The papers of Chicago artist and educator Ray Yoshida measure 10 linear feet and date from circa 1895 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 2005. Yoshida's career as a painter and collagist as well as his long tenure as a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are documented through biographical material, personal correspondence, notebooks and writings, teaching records, personal business records, printed material, source material, photographs, sketchbooks, artwork by Yoshida and others, and scrapbooks. Items within the collection also document Yoshida's personal interest in collecting folk art and artifacts.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Chicago artist and educator Ray Yoshida measure 10 linear feet and date from circa 1895 to 2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 2005. Yoshida's career as a painter and collagist as well as his long tenure as a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are documented through biographical material, personal correspondence, notebooks and writings, teaching records, personal business records, printed material, source material, photographs, sketchbooks, artwork by Yoshida and others, and scrapbooks. Items within the collection also document Yoshida's personal interest in collecting folk art and artifacts.
Biographical material about Ray Yoshida includes award certificates, identification records, student records, and interview transcripts. Also found is one video recording of a documentary short about Yoshida's art and object collection at his Chicago home.
Correspondence includes letters, postcards, and greeting cards from friends, colleagues, and artists, including Roger Brown, Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson, Christina Ramberg, Karl Wirsum, Miyoko Ito, Jin Soo Kim, Barbara Rossi, Vera Berdich, and Tom Kapsalis.
Notebooks contain notes on art history, art technique, Japanese language, travel, and other subjects. Many of the notebooks include sketches and contain loose items.
Writings by Yoshida consist of college papers, fragments of writings on art and other subjects, and notes. Writings by others include essays by Yoshida's students, exhibition essay drafts, and poetry.
Teaching records primarily document Yoshida's tenure as a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, though a few records of guest professorships at other schools are included. These records include course evaluations, employment records, teaching notes, and letters of recommendation for students. Miscellaneous teaching records include department memos, course summaries, correspondence, and notes.
Personal business records consists of documentation regarding the sale, exhibition, and loan of artwork by Ray Yoshida, including his business dealings with the Phyllis Kind Gallery. Additionally there are several files regarding the estate of artist Roger Brown.
Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, news clippings, newsletters and press releases documenting Yoshida's career and other subjects.
Source material consists of material that Yoshida gathered and intended to use for his art. Collected printed material includes postcards, comics and comic books, mail order catalogs, magazines, product labels, and advertisements. Also found are many small clippings from comics collected for collages.
Photographs depict Ray Yoshida, friends, students, travel, and artwork. Also found are a few photographs of Karl Wirsum's studio, as well as photographs of various subjects collected by Yoshida. Additionally, there is one photograph album from the early 1910s of an unidentified family.
Sketchbooks include pencil and ink sketches of various subjects.
Artwork by Ray Yoshida includes collages on paper, pencil sketches, and ink drawings. Artworks by others include numerous prints by Kathleen Blackshear, Ethel Spears, and Vivian Mayers, and collages, drawings, and prints given to Yoshida by students and friends. Some work by unidentified artists is included as well. Other artwork, such as handmade picture and alphabet books, appears to have been created by children and collected by Yoshida.
Scrapbooks include volumes that were created by Yoshida as well as books created by others. Three of the scrapbooks containing source images, clippings, and comics appear to have been created by Yoshida. Additional scrapbooks were created by others and collected by Yoshida.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 12 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1950-2005 (0.5 Linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1952-2009 (2 Linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 11, 15)
Series 3: Notebooks, circa 1956-circa 2000 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1950-2003 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 3)
Series 5: Teaching Records, circa 1960-2003 (0.6 Linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Series 6: Personal Business Records, circa 1960-2010 (0.4 Linear feet; Box 4)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1906-2010 (1.8 Linear feet; Boxes 4-6, 11, OV 14)
Series 8: Source Material, circa 1940-circa 2005 (0.7 Linear Feet; Boxes 6-7, 11)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1910-circa 2005 (0.5 Linear feet; Box 7)
Series 10: Sketchbooks, circa 1960-circa 2000 (1.1 Linear feet; Boxes 7-8, 11-13)
Series 11: Artwork, 1903-2009 (0.7 Linear feet; Boxes 8, 13)
Series 12: Scrapbooks, circa 1895-circa 2005 (1 Linear feet; Boxes 8-10, 13)
Biographical / Historical:
Ray Yoshida (1930-2009) was a Japanese American painter, collagist, and educator based in Chicago, Illinois.
