

Regina Stewart papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw991eabbd1-1fe9-4c8a-9f1b-ad60e1abb865

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-stewregi

Creator:

Spero, Nancy, 1926-2009  Search this

Names:

A.I.R. Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Galerie Lelong (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Golub, Leon, 1922-2004  Search this

Mendieta, Ana, 1948-1985  Search this

Sosa, Irene  Search this

Extent:

26.4 Linear feet

19.12 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Interviews

Video recordings

Documentary films

Motion pictures

Date:

1940s-2009

Summary:

The papers of painter, collage artist, and printmaker Nancy Spero measure 26.4 linear feet and 19.12 GB and are dated 1940s-2009. Biographical material, correspondence and other files documenting Spero's personal and professional relationships, interviews and writings, records of Spero's many exhibitions and projects, files highlighting the major subjects that galvanized her, business records, printed and photographic material, and digital and video recordings, offer detailed insight into the career of one of the earliest feminist artists.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter, collage artist, and printmaker Nancy Spero measure 26.4 linear feet and 19.12 GB and are dated 1940s-2009. Biographical material, correspondence and other files documenting Spero's personal and professional relationships, interviews and writings, records of Spero's many exhibitions and projects, files highlighting the major subjects that galvanized her, business records, printed and photographic material, and digital and video recordings, offer detailed insight into the career of one of the earliest feminist artists.

Biographical material includes biographical notes and curricula vitae, as well as several video recordings of documentaries about Spero by Patsy Scala and Irene Sosa which feature original footage of Spero at work. Correspondence is personal and professional, and includes letters from artists including Judy Chicago and Ana Mendieta, writers and curators such as Deborah Frizzell and Susanne Altmann, regarding Spero exhibition catalogs, monographs, and articles, and personal news from family members such as Spero's sons, and correspondence related to other aspects of Spero's career.

Interviews of Spero include transcripts, published interviews, and video recordings. Writings include many of Spero's statements about her work, as well as notes, published versions of articles written by Spero, and video recordings of talks and panel discussions she participated in.

Exhibition files for over 75 shows document the extent to which Spero's work has been widely exhibited in her lifetime with numerous solo exhibitions, including major retrospectives in London, Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid, and dozens of group exhibitions in which she participated over the course of her career.

Gallery and museum files supplement the exhibition files by further documenting Spero's dealings with numerous galleries and museums, including Galerie Lelong, which represents Spero's estate, Barbara Gross Galerie, the first gallery in Germany to represent Spero, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery of Canada, and many others. The series also documents Spero's involvement with A.I.R. Gallery, the first independent women's art venue in the United States.

Professional files document other aspects of Spero's career including, but not limited to, awards she received, organizations she participated in or contributed to, publishing projects related to her work, and individual projects she executed such as an installation at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago and the Artemis, Acrobats, Divas & Dancers mosaic tiles she created for the Metropolitan Transit Authority for the 66th Street/Lincoln Center subway station. Also included here are files related to works of art such as Codex Artaud, and Notes in Time.

Subject files, contents of which were presumably used as source material for Spero, document subjects of interest to her, many of which were incorporated into her work and consists primarily of printed material. Broad subject categories include animal rights and conservation, feminism, war, and women. One set of folders documents "museum and political actions" undertaken by Spero and other activists during the 1960s-1970s to fight for equal representation of women in the arts and challenge the male-dominated hierarchy of the art world. Subject files include multiple news articles on torture, rape, and other atrocities committed particularly against women during wartime and by repressive and autocratic political regimes, and also include source material on the archetypal images of women that were fundamental to her interpretation of the female experience.

Printed material documents Spero's entire career from the late 1950s on. Announcements, exhibition catalogs, invitations, news clippings, and periodicals provide comprehensive coverage of her many exhibitions and other events. Printed material also documents the activities of a few other artists, primarily from the 2000s, and includes periodicals, primarily about art, and video recordings of documentaries about art and various other subjects.

Photographic material includes photographs of Nancy Spero from the 1940s on, photos of Spero with family and friends, and photographs of artwork including the heads of Spero's 2007 Maypole: Take No Prisoners which was the last major work completed before her death, originally realized for the Venice Biennale. Also found are a few installation shots and prints, slides, and digital images of Notes in Time at A.I.R. Gallery in 1979.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1950-2009 (Box 1, FC 30; 0.85 linear feet, ER01-ER04; 9.58 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1946-2009 (Boxes 1-4, 27; 2.75 linear feet)

Series 3: Interviews, 1973-2007 (Boxes 4-5; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, 1950-2007 (Boxes 5-6; 1 linear foot)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, circa 1976-2009 (Boxes 6-9, 27, OV 28; 3.3 linear feet, ER09-ER10, ER14-ER17; 1.5 GB)

Series 6: Gallery and Museum Files, 1972-2009 (Boxes 9-14; 5.1 linear feet; ER05-ER08, ER12-ER13; 2.962 GB)

Series 7: Professional Files, circa 1967-2008 (Boxes 14-17, RD 29; 3.5 linear feet; ER15; 0.74 GB)

Series 8: Subject Files, 1950s-2009 (Boxes 17-19, 27, OV 28; 2.4 linear feet)

Series 9: Business Records, circa 1976-2008 (Boxes 19-20; 0.7 linear foot)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1949-2009 (Boxes 20-25, 27, OV 28; 5.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographic Material, 1940s-2009 (Boxes 25-27; 0.7 linear foot; ER18-ER19; 0.151 GB)

Biographical / Historical:

Nancy Spero (1926-2009) was a figurative painter, printmaker, and collage artist based in New York City whose work was executed primarily on paper from the 1960s on, and often incorporated text. Spero was among the first feminist artists and a political activist whose convictions were expressed relentlessly in her work. Using archetypal representations of women to examine the range of female experience, Spero centered "woman as protagonist" whilst simultaneously examining the suffering women have long been subjected to through structural inequality, the systematic abuses of repressive political regimes, and the atrocities of war.

Born in Cleveland, Nancy Spero lived in Chicago from the time she was a very young child until completing her studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA 1949) where she met her future husband, painter Leon Golub (1922-2004). Spero studied briefly in Paris and lived in New York City, returning to Chicago after her marriage in 1951. The couple and their two sons lived in Italy from 1956 to 1957. In 1959, after a few years in New York, the family moved to Paris where Spero developed an interest in existentialism and produced a series of black paintings. Spero and Golub returned to New York in 1964 with their three sons.

Nancy Spero was strongly affected by the war in Vietnam and the many social changes of the period. She became an activist and feminist, joined various organizations, and participated in a variety of demonstrations. Work such as the War series began to include political and sexual imagery, and Spero's work from here on was primarily executed on paper.

Spero was among the founding members of the women's cooperative A.I.R. Gallery established in 1972. In the 1970s archetypal representations of women in mythology, history, art, and literature became predominant in her work. Included in this vein are major series and installations, among them Torture of Women, Notes in Time on Women, The First Language, and her 66th Street/Lincoln Center subway station mosaic mural Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.

Spero exhibited in the 1950 Salon des Independents and her first solo exhibition (in tandem with Leon Golub) was held at Indiana University in 1958. Thereafter, she showed sporadically until nearly 30 years later when her career flourished and she enjoyed international stature. Beginning in 1986, each year brought multiple solo exhibitions at galleries and museums in the United States and internationally. In addition, she continued to participate in group shows such as "Documenta" and the Venice Biennale. Her work is included in the permanent collections of museums throughout the world.