Raymond Kakuo Yoshida was born in Kapaa, Hawaii, in 1930. He attended the University of Hawaii for two years and completed a B.A. in Arts Education at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1953. He also served in the U.S. Army for two years during the Korean War. In 1957 he recieved his M.F.A from Syracuse University and became a faculty member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1959. He was named Frank Harold Sellers Professor in the Department of Painting and Drawing in 1971, retired as professor emeritus in 1998, and continued to teach until 2003.
Yoshida was a member of the Chicago Imagists, a loose and informal group of representational artists from the late 1960s to early 1970s who were influenced by Surrealism and connected to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Yoshida's friends and contemporaries among this group include but are not limited to Roger Brown, Ed Paschke, Christina Ramberg, and Barbara Rossi. Yoshida was an inspiring teacher and he mentored many of the later Chicago Imagists such as Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum.
Yoshida's paintings and collages were strongly influenced by comics as well as his own collection of folk and outsider art. He regularly exhibited at Phyllis Kind Gallery in Chicago from 1975 to 1996, and a major retrospective of his work was organized by the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu in 1998. He retired to Hawaii in 2005 where he lived until his death in 2009 due to cancer. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Sullivan Galleries held a posthumous retrospective exhibition of Yoshida's work from 2010-2011 and the John Michael Kohler Art Center had an exhibition of Yoshida's personal collection of art and artifacts in 2013.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2012 by Ray Yoshida via Terri Yoho of the Kohler Foundation, representing Yoshida's estate, and in 2013 and 2015-2016 by Jennifer Sabas and Shayle Miller, estate executors.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copy requires advance notice. One box of letters from Jim Nutt are ACCESS RESTRICTED; use requires written permission.
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.
Ray Yoshida papers, circa 1895-2010, bulk 1950-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of the Ray Yoshida papers received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
1 Microfilm reel (147 items on 1 partial microfilm reel)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1979-1988
Scope and Contents:
The microfilmed Beth and James Arient papers contain 23 letters from self-taught painter Howard Finster and Pauline Finster to the Arients (1979-1987); and photographs of folk artists, some with the Arients, and their work (1980-1988). Among the artists photographed are Elijah Pierce, Mary Borkowski, Jesse Howard, Joe "The Welder" Janosik, Eunice McCloskey, Dow Pugh, Howard Finster, Minnie Black, Nellie Mae Rowe, Lanier Meaders, B.C. Craig, William Dawson, Carl McKenzie, Denzil Goodpaster, S.L. Jones, Carlton Garrett, Frank Pickle, Sam Doyle, David Butler, Luster Willis, "Daddy Boy" Williams, Kid Mertz, Dilmus Hall, James "Son" Thomas, Derek Webster, Raymond Coins, James Harold Jennings, Sarah Mary Taylor, Mary T. Smith, and Clyde "Jungle Boy" Jones.
Biographical / Historical:
Beth Arient (1946- ) and James "Jim" Arient (1946- ) are folk art collectors in Naperville, Illinois.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the oral history interview with James and Beth Arient, 1988 April 27-29.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1988 by the Arients.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Oral history interview of Chuck and Jan Rosenak conducted 1998 December 10, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
Kirwin conducted the interview in preparation for an exhibit in AAA's New York Regional Center, "In Sight: Portraits of Folk Artists," by Chuck Rosenak, January 22- April 30, 1999. The interview was conducted in Tesuque, N.M. The Rosenaks speak about their involvement with the American folk art world; their collecting interests; their relationship with Robert Bishop, Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., Michael Hall, Jeffrey Camp, Lee Kogan, and others; and their books, including the Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of American Folk Art and Artists (1990), Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector's Guide (1996), The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art (1994), and The Saint Makers: Contemporary Santeras Y Santeros (1998).
Chuck Rosenak also discusses his photographs of folk artists with emphasis on his images of Leroy Archuleta, Loy A. Boslin (The Rhinestone Cowboy), Raymond Coins, Rowell Darmafall ("Glassman"), Gerald "Creative") DePrie, Mamie Deschillie, Bertha Halozon, Bessie Harvey, Bruce Hathale, Nicholas Herrera, Rev. John "J.L." Hunter, Elizabeth Willeto Ignacio, Clyde Jones, Mark Casey Milestone, Louise Nez, Florence Riggs, Rodney Rosebrrok, Herbert Singleton, Q.J. Stevenson, David Strickland, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Horacio Valdez, and Rose Williams.
Biographical / Historical:
Chuck Rosenak (1927- ) is a collector and author from Tesuque, N.M.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 51 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.
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).
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 1928/29, 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.
The papers of art collector and dealer Jimmy Hedges and the records of his Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery measure 23.5 linear feet and 15.63 GB and date from 1969-2016, with the bulk of the material dating from 1991-2013. The collection documents Hedges's career as a dealer of outsider art and as an advocate for self-taught artists. Records include administrative and sales records, correspondence, artist files, collector and gallery files, exhibition and art fair files, regional files, printed and digital material, photographic material, and unidentified sound and video recordings. The bulk of the collection consists of artist files and color photographs documenting hundreds of artists that Hedges visited at their homes and studios, including Georgia Blizzard, Howard Finster, Homer Green, Bessie Harvey, Danny Hoskinson, Paul Lancaster, A.J. Mohammed, Charlie Simmons, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, and Purvis Young, among many others.
Scope and Contents:
The records of art collector and dealer Jimmy Hedges and his Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery measure 23.5 linear feet and 15.63 GB and date from 1969-2016, with the bulk of the material dating from 1991-2013. The collection documents Hedges's career as a dealer of outsider art and as an advocate for self-taught artists. Records include administrative and sales records, correspondence, artist files, collector and gallery files, exhibition and art fair files, regional files, printed and digital material, photographic material, and unidentified sound and video recordings. The bulk of the collection consists of artist files and color photographs documenting hundreds of artists that Hedges visited at their homes and studios, including Georgia Blizzard, Howard Finster, Homer Green, Bessie Harvey, Danny Hoskinson, Paul Lancaster, A.J. Mohammed, Charlie Simmons, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, and Purvis Young, among many others.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series.
Series 1: Administrative and Sales Records, 1969-1971, 1991-2015 (Boxes 1-4; 3.9 linear feet, ER01-ER03; 0.134 GB)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1974, 1981, 1990-2013 (Boxes 4-5; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Artist Files, 1985-2014 (Boxes 5-9, 31, 33, OV 32; 4.6 linear feet, ER04-ER15; 5.35 GB)
Series 4: Collector and Gallery Files, 1992-2014 (Boxes 9-10; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Exhibition and Art Fair Records, circa 1992-2013 (Boxes 10-11; 1.3 linear feet, ER16-ER18; 1.52 GB)
Series 6: Regional Files, 1976, 1980s-2012 (Boxes 11-13; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1980-2013 (Boxes 13-16, OV 32; 2.2 linear feet, ER19; 0.833 GB)
Series 8: Photographic Material, circa 1990-2011 (Boxes 16-30, 34-35; 7.9 linear feet, ER20-ER35; 7.79 GB)
Series 9: Unidentified Sound and Video Recordings, undated (Boxes 30-31; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
James R. "Jimmy" Hedges III (1942-2014), was an artist, art collector and dealer of Outsider Art and Folk art in Tennessee and Georgia. Hedges established the Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery, Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Born into a prominent family from Chattanooga, Jimmy Hedges was a lifelong philanthropist as a trustee of his family's Tonya Memorial Foundation. His true vocation, however, was as an artist, collector, and dealer of outsider art and as an advocate for self-taught artists. Hedges discovered his love of wood carving as a teenager, when he created song birds, and returned to making art at age forty. Using a chain saw, he carved sculptures of Southerners he had encountered in his travels, including artists. His colleagues in this sector of the fine art craft world were predominantly southern African American self-taught painters, sculptors, potters, and carvers. Befriending them and collecting their work led Hedges to establish Rising Fawn Folk Art Gallery in 1993, building a gallery space in the early 2000s on his 500-acre farm in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
An unconventional art dealer, Hedges would hand-deliver work to collectors' homes, driving his truck through backroads and stopping along the way to visit with artists and purchase more works to sell. He was an active presence at the Outsider Art Fair and self-taught artist exhibitions throughout the U.S., as well as at Slotin Folk Art auctions and prison auctions. His aim was to improve the economic condition of fellow artists and raise their profiles among curators and critics. Hedges' development of an archive was essential to this goal.
Provenance:
Donated 2016 by James R. Hedges IV on behalf of the Hedges Descendants Trust and in 2018 by James R. Hedges IV on behalf of Wildcat Asset Managment, LLC.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual records or born digital records with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
An interview of James and Beth Arient conducted 1988 April 27-29, by Betty Blum, for the Archives of American Art.
The Arients describe their backgrounds and talk about their initial interest in art and early collecting, their philosophy of collecting, their discovery of Eskimo sculpture and their first awareness of folk art. They comment on meeting Howard Finster and their subsequent relationship with him, Finster's relationship with collector Jeff Camp, the marketability of folk art, a 1987 exhibition of part of their collection at Northern Illinois University Art Gallery, and folk art patronage. They recall William Dawson and Derek Webster.