Awards and honors included the Skowhegan Medal for Works on Paper (1995), Hiroshima Art Prize shared with Leon Golub (1996), The Women's Caucus for Art award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Arts (2003), and The Women's Caucus for Art Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement (2005). Spero was awarded honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts by The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1991) and Williams College (2001), and was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2006).

After several years of declining health, Nancy Spero died from heart failure in New York City, October 18, 2009.

Related Materials:

Also among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are an interview with Nancy Spero conducted 2008 Februay 6-July 24, by Judith Olch Richards, and the papers of Spero's husband, Leon Golub.

Provenance:

Following a gift of materials by Nancy Spero in 1979, the majority of the collection was donated by Spero's sons, Stephen Golub, Philip Golub, and Paul Golub, in 2013.

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. 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:

Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Political aspects  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women printmakers  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Video recordings

Documentary films

Motion pictures

Citation:

Nancy Spero papers, 1940s-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation. Funding for the digitization of the collection was provided by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Identifier:

AAA.spernanc

See more items in:

Nancy Spero papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ee586015-b282-427f-88a2-0768b0b0e79b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-spernanc

Creator:

Yunkers, Adja, 1900-1983  Search this

Names:

Alice Simsar Gallery  Search this

Impressions Gallery of Photography  Search this

Smith Andersen Gallery  Search this

Bjornstjerna, Mikael  Search this

Grossman, Morton, 1926-  Search this

Haley, Donna  Search this

Olsen, Cheryl  Search this

Wood, Denis  Search this

Extent:

2.32 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 3 reels))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1939-1983

Scope and Contents:

REEL N70-16: A typescript (42 p.) address delivered at the Corcoran Museum of Art, 1967, by Yunkers describing his student years in Russia, and later years in Germany, France, and Mexico, ca. 1917-1928, and relating political, social, and cultural events to the development of modern art. He describes Russia before and during the Revolution and Germany during the Weimar Republic. Also included are a resume; a critical bibliography of Yunkers work; typescripts of 2 articles; and clippings.

REEL D251: Printed material, 1941-1965, including newspaper clippings, magazine articles, reviews, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and press releases.

REEL 1023: "Prints in the Desert: New Mexico," 1950, a limited edition book of prints and poetry produced by a collaboration of artists under the leadership of Yunkers.

UNMICROFILMED: Biographical material, including naturalization papers and a passport; files of letters from Mikael Bjornstjerna (1977-1983), Cheryl Bowers (1978-1983), Morton and Chris Grossman (1979-1982), Donna Haley (1982-1983), Denis Wood (1978-1983), Yunker's daughters, including Nina (1979-1983); business and personal correspondence, 1960-1983; files on galleries handling Yunkers' work, including Smith Andersen Gallery (Palo Alto, Calif.), Alice Simsar Gallery (Ann Arbor, Mich.), and Impressions Gallery (Boston, Mass.) containing correspondence, price lists and receipts; a few sketches and a collage; 2 portfolios, "Creation" (1941) and "Ars: Tidskrift for Konst Litterature Och Veteskap" (1942) containing original prints and collages by Yunkers; 2 appointment books, 1980-1983; notes and writings; photographs of Yunkers, Yunkers at work, his family, friends, studio, and art work; photograph albums, including 2 of Yunkers' studios in Stockholm, Sweden, New Mexico, and New York City (1942-1980) and one of exhibition installations, undated; photographs by Denis Hare of the making of Octavio Paz's book BLANCO, illustrated by Yunkers, and slides of prints included in BLANCO; and printed material, including exhibition announcements, clippings and miscellany.

Biographical / Historical:

Abstract painter and printmaker, collagist, and art instructor; New York, N.Y. Died 1983. Born in Riga, Latvia. Studied in Leningrad, Paris, Berlin, and London. He moved to the United States in 1947. Faculty member of the New School for Social Research, 1947-1956; Cooper Union, 1956-1967.

Related Materials:

Adja Yunker papers also at Syracuse University.

Provenance:

Materials on reels D251, N70-16, and 1023 donated by Adja Yunkers, 1966-1970, and transferred to NMAA-NPG Library vertical files after microfilming, except "Prints in the Desert: New Mexico" (REEL 1023). Unmicrofilmed material donated 1984 by Marina and Alexandra Yunkers, Yunkers' daughters.

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.

Unmicrofilmed: ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required.

Occupation:

Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Painting, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Prints, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Artists' illustrated books  Search this

Prints -- 20th century  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.yunkadja

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ddbf2fbb-ff0e-4910-8bf2-70c282edc073

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-yunkadja

Interviewee:

DeMonte, Claudia, 1947-  Search this

Interviewer:

Kirwin, Liza  Search this

Names:

Gracie Mansion Gallery  Search this

McGowin, Ed, 1938-  Search this

Extent:

54 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1991 February 13- April 24

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Claudia DeMonte conducted 1991 February 13-1991 April 24, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.

DeMonte recalls her childhood and growing up in Astoria, New York; her Italian heritage and Catholic education; her early work including the "trade pieces"; the calendar she produced for the Corcoran Gallery show "Five Plus One" in 1976; her marriage to artist Ed McGowin; moving from Washington, D.C. to New York; the making and meaning of her "Claudia dolls"; exhibiting at the Gracie Mansion Gallery; the art community in the East Village in the early 1980s; the dealer Gracie Mansion; gallery representation outside of New York; critical acceptance of her art; collecting the work of Southern self-taught artists and the influence of Sister Gertrude Morgan and James Son Ford Thomas; work methods and techniques; autobiographical and feminist themes; teaching at the university of Maryland from 1972 to the present; and new directions in her art.

Biographical / Historical:

Claudia DeMonte (1947- ) is a painter, mixed-media artist, and instructor of College Park, Maryland and New York, New York.

General:

Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 22 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.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Mixed-media artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Educators -- Maryland -- College Park  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Feminism  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.demont91

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90981449b-2ae6-48db-acbf-6aa8adbdf658

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-demont91

Interviewee:

Edelson, Mary Beth  Search this

Interviewer:

Richards, Judith Olch  Search this

Names:

Heresies Collective, Inc.  Search this

Extent:

4 Items (wav files (4 hr., 39 min.), digital)

80 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2009 February 1-16

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Mary Beth Edelson conducted 2009 February 1 and 16, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art, at Edelson's studio in New York, New York.

Biographical / Historical:

Mary Beth Edelson (1933-2021) was a feminist artist who lived and worked in New York, New York.

Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is former Executive director of iCI in New York, New York. Edelson is considered a pioneer in the Feminist Art movement.

General:

Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 40 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:

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Performance artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Women printmakers  Search this

Women performance artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.edelso09

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cd1b6dc5-e87c-475b-87d0-218e81a7b8af

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-edelso09

Interviewee:

Marisol, 1930-2016  Search this

Interviewer:

Roberts, Colette, 1910-  Search this

Names:

Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this

Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (France) -- Students  Search this

Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this

Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this

Extent:

1 Sound tape reel (Sound recording, 7 in.)

34 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound tape reels

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1968 Feb. 8

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Marisol conducted 1968 Feb. 8, by Colette Roberts, for the Archives of American Art.

In the interview Marisol speaks of her childhood spent both in Chile and France; the encouragement of her parents and teachers to draw freely; her progression from painting, to drawing, to collage and reliefs; the influence of Europeans, Matisse and Picasso, and American, Rauschenberg; her time spent in museums as a child and the subsequent exposure to DaVinci and Rembrandt; her art education, predominantly in New York at the Art Students League and briefly in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Art; her association with the Abstract Expressionists at the Club; the contrast of her work to the dream-based Surrealists; her first show for Castelli in 1957; her shows at the '62 and '64 annual exhibitions at the Stable; her more recent exhibitions for the Carnegie and Sidney Janis Gallery of The Beach and The Party; the origins of her wood drawings as a discovery while drawing lines to be sculpted upon wood; her experience working for the Daily Telegraph and completing portraits of historical figures such as Charles DeGalle; the literary influence of Dostoeveski, and more specifically Crime and Punishment; her recent apathy for visual entertainments and diversions (like the Ballet). Both in the interview and afterwards in a supplemental biographical addition Roberts and Marisol allude to her resistence to sit for interviews. The artist feels that she doesn't "have much to say."

Biographical / Historical:

Marisol (1930- ) is a sculptor in New York, N.Y. She was born in Paris to a Venezuelan family.

General:

Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 15 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:

Use requires an appointment.

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Surrealism  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Identifier:

AAA.mariso68

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e444fa50-829d-4a34-b0f7-2d5a9faa81c4

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-mariso68

Collection Creator:

Hoff, Margo  Search this

Extent:

0.3 Linear feet (Box 1, OV 2)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1959-1974

Scope and Contents:

Biographical materials include an artist's statement, biographical sketches, and honorary degrees and certificates. Correspondence is with colleges and institutions regarding Hoff's artworks, including letters about the Arts in Embassies program through the United States Department of State. Photographs depict Hoff and her artwork. Printed materials include a copy of The Christmas Cupboard, written and illustrated by Hoff, clippings, exhibition announcements, catalogs, and posters. Also found is one sketchbook and a handwritten plan for a mural.

Collection 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.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Margo Hoff papers, circa 1959-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Identifier:

AAA.hoffmarg, Series 1

See more items in:

Margo Hoff papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9513c548a-d86a-4a7b-bb9e-71c277a62252

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-hoffmarg-ref3

Creator:

Dove, Arthur Garfield, 1880-1946  Search this

Names:

Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966  Search this

Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this

Torr, Helen, 1886-1967  Search this

Extent:

3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audiotapes

Photographs

Diaries

Sketches

Date:

1905-1975

Summary:

The papers of artists Arthur and Helen Torr Dove measure 3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1975, with the bulk of material dating from 1920 to 1946. Arthur Dove's life as an artist, and his life with the artist Helen Torr, are documented in biographical narratives, personal documents, an audio recording, correspondence, diaries, essays, poetry, notes, exhibition catalogs, clippings, magazine illustrations, pamphlets, receipts, an accounting ledger, tax records, sketches, and photographs.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of Arthur and Helen Torr Dove measure 3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1975, with the bulk of material dating from 1920 to 1946. Arthur Dove's life as an artist, and his life with the artist Helen Torr, are documented in biographical narratives, personal documents, an audio recording, correspondence, diaries, essays, poetry, notes, exhibition catalogs, clippings, magazine illustrations, pamphlets, receipts, an accounting ledger, tax records, sketches, and photographs.

Biographical Materials include a last will and testament, biographical narratives, and other official documents, as well as an audio recording of an interview with William Dove made around 1961 by George Wolfer. Correspondence includes letters from friends, clients, other artists, and Dove's patron Duncan Phillips. There is also correspondence with family members Helen Torr and Paul Dove. Drafts of outgoing letters from Dove to various correspondents including Phillips and Alfred Stieglitz are found.

Writings are extensive and include diaries, autobiographical essays, essays about art, artists, and other subjects, and poetry by Arthur Dove; as well as essays, reminiscences, and notes of Helen Torr. Printed Materials include exhibition catalogs for Dove's shows and the shows of other artists in the Stieglitz Circle, examples of Dove's early magazine illustration work, newspaper reviews of Dove's exhibitions, and various pamphlets related to modern art. Personal Business Records include an accounting ledger of the Doves' expenses, sales receipts, tax records, and an undated art inventory. Artwork consists of ten items, mostly sketches in pencil, watercolor, ink, and colored pencil. Photographs are undated and unidentified, but depict mostly family, homes, and coastal scenes.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1928-1937, circa 1961 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1974 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1924-1945 (Boxes 1-3; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Materials, circa 1905-1975 (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1921-1965 (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, undated (Box 3; 1 folder)

Series 7: Photographs, 1909, undated (Box 3; 4 folders)

Biographical Note:

Arthur Garfield Dove was an early twentieth-century painter, collagist, and illustrator who was one of the first American artists to embrace abstraction in art. He was a part of Alfred Stieglitz's Circle of modern American artists introduced at Stieglitz's 291 Gallery along with John Marin and Georgia O'Keeffe. Dove spent his career developing his own idiosyncratic style of formal abstraction in painting based on his ideas about nature, feeling, and pure form, and characterized by experimentation with color, composition, and materials.

Born in Canandiagua, NY in 1880, Dove grew up in the small, rural town of Geneva, NY. He was first exposed to art by a local farmer and painter named Newton Weatherly, who gave him canvas and paint, and who Dove himself cited as an early influence. Dove went to Cornell University to study law, but soon shifted to art and illustration. He graduated in 1903 and quickly became a success as a magazine illustrator, working for Collier's, McClure's, St. Nicholas, and The Illustrated Sporting News, among other publications. In 1904, he married Florence Dorsey, a Geneva woman, and they lived in New York City. Their son, William Dove, was born in 1910.

In 1908 the couple traveled to Paris to enable Dove to pursue his interest in painting. In Paris, he met Alfred Maurer, Jo Davidson, and other American artists living abroad. The influence of his European and expatriate contemporaries would prove to be a lasting one, exposing him to ideas about abstraction and experimentation that he would develop in his work for the rest of his life.

Soon after Dove's return to the United States, he met Alfred Stieglitz and began a lifelong friendship. Stieglitz ran the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, which came to be known as 291, in New York. His daring, avant-garde exhibitions of both European and American modern art at 291 provided a venue and gathering-place for progressive American artists that was unique for its time. Dove's first solo exhibition at 291 was held in 1912, and consisted of ten pastel drawings that have come to be known as the "Ten Commandments." The attention it received established Dove as a prominent abstract painter.

Around 1920, Dove met another Westport artist named Helen S. Torr, also known as Reds. A Philadelphia-born painter who had studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Reds was married at the time to the cartoonist Clive Weed. Torr and Dove eventually left their unhappy marriages and began a life together, moving to a houseboat docked in Manhattan. In 1922, they moved to Halesite, Long Island, New York, where Dove's artwork once again flourished. By the mid-1920s, he was exhibiting regularly, paralleled by the rise of Stieglitz's new Intimate Gallery in 1925. His work continued to explore abstraction and organic forms, and, in addition to paintings, he produced assemblages made of found materials.

Although a building teardown brought the Intimate Gallery to a sudden end in 1929, the financial support of friends enabled Alfred Stieglitz to open An American Place soon thereafter. There Stieglitz would focus on the work of a few American artists, including Dove, John Marin, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Helen Torr was also exhibited at An American Place, in a group show with Arthur in 1933. It was also at this gallery that the art collector Duncan Phillips was introduced to Dove's artwork. Phillips' interest in Dove grew into an ongoing patronage of Dove that would see them through the Depression and periods of serious illness in the 1930s and 1940s. Their arrangement, whereby Phillips had first refusal on all of Dove's new artwork, enabled him to gradually assemble the largest collection of Dove's work held anywhere.