Biographical / Historical:
James Arient (1946-) and Beth Arient (1946-) are folk art collectors from Chicago, Illinois. James Arient is a dentist.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 29 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews Search this
Folk art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States 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.
An interview of John Ollman conducted 1990 Mar. 15, by Liza Kirwin for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.
Ollman speaks of his studies at the Philadelphia College of Art and at Indiana University before becoming director of the Janet Fleisher Gallery; the gallery's change of focus towards American Art, specifically the work of folk and self-taught artists, and visionary artists. He discusses the changes in collecting over the past twenty years; collectors, such as Bert Hemphill; trends in collecting; artists whose work he has sold; other galleries with which he has worked, including the Phyllis Kind and Cavin Morris Galleries.
Biographical / Historical:
John E. Ollman (1942- ) is an art dealer from Philadelphia, Pa.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 34 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
The papers of folk art collector and museum curator Herbert Waide Hemphill date from 1776-1998, bulk 1876-1998, and measure 26.7 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, personal business records, files documenting his collecting, writings, art work, minutes of meetings, a scrapbook, printed material including exhibition and auction announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous artifacts. The collection also contains numerous photographs of Hemphill, family members, his residences, friends and colleagues, exhibitions, travel, and art work. Sound and video recordings include interviews of Hemphill.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of folk art collector and museum curator Herbert Waide Hemphill date from 1776-1998, bulk 1876-1998, and measure 26.7 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, personal business records, files documenting his collecting, writings, art work, minutes of meetings, a scrapbook, printed material including exhibition and auction announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous artifacts. The collection also contains numerous photographs of Hemphill, family members, his residences, friends and colleagues, exhibitions, travel, and art work. Sound and video recordings include interviews of Hemphill.
Biographical material includes photocopies of Hemphill's birth certificate and passport, social security cards, and international health card, genealogical notes, an evaluation of his school work, membership cards, award certificates, address books, and an engagement calendar containing very brief annotations of his activities.
Correspondence documents Hemphill's affairs with miscellaneous museums and art institutions, discussing his presentation of lectures, exhibitions, and loans from his collection to organizations including the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, the Folk Art Society of America, the Museum of International Folk Art, and the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum.
Hemphill's correspondence with friends and colleagues discuss collecting activities and pursuit of newly discovered folk art and artists. Many of the letters are from artists. Correspondents include Varick A. Crittenden, Michael D. Hall, A. Everette James, Daniel C. Prince, Neal A. Prince, and artists Rev. Maceptaw Bogun, Mary Borkowski, Tim Fowler, Joseph Victor Gatto, S. L. Jones, Gustav Klumpp, Roy Little, George Lopez, Kevin Orth, and Malcah Zeldis. There are also scattered letters from artists Miles Burkholder Carpenter, John W. Fancher, Rev. Howard Finster, William Hawkins, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Mr. Imagination, Mattie Lou O'Kelley, Clayton Patterson, St. EOM, and Mose Tolliver. One letter from Stephanie and John Smither is etched on a bone.
Personal business records include both legal and financial documents. There are wills for Hemphill, his mother, and for his friend Neal A. Prince. The records also include leases, insurance records, contracts, grant proposals, loan agreements, deeds of gift, price lists, consignment records, tax records, and miscellaneous receipts. Cancelled checks relate to Hemphill's collecting interests and activities, and include payments to artists for their work. There are court papers documenting a lawsuit by Hemphill's landlord who was attempting to evict him.
Art work consists of a sketchbook by Roy Little, a set of hand-cut Japanese mask designs, a collage of Polaroid photographs taped to glass created by Rev. Howard Finster, a hand-made book by Nancy Josephson, and miscellaneous drawings, watercolors, and prints by various artists including Justin McCarthy, Inez Nathaniel, and Nellie Mae Rowe.
Notes and writings include card files of artists, extensive bibliographic card files, and scattered notes on artists including Miles Carpenter, Raymond Coins, Rev. Howard Finster, Mattie Lou O'Kelley, Royal Robertson, Veronica Terrillion, Mose Tolliver, and Bill Traylor. Also found are lists of artists, patrons, and art work, miscellaneous notes, and minutes of meetings. Writings by Hemphill and others including Michael D. Hall, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, A. Everett James, and Julia Weissman, consist of reports, typescripts, and poems concerning a wide range of art-related topics and travel.
A scrapbook consists of unbound pages of clippings and newsletters about Hemphill, his collection, and exhibitions of folk art.