In 1938, while on a trip to New York to attend his exhibition, Dove became suddenly ill. Although he recovered somewhat that year, his health never entirely returned to normal, and he spent long periods during what remained of his life housebound and in a wheelchair. He and Reds bought a home in Centreport, on Long Island, where they would stay the rest of his life. In 1939 he was so ill that neither his family nor Stieglitz thought he would ever paint again. Despite his physical limitations, he continued to work, turning to the less physically strenuous media of drawing and watercolor, and produced new work for five solo exhibitions in the 1940s. His work of this period embraces pure abstraction more fully than ever, and is regarded by some to be a culmination or crystallization of his singular style and approach to abstract painting.

Arthur Dove suffered a stroke in 1946 and died that November, just four months after his lifelong friend and mentor Alfred Stieglitz died of a heart attack. Reds lived until 1967 in their Centreport home. Dove's importance to American art has since been recognized with more than a dozen retrospective exhibitions at major museums and galleries.

This biography relied heavily on the monograph Arthur Dove: Life and Work, with a Catalogue Raisonné (1984) by Ann Lee Morgan.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming. Reel 725 contains Arthur Dove's letters from Alfred Stieglitz (1918-1946) and Georgia O'Keeffe (1921-1948), and two letters from William Einstein (1937). The original letters were later donated to the Beinecke Library at Yale University, which holds the Stieglitz/O'Keeffe Archives. Reel 2803 contains photocopies of Arthur Dove's card catalog of paintings that were discarded after microfilming. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

The papers of Arthur and Helen Torr Dove were loaned to the Archives of American Art by Arthur Dove's son, William Dove, for microfilming in several increments between 1970 and 1975. The papers were later donated to the Archives by William Dove via the Terry Distenfass Gallery of New York City in multiple accessions between 1982 and 1989, with two major exceptions: 177 letters from Alfred Stieglitz, sixteen letters from Georgia O'Keeffe, and two letters from William Einstein; and Arthur Dove's card catalog of paintings, a photocopy of which had been loaned for microfilming. The papers were digitized in 2006.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Microfilmed and digitized portions must be consulted on microfilm or the Archives website. Use of unmicrofilmed, undigitized portion 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.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State)  Search this

Collagists -- New York (State)  Search this

Topic:

Works of art  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Genre/Form:

Audiotapes

Photographs

Diaries

Sketches

Citation:

Arthur and Helen Torr Dove papers, 1905-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.dovearth

See more items in:

Arthur and Helen Torr Dove papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw903513152-b2fa-4bc4-b0fb-de7d7f0728be

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-dovearth

Creator:

Smith, Alexis, 1949-  Search this

Interviewer:

Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter  Search this

Names:

Holly Solomon Gallery  Search this

Honor Fraser Gallery  Search this

Margo Leavin Gallery  Search this

Mizuno Gallery  Search this

Nicholas Wilder Gallery  Search this

University of California, Irvine -- Students  Search this

University of California, Los Angeles -- Faculty  Search this

Bell, Larry, 1939-  Search this

Burden, Barbara  Search this

Burden, Chris, 1946-  Search this

Celmins, Vija, 1938-  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this

Coplans, John  Search this

Gehry, Frank O., 1929-  Search this

Grieger, Scott  Search this

Howard, Coy  Search this

Irwin, Robert, 1928-  Search this

Krull, Craig  Search this

Moses, Avilda  Search this

Ruppersberg, Allen, 1944-  Search this

Sedivy, Richard  Search this

Solomon, Jerry  Search this

Extent:

5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (3 hr., 11 min.), digital, wav)

84 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Place:

France -- description and travel

Date:

2014 January 24-April 14

Scope and Contents:

An interview with Alexis Smith conducted 2014 January 24 and April 14, by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, for the Archives of American Art at Smith's studio, in Venice, California.

Ms. Smith discusses growing up in Southern California and her early years living with her parents on the grounds of Metropolitan State Hospital, a mental institution in Norwalk, California; her mother's death when Ms. Smith was 11; the family's time in Whittier and Palm Springs and being raised as an only child by her father; her early interest in French studies and travel to France as a student; her interest in studying art beginning with a John Coplans class at UC Irvine; her time at at UC Irvine in the early days of the university and her growing attraction to the life of an artist; the origin of her name Alexis Smith; and the encouragement of her fellow artists to continue pursuing her cut-up collages from literature, photos, magazines, and Hollywood ephemera. Ms. Smith also describes her time with her artist women's group in the 70s; her husband Scott Grieger; working for Frank Gehry; her showing with the Nicholas Wilder Gallery; her relationship with Chris Burden and her time with him during his period of performance pieces in the 70s; the Riko Mizuno Gallery; her work with terrazzo and its use for installations at the LA Convention Center, Ohio State University, and other installations; the appropriation of text and the assistance of Jerry Solomon utilizing custom frames in her artwork; the impact of women from history, media and literature on her art; her relationship with Coy Howard; the Holly Solomon Gallery; her Jane series; her On the Road series; her installation Snake Path at UC San Diego; her piece for SITE Santa Fe Red Carpet; teaching at UCLA; her installation of the piece Scarlet Letter at Las Vegas Central Library and its subsequent removal; her associations with Margo Leavin Gallery and Honor Fraser gallery; and the loss of her long-time studio space and the challenges of storing her artwork. Ms. Smith also recalls Judy Chicago, Robert Irwin, Vija Celmins, Larry Bell, Barbara Burden, Richard Sedivy, Avilda Moses, Craig Krull, and Allen Ruppersberg among others.

Biographical / Historical:

Alexis Smith (1949- ) is a collage, multimedia, and installation artist in Los Angeles, California. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is an art critic and writer from Beverly Hills, California.

General:

Originally recorded as 5 sound files. Duration is 3 hr., 11 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:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Collagists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Installations (Art)  Search this

Multimedia (Art)  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Identifier:

AAA.smith14

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cf7d681a-7826-4d6b-9c1f-4565e032b593

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-smith14

Creator:

Carlen Galleries  Search this

Names:

Peale family  Search this

Davies, Albert Webster, 1889-1967  Search this

Feuillate, Raymond, 1901-1971  Search this

Gainsborough, Lee  Search this

Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849  Search this

Kollwitz, Käthe, 1867-1945  Search this

Pippin, Horace, 1888-1946  Search this

Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924  Search this

Extent:

10.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Date:

1775-1997

bulk 1940-1986

Summary:

The Carlen Galleries, Inc., records measure 10.4 linear feet (gift portions) and date from 1775 to 1997 (bulk 1940-1986). Correspondence, business records, subject files, a scrapbook, printed matter, and photographs document the operation and activities of Carlen Galleries, Inc., and its founder Robert Carlen.

Scope and Content Note:

The Carlen Galleries, Inc., records measure 10.4 linear feet (gift portions, Parts 1 and 3) and date from 1775-1998 (bulk 1940-1986). Correspondence, business records, subject files, a scrapbook, printed matter, and photographs document the operation and activities of Carlen Galleries, Inc., and its founder Robert Carlen.

Part 1: Received in 1986 as a gift from Robert Carlen, these records document the activities of Carlen Galleries and its founder, 1937-1986. Correspondence mainly concerns the sale and purchase of works of art. Also included are artist files containing correspondence, receipts, and printed matter regarding Albert Davies, Edward Hicks, Käthe Kollwitz, Horace Pippin, and Maurice Prendergast. Subject files concern African American artists, Raphael Peale, Raymond Feuillate, and the French Moderns. Business records consist of loan forms, documentation of exhibitions at Carlen Galleries, inventories, a scrapbook and clippings concerning the gallery, conservation reports, appraisals (not microfilmed), and financial records.

Part 2: Additional records documenting the activities of Carlen Galleries and its founder, 1937-1986, were loaned by Robert Carlen for microfilming in 1988. Included are letters about Horace Pippin and rare letters from the artist. Other correspondence concerns Carlen's search for paintings by Edward Hicks, and there is also a small selection of letters regarding more routine gallery business. Among the business records are and account book and receipts. Printed matter consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, and clippings; a scrapbook contains printed matter about Horace Pippin. Photographs are of Allan Freelon and works of art.

Part 3: Received in 2002 as a gift from Robert Carlen's daughter Nancy Carlen, this portion of the Carlen Galleries, Inc., Records consists of two letters, business records, photographs, and selections from the galleries' library. Letters are from Joan Baez, circa 1960 and Charles M. Mount, 1968. Previously sealed letters from Charles M. Mount, undated, and 1962-1975, relating to John Singer Sargent have been integrated into this portion.

Part 4: Additional records borrowed for microfilming from Nancy Carlen in 2002 include documents dated 1775-1997 (bulk 1940s-1990). Correspondence concerns gallery business, but a small amount of personal correspondence is also included. Business records consist of appraisal reports, receipts for sales and purchases, and the contract and program for the 1964 University [of Pennsylvania] Hospital Antiques Show in which Carlen Galleries exhibited. Subject files document Edward Hicks, Anatol Jal, the Captain James Lawrence Goblet, Horace Pippin, and Antoine Roux. Five notebooks, containing material similar to that in the subject files, are about Horace Pippin (vols. 1-3), Edward Hicks (vol. 4), and chronicle the career of Robert Carlen (vol. 5).

Printed matter consists of clippings and other items concerning art and antiques, Robert Carlen and Carlen Galleries, Inc., and the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the State Department where two Hicks paintings owned by Carlen were on extended loan. Among the miscellaneous records are biographical documents, personal financial records, business and research notes (including original documents and photocopies of archival materials), and four prints. Photographs are mostly of antiques and art work; also included are a few pictures of people, places, and miscellaneous subjects.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four parts, representing gift and loan accessions received and microfilmed at various times. The two loans for microfilming (Parts 2 and 4) overlap and partially duplicate one another-particularly records relating to Horace Pippin and Edward Hicks-but are far from identical. Some of the Pippin and Hicks material was significantly rearranged in the interim between the first loan (1988) and the second (2002).

Missing Title

Part 1: Gift (1986), 1906-1986 (Boxes 1-7; 7.0 linear feet; Reels 4166-4175)

Part 2: Loan (1988), 1937-1986 (Reel 4175)

Part 3: Gift (2002), 1835-1992 (Boxes 8-12; 3.4 linear feet; Reel 5745)

Part 4: Loan (2002), 1775-1997 (Reels 5746-5748)

Historical Note:

Robert Carlen (1906-1990) worked as a secretary and attended evening classes at the Graphic Sketch Club in Philadelphia right after graduating from high school. He studied painting full-time at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts during the academic year 1928-1929, and from 1929-1936 he continued to study painting in the evenings while employed at a brokerage firm.

Since he wanted to be associated with the art world and needed to earn a living, Carlen decided to establish an art gallery that would show the works of young artists. In 1937, he opened in Carlen Galleries in his home at 323 South 16th Street, Philadelphia; the galleries operated in the same location for the remainder of Carlen's life. In its earliest years, Carlen Galleries housed exhibitions of the Associated American Artists' Group and featured prints by Wanda Gag, Käthe Kollwitz, Louis Lozowick, Lynd Ward, and other print makers.

In 1941, paintings by Horace Pippin were exhibited at Carlen Galleries. Carlen soon befriended the artist and began providing him with art supplies. He remained Pippin's agent for many years following the artist's death in 1946, and was a sought-after authority on the artist's work and life.

By the mid-1940s, Carlen had discovered a painting by Edward Hicks in Bucks County, Pa. He began researching the then-obscure Quaker artist. Through contacting descendants of Hicks's patrons, Carlen was able to acquire many of Hicks's paintings and Carlen Galleries became known for handling important early American folk paintings and antiques. Among his clients were Edward W. and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Del., Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, Va., and the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vt.

During the course of his long career, Robert Carlen served as an advisor to many Philadelphia collectors and developed an extensive knowledge of the genealogies and heirlooms of the city's prominent families. Because of his extensive experience and expertise, Carlen's opinion was widely valued and his services as an appraiser of art and antiques were in great demand.

Separated Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 4175 and 5746-5748) including material relating to Horace Pippin. Loaned material was returned to the lender and is described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

The collection was acquired in various accessions of gifts and loans. Part 1: gift of Robert Carlen, 1986; Part 2: loaned by Robert Carlen for microfilming, 1988; Part 3: gift of Nancy Carlen, 2002 (previously sealed letters and appraisals received with Part 1 are housed with Part 3 and integrated for microfilming); Part 4: loaned by Nancy Carlen for microfilming, 2002.

Restrictions:

Patrons must use microfilm copy.

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.

Topic:

Decorative arts -- United States  Search this

African American artists  Search this

Folk art  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art -- Exhibitions  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- Pennsylvania

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Carlen Galleries, Inc., records, 1775-1997, bulk 1940-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.carlgall

See more items in:

Carlen Galleries, Inc., records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9438ea128-b58f-400f-9bb2-cb74b6c20041

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-carlgall

Collector:

Watkins, J. Elfreth (John Elfreth), 1852-1903  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation  Search this

Creator:

White, John H., 1933-  Search this

Extent:

31.33 Cubic feet (94 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Articles

Color slides

Correspondence

Ephemera

Magazines (periodicals)

Manuscripts

Negatives

Newsclippings

Patents

Photocopies

Photographs

Research

Writings

Date:

1880s-1990

Scope and Contents:

The archivist has arranged the collection into five series. The collections consists of orginal photographs, brochures, advertisements, correspondence, and trade literature as wells as photcopies of same and assembled by John White for many of his books about railroads.

Series 1: Car Builders, arranged alphabetically by company or individual.

Series 2: Equipment, Rolling Stock, arranged in two sections: alphabetically by White's heading: Articles in Progress and alphabetical by type of railroad car under White's heading: Research Files for Book in Progress.

Series 3: Locomotives, arranged alphabetically by Locomotive builders in two sections, first by individual company and second by individuals.

Series 4: Railroad Companies and Lines, arranged alphabetically by railroad companies and railroad lines.

Series 5: Publications, White's files for his book The American Railroad Freight Car, which are arranged into two sections, Illustrations and Text. Both sections are arranged numerically by chapters or sections of the book.

Series 6: Freight Cars

Series 7: Passenger Cars

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into seven series. Most material arranged alphabetically and then chronologically.

Series 1: Car Builders

Series 2: Equipment--Rolling Stock

Subseries 2.1: Articles in progress

Subseries 2.2: Research Files for Books in Progress

Series 3: Locomotives

Series 4: Railroad Companies and Lines

Series 5: Publications

Series 6: Freights Cars

Series 7; Passenger Cars

Historical:

John H. White, Jr., (1933- ), historian and museum curator, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated with a B.A. in history from Miami University, Ohio, in 1958. Shortly after receiving his degree, White joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution as Assistant Curator of the Division of Transportation, Department of Science and Technology, National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT). White became Associate Curator of the Division, 1961-1966, Curator, 1967-1985, and Senior Historian, 1986-1989. White specialized in land transportation, particularly the history of railroads. He retired in 1990. His papers, the John H. White, Jr., Papers, circa 1959-1989 are at the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

This collection of railroad materials was begun many years ago by employees of the Smithsonian Institution, and maintained later by curators and museum specialists working in the Division of Transportation, NMHT, later named the National Museum of American History (NMAH).

Some of the clippings date back to the time of J. Elfreth Watkins in the 1880-1890s. In 1885 Watkins was appointed Curator of the Section of Steam Transportation, which was successively known as Transportation and Engineering, and Technological Collections. Other portions of White's collection were clearly from Carl Mitman, author of several hundred entries on inventors and engineers in the Dictionary of American Biography and a Smithsonian employee who served as Curator of Mechanical Technology in 1919. In 1921 Mitman took the title of Curator of the Divisions of Mineral and Mechanical Technology, serving in this capacity until 1931. In 1931 the Division of Engineering was established. Mitman served as Curator of the Division and in charge of Mineral Technology, 1931-1938, Head Curator of the Department of Arts and Industries, 1932-1938, and Head Curator of the Department of Engineering and Industries, 1938-1948.

Some portions of this collection were acquired under the time of Frank A. Taylor (Mitman's protégé) who was Assistant Curator, 1928-1931, Assistant Curator for Mechanical Technology, 1932, Curator of the Division and in charge of Mechanical Technology, 1932-1948, Head Curator of the Division of Engineering and Industry, 1948-1957. In 1955 Taylor was appointed Assistant Director, United States National Museum (USNM), with special responsibility for planning the new NMHT, and in 1958 was appointed the first Director of the new museum. In 1962 Taylor became Director of the USNM with responsibility for both the National Museum of Natural History and NMHT.

Smith Hempstone Oliver of the Division of Transportation also kept up the files to a degree, though his main interest was in automobiles.

When White started employment at the Museum in June, 1958, there were, perhaps, two file cabinets on railroads. As Mr. White mentions in a letter to the archivist in March of 2002, "It was and is a great mix of odds and ends -- photos, news clippings, small prints, manufacturing catalogs, post cards, etc. Some junk and some treasure."

White found the material very useful for research and greatly expanded the collection. It more than doubled in size during his years in the Division, 1958-1990. The collection was White's working file and was set up to meet his needs. According to White, the collections greatest lack was cross referencing -- which was mostly in his head. He could usually find things but the organization might be confusing to other users. It was not intended for public use.

White is the author of many books on railroads, including:

American Locomotives: An Engineering History, 1830-1880. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1968; 1997.

Early American Locomotives, with 147 engraving. New York: Dover Publications, 1972.

American Single Locomotives and the "Pioneer". Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.

The Pioneer, Chicago's First Locomotive. Chicago: Chicago Historical Society, 1976.

The American Railroad Passenger Car. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978.

The John Bull, 150 Years a Locomotive. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981.

A Short History of American Locomotive Builders in the Steam Era. Washington, D.C.: Bass, 1982.

Great Yellow Fleet: A History of American Railroad Refrigerator Cars. Golden West Books, 1986

The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.

Provenance:

Collection materials donated by Jack White in 1995.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Freight cars  Search this

Locomotives  Search this

Railroads -- History  Search this

Railroad passenger cars  Search this

Transportation  Search this

Genre/Form:

Articles

Color slides

Correspondence

Ephemera

Magazines (periodicals)

Manuscripts

Negatives

Newsclippings

Patents

Photocopies

Photographs -- 19th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Research

Writings

Citation:

Division of Transportation Railroad Reference Files, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0523

See more items in:

Division of Transportation Railroad Reference Files

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep83b50b7ee-ab37-4b18-b17c-cffb2543738e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0523

Creator:

Education and Public Programs, Department of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.)  Search this

Extent:

18 Cubic feet (54 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Questionnaires

Date:

2002-09-08-2006-01-01, undated

Summary:

Visitors' comments collected on pre-printed cards documenting memories of the events of September 11, 2001, and their opinions on how their lives may have changed as a result of those events. Cards collected at each venue during the touring exhibit, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History".

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains comment cards from the exhibit, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History" that originated at the National Museum of American History (NMAH) Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and traveled to seven additional locations across the United States. The cards asked visitors of the exhibit one of two possible questions:

How did you witness history on September 11, 2001?

How has your life changed because of September 11, 2001?

The collection is divided into six series by location of exhibition and one additional series of additional information. Some of the comment cards were digitized previously and are available at 911digitialarchive.org.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into six series by location of exhibition and one series of additional materials.

Series 1, National Museum of American History (Washington DC) 2002-2003

Series 2, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, Texas) 2003-2004

Series 3, East Tennessee Historical Society (Knoxville, Tennessee) 2004

Series 4, Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, California) 2004 July 7-2004 August 15

Series 5, Union Station (Kansas City, Missouri) undated

Series 6, National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Massachusetts) undated

Series 7, Additional Materials, undated

Biographical / Historical:

In the early spring of 2002, the National Museum of American History began production of an exhibition, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History", commemorating the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The exhibit was co-curated by curator emeritus David Allison and archivist Susan Strange. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, delaying the exhibit's production in 2001, museum staff and partners had a 6 to 7-month period to plan and produce the exhibit. The process included not only design and research, but also reaching out to survivors and victim's families to collect personal effects and testimonies. While it proved to be a tremendous and emotionally difficult undertaking, the exhibit was ultimately completed on time.

"September 11: Bearing Witness to History" attracted over a million visitors during its ten-month run at the National Museum of American History on the Mall in Washington, DC, closing on July 6, 2003. With a goal of serving as a space of personal reflection, the exhibition included personal stories, photographs, and artifacts from the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 crash site in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The exhibition also had a companion exhibit online (now defunct).

Each of the six exhibit sections were designed to have a somber impact on visitors: a narrow entrance portal featuring reactions to the attacks, a photo gallery featuring professional and amateur photography of the events, the object gallery from the three sites, a video produced by ABC News for the museum, interactive stations where guests listened to individual witness stories, and a visitor ledger where guests could reflect on the exhibit.

After its closing in Washington D.C., the exhibition was hosted at seven locations nationwide, including the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, Texas) from September 11, 2003, to January 4, 2004; the East Tennessee Historical Society (Knoxville, Tennessee) from January 30 to May 23, 2004; the Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, California) from July 1 to August 15, 2004; the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) from September 11, 2004 to January 2, 2005; the Washington State Historical Society (Tacoma, Washington) from January 30 to April 24, 2005; Union Station, Kansas City (Kansas City, Missouri) from May to August 2005; and the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Massachusetts) from September 11, 2005 to January 1, 2006.

The exhibition featured the distribution of 5 ½ x 9 ½" comment cards where visitors could write or draw their personal experiences of the September 11 attacks. Only demographic information (age, location, gender) was also collected on these cards, and visitors had the choice of allowing their stories to be presented publicly. Two versions of the cards were used with slight differences in presented information, one that was distributed from the National Museum of American History, and the second being distributed from the host museums. Both versions informed participants that their responses would be part of the Behring Center's permanent archive responsible for preserving September 11th stories.

The comment cards were made available in the exhibition hall in every venue for visitors to record their comments. Some cards were sent back to the museum via mail from abroad or other states. Other submitted cards indicated forethought on part of their creator, with attached memorabilia such as photographs, drawings, flyers, poems, medals and pins, and patches.

Although the exhibition was featured at a total of eight locations, only cards from six of the locations are represented in this collection. The two locations that are not featured are the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and the Washington State Historical Society. It is not known if these locations participated in the comment card project.

Numbering perhaps in the tens of thousands, the comment cards capture a vivid, collective memory across all demographics and will serve as an important historic primary source reservoir of early attitudes from the American and global consciousness in the aftermath of the attacks.

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Exhibitions -- (creator) -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Museum visitors  Search this

September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001  Search this

Genre/Form:

Questionnaires

Citation:

September 11 Exhibit Comment Cards, 2002-2006, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0848

See more items in:

September 11 Exhibit Comment Cards

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87db31da3-031e-4832-8dac-391a61585931

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0848

Creator:

Chickering, Jonas, 1798-1853  Search this

Names:

Chickering & Sons Piano Company  Search this

Wurlitzer Company  Search this

McKay, John, Captain  Search this

Stewart, James  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Musical History  Search this

Extent:

16 Cubic feet (37 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilms

Trade literature

Photographic prints

Papers

Place:

Boston (Mass.)

Date:

1864 - 1985

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of 51 volumes of Chickering & Sons piano registers, documenting piano production (May 1823-September 1985); correspondence related to the hundredth anniversary of Jonas Chickering's presidency of the Handel and Hayden Society; publications on the history of the Company and sales literature (1854-1984); newspapers articles about the company (1847-1876); photographs (1926-1966); advertising and management forms (1938-1968); and a copy of a letter by Jonas Chickering to his father dated January 27, 1838. There are also ten documents related to the construction, mortgaging and insurance of Chickering Hall in New York City (1876-1886). Chickering Hall opened with great acclaim in 1875 and was an important musical center in New York City in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Some grand pianos from turn of the century onward are not listed in the ledgers. It is thought that Chickering may have had a duplicate set of serial numbers for grand pianos but this collection lacks that volume.

Arrangement:

This collection organized into seven series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1950

Series 2: Publications, 1854-1884

Series 3: Company history and records, 1838-1940

Series 4: Newspapers, 1847-1876

Series 5: Photographs, 1924-1966

Series 6: Management forms and material, 1938-1968

Series 7: Microfilm of ledger books, 1823-1985

Biographical / Historical:

Chickering & Sons pianos are an old line that came into being in April 1823 in Boston. Jonas Chickering, the founder, was a youthful cabinet maker. He learned piano making from John Osborn, a true master of the trade. The division of labor in Osborn's shop was not very extensive and Chickering was compelled to study every part of the instrument and to make himself acquainted with all the details. This exposure to the full range of tasks would served him well when he became a master in his own right. During his four years with Osborn, he became acquainted with Osborn's partner, James Stewart, who was awarded a patent for a "detached" soundingboard that was incorporated in the partners' pianos.

When Osborn and Stewart severed their business relationship, Stewart and his new partner, Chickering, opened a small shop on Tremont Street near King's Chapel on February 15, 1823. The partnership lasted three years until Stewart withdrew and left for London. At the age of 28, Chickering became the sole owner of the small but prosperous manufactory. The firm's annual output climbed over the next three years and reached 47 instruments in 1829.

In early 1830, Chickering made Captain John McKay, an experienced, aggressive, and successful merchandiser a partner in Chickering & Company. Captain Mackay made frequent trips to South American ports with ships laden with pianos. Returning home, the hold was filled with fragrant rosewood and richly grained mahogany. Chickering's first invention was patented in 1837 the first practical casting of a modern iron frame built to sustain the great tension of the strings of the piano so that it would stay in tune for a considerable period. In 1845, another important patent was secured, representing the first practical method of overstringing for square pianos, and in 1849 he applied the same principle to uprights. These contributions and others have become standard with all piano manufacturers.

The Chickering firm made pianos in a new way, employing production strategies that paralleled developments in other trades undergoing industrialization. "When he first commenced business for himself about 15 instruments a year were turned out while in the later years Mr. Chickering's business finished between fifteen and sixteen hundred instruments a year and at least one grand piano worth about a thousand dollars every week." (Richard G. Parker, A Tribute To The Life and Character of Jonas Chickering "By one who knew him well" (Boston: William P. Tewksbury, 1854.)

He was a long time President of the Handel & Hayden Society of Boston, this Country's oldest oratorio, founded in 1815.

On December 1, 1853, a fire swept through the Washington Street factory. Rather than rebuild on Washington Street, plans were made to erect a new factory on Tremont Street in the South End of Boston. Chickering, however, never saw the new plant in operation as he suffered a stroke and died December 8, 1853. The large Chickering factory built in 1853 was described at that time as the largest building in the United States outside the U.S. Capitol, and as "... the most perfect and extensive pianoforte estblishment in the world."

Chickering's death in 1853 left the business in the hands of his sons. In 1867, Emperor Napoleon III of France bestowed the Imperial Cross of the Legion of Honor on Frank Chickering at the Paris World's Fair that year.

With the passing of C. Frank Chickering in 1891, the company lost headway; and it was purchased by the American Piano Company in 1908 (Chickering Brothers pianos, which were made for several years following 1892 were in no way related to Chickering & Sons, though this family of boys was trained in the Chickering & Sons Boston factory).

From 1905 to 1911, the firm alone among American builders supported the revival of early instruments by hiring the English musician and craftsman Arnold Dolmetsch to build harpsichords, clavichords, and violas.

Chickering & Sons continued manufacturing pianos in Boston until 1927, when the plant and its personnel were relocated to East Rochester, New York. The Chickering was the foremost piano of the time Longfellow had one and there was one on the stage at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. the night Lincoln was assassinated. In 1932 the Company became part of the Aeolian American Corporation.

William Knabe of Kreutzburg, Germany, trained as a piano manufacturer, established his business in Baltimore, Maryland in 1837, and controlled the market in the Southern states by 1860. The Civil War and economic pressures may have contributed to the death of Knabe in 1864. The Company was eventually purchased by the American Piano Company in 1908, shortly after Chickering became a part of the organization.

The Wurlitzer Company, a major musical instrument manufacturer, acquired the Chickering firm in 1985 and continued to produce instruments with the Chickering name. The Wurlitzer Company was later purchased by the Baldwin Piano Company; Baldwin was subsequently purchased by Wurltech, Inc., of Houston, Texas.

Provenance:

This collection was donated by the Wurlitzer Company, May 17, 1987.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

advertising  Search this

Keyboard instruments  Search this

Business -- History  Search this

Musical instruments -- 1860-1990  Search this

Musical instrument manufacturing  Search this

Piano makers  Search this

Genre/Form:

Microfilms

Trade literature

Photographic prints

Papers

Citation:

Chickering and Sons Piano Company Collection, 1864-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0264

See more items in:

Chickering & Sons Piano Company Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep886f1c94d-ee6e-4c1c-bc11-97884ec73a13

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0264

Names:

Hastie, William, 1904-1976  Search this

Extent:

1.67 Linear feet (1 oversize box)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Place:

Washington (D.C.)

Date:

1933-1935

Summary:

This collection of New NegroOpinion newspapers spans from December 16, 1933 to April 18, 1935, and measures 1.67 linear feet. The Washington, DC-based paper was published weekly by the New Negro Alliance, which was established in 1933 by John Aubrey Davis, Belford V. Lawson, and M. Franklin Thorne to protest discrimination in employment practices in stores doing business in black neighborhoods. William H. Hastie, the first African American federal judge served as the assistant editor and a columnist for the weekly.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1: December 1933 - December 1934

Series 2: January 1935-April 1935

Biographical / Historical:

John Aubrey Davis, Belford V. Lawson, and M. Franklin Thorne established the New Negro Alliance in 1933 to protest discrimination in employment practices in stores doing business in black neighborhoods. On August 28th of that year, the manager of the Hamburger Grill on U Street in the District of Columbia fired his all black staff and replaced them with whites. Black customers, led by Washingtonian John Aubrey Davis maintain a boycott and picketed until the manager relented and brought the black workers back—with an increase in pay and a reduction in hours.

After the Hamburger Grill, their campaigns targeted the A&P grocery stores, the High Ice Cream Company, Peoples Drug Store, Kaufman's Department Store, and finally, the Sanitary Grocery Company (later Safeway grocery stores)—which led them all the way to the Supreme Court. Mary Church Terrell, Mary McLeod Bethune, and many other prominent black Washingtonians joined the picket lines. Walter E. Washington, later the first black mayor of the city, Eugene Davidson (later head of the D.C. NAACP), Howard University professor N. Naylor Fitzhugh, John Aubrey Davis, attorney Belford V. Lawson, Jr., M. Franklin Thorne (later manager of Langston Terrace housing project), R. Grayson McGuire (owner of the McGuire family funeral homes), and Robert C. Weaver were among the leaders of the New Negro Alliance.

The organization's tactics were unique. The Alliance conducted survey research in the neighborhoods surrounding a retail store that did not hire black employees. They then shared their research findings with the store managers, and requested that hiring policies be changed to hire the same percentage of black employees as there were customers. If the store refused, the Alliance would begin a community education campaign, distributing literature that explained their demands. Finally, if the store still refused to meet their demands they would organize a picket line and a boycott of the store by all those who supported an end to the exclusion of black employees.

Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

African American newspapers  Search this

African Americans -- Employment  Search this

Civil rights -- United States  Search this

Citation:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

ACMA.10-012.3

See more items in:

New Negro Opinion newspaper

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa73f0e8f94-2e36-4f0b-abdd-a62b7b23eb6a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-acma-10-012-3

Creator:

Todd, Tomlinson D., 1910 -1987  Search this

Names:

Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Bruce, Ramon  Search this

Douglass, Frederick, 1817?-1895  Search this

Terrell, Mary Church, 1863-1954  Search this

Collection Collector:

Whitehead, Henry Preston, 1917-2002  Search this

Extent:

4 Sound discs (lacquer)

8 Digital files

Container:

Box 140

Type:

Archival materials

Audio

Sound discs (lacquer)

Digital files

Place:

United States

Washington (D.C.)

Date:

1950 February 12

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Topic:

African Americans  Search this

Drama  Search this

Students  Search this

Race  Search this

Race relations  Search this

Liberty  Search this

Poetry  Search this

Radio programs  Search this

Democracy  Search this

Collection Citation:

Henry P. Whitehead collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Michael A. Watkins.

See more items in:

Henry P. Whitehead collection

Henry P. Whitehead collection / Series 3: Tomlinson D. Todd / 3.4: "Americans All" / 3.4.2: Sound Recordings

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7b40c7343-bf96-4964-b0f2-efa784ff03ab

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-acma-06-042-ref1094

Creator:

United States National Museum., Dept. of Anthropology.  Search this

Photographer:

Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.) (1873-1878) (Hayden Survey)  Search this

Heyn Photo  Search this

Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904: Saint Louis, Mo.)  Search this

Mitchell, McGowan and Company  Search this

Place & Coover  Search this

Addison, George A.  Search this

Barry, D. F. (David Francis), 1854-1934  Search this

Bell, C. M. (Charles Milton), approximately 1849-1893  Search this

Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896  Search this

Bretz, George W. (Fort Sill, Oklahoma)  Search this

Fly, C. S. (Camillus Sidney), 1849-1901  Search this

Fouch, John H., 1849-1933  Search this

Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882  Search this

Goff, O. S. (Orlando Scott), 1843-1917  Search this

Gutekunst, Frederick, 1831-1917  Search this

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942  Search this

Partridge, William Ordway, 1861-1930  Search this

Randall, A. Frank  Search this

Shindler, A. Zeno (Antonio Zeno), 1823-1899  Search this

Wittick, Ben, 1845-1903  Search this

Publisher:

Rice, Rutter & Co.  Search this

Artist:

Noyes, Francis H.  Search this

Reiss, Winold, 1886-1953  Search this

Extent:

3 Painted photographs

8 Prints (halftone and color halftone)

56 Photographic prints (albumen and silver gelatin)

10 Copy prints

1 Stereograph (albumen)

2 Engravings

2 Color lithographs

Culture:

Sioux  Search this

Shoshone  Search this

Ute  Search this

Lakota (Teton/Western Sioux)  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this

Apsáalooke (Crow/Absaroke)  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Basin  Search this

Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne)  Search this

Chiricahua Apache  Search this

Indians of North America -- Southwest, New  Search this

Inunaina (Arapaho)  Search this

Seminole  Search this

Sauk  Search this

Indians of North America -- Plateau  Search this

Powhatan  Search this

Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)  Search this

Hunkpapa Lakota (Hunkpapa Sioux)  Search this

Oglala Lakota (Oglala Sioux)  Search this

Niimíipuu (Nez Perce)  Search this

Mohawk  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Painted photographs

Prints

Photographic prints

Copy prints

Stereographs

Engravings

Color lithographs

Photographs

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents note:

The bulk of the collection consists of portraits of identified Native Americans and some government officials and interpreters. It includes cabinet cards, other mounted prints, newspaper articles, illustrations, and a photographic postcard. Depicted individuals include American Horse, Oglala; Black Hawk, Sauk; Bob Tail, Cheyenne; Crowfoot, Hunkpapa; Gaul, Hunkpapa; Geronimo, Chiricahua; John Grass, Teton; Chief Joseph, Nez Perce; Little Wound, Oglala; Medicine Bull, Hunkpapa; Osceola, Seminole; Ouray, Ute; Litte Raven, Arapaho; Plenty Coups, Crow; Pocahontas, Powhatan; Rain in the Face, Hunkpapa; Red Cloud, Oglala; Red Iron, Dakota; Short Man, Piegan; Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa; Standing On Prairie, Siouan; Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), Mohawk; Two Guns White Calf, Piegan; Two Moon, Cheyenne; and Washakie, Shoshoni.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot 87-2P

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use.

Topic:

Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this

Indians of North America -- Southern states  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Photo lot 87-2P, United States National Museum Department of Anthropology photograph collection relating to Native Americans, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.87-2P

See more items in:

United States National Museum Department of Anthropology photograph collection relating to Native Americans

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw378544a5f-2448-46cd-90a0-4f00194bb205

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-87-2p