There is extensive additional printed material illustrating Hemphill's many interests. This series primarily consists of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs for mainstream artists as well as folk artists. Also included are auction announcements and catalogs, announcements for festivals, press releases, and calendars of events. Numerous booklets, brochures, programs, menus, business cards, and novelty postcards concern a variety of topics including worldwide travel, the sale of art work, miscellaneous galleries, museums, organizations, conferences, schools, lectures, antiques and craft shops, films, publications, restaurants, household items, historical topics, and miscellaneous artists including Miles Carpenter, S. P. Dinsmoor, Lonnie Holley, Clementine Hunter, and Veronica Terrillion. There are also autographed copies of booklets The Black Swan and Other Poems by James Merrill, and The Blood of Jesus by Thomas Jefferson Flanagan. Novelty postcards range from photographs of Elvis Presley to cards with amusing captions or cartoon jokes. There is also sheet music by Charles Trenet. Miscellaneous printed material includes several eighteenth-century newspapers and a 1776 thirty shilling note from New Jersey.
Photographs are of Hemphill, family members, his residences, friends and colleagues including style editor Carrie Donovan, artist Rev. Howard Finster dancing at an exhibition opening, actress Alice Ghostley, Michael D. Hall, circus performers Vernon Goins and Tiny Hicks, Smithsonian curator Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Neal A. Prince, and Jim Spies. Photographs of exhibitions include stereographic views of the International Exhibition in Philadelphia and the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and photographs of Hemphill's donation of his collection and its subsequent exhibition at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. Travel photographs include views of South Dakota, Texas, the American West, Japan, Mexico, and The Netherlands.
Numerous photographs of art work sometimes include images of the artists with their work including Bruce Brice, Raymond Coins, John W. Fancher, Rev. Howard Finster, Theora Hamblett, Bessie Harvey, William Hawkins, James Harold Jennings, John Jordan, Charles Lisk, Alexander Maldonado, St. EOM, Fred Smith, Edgar Tolson, Hubert Walters, and Purvis Young. Some photographs of unattributed art work has been arranged by the state in which it is located and includes a Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana, a Mummer's parade in Pennsylvania, Lucy the Elephant-shaped building in New Jersey, and Holy Ghost Park in Wisconsin. Other photographs of unattributed art work include works on paper, paintings, sculpture, signs, collages, needlework, glass, ceramics, and architecture.
Sound and video recordings include a cassette from Hemphill's phone answering machine that contains only Hemphill's message to callers, cassette recordings of interviews with and concerning Hemphill, artist St. EOM, painter Robert E. Smith discussing his work, and the tour narration for a Smithsonian exhibition Made With Passion. There are videotapes about Hemphill and about artists Gayleen Aiken, Miller and Bryant, and Malcah Zeldis, and miscellaneous African American artists. There is also a videotape of an American Museum of Natural History tour group arriving in a succession of villages in Melanesia and Papua New Guinea where they are greeted by the native people and given the opportunity to purchase their art work.
Artifacts consist of a scattered assemblage of three-dimensional objects including three wooden "fringe" pieces from cigar store figures, ceramic fragments from a sword handle, a lock of horse hair, and a hand-painted View Master viewer souvenir from the opening of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. The View Master contains a disc of photographs of artists with their work including Vollis Simpson and Mary Frances Whitfield. Also included is a teacher's kit Little Adventures in Art containing four phonograph albums and four short film strips of slides showing art work in animal and bird forms.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series; all series are arranged chronologically:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1916-1997 (Box 1, 28; 12 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1901-1998 (Boxes 1-5, 27- 28, OV 31; 4.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1817-1997 (Box 5-7, 28; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Art Work, 1911-1997 (Box 7, 32; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1938-1996 (Box 7-10, 28; 2.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbook, 1965-1976 (Box 10; 1 folder)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1776-1998 (Box 10-19, 28-29, OV 31; 9.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1876-1997 (Box 19-24, 29; 5.5 linear feet)
Series 9: Sound and Video Recordings, 1986-1991 (Box 25-26; 13 folders)
Series 10: Artifacts, 1968-1995 (Box 26, 30; 0.7 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., (1929-1998) lived in New York city and was a prominent curator, historian, and collector of American folk art. Hemphill was one of the founding members of the Museum of American Folk Art, organized several large exhibitions of folk art, and co-authored Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artist.
Hemphill was born on January 21, 1929 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the son of businessman Herbert Waide Hemphill, Sr., and Emma Bryan Bradley Hemphill whose uncle, William Clark Bradley, was one of the owners of the Coca-Cola Company.
Hemphill was reared in his mother's home town of Columbus, Georgia, and attended Wynnton School. At the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and the Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Hemphill's principle interests were in art and theater. In 1948, he spent a year studying fine arts at Bard College under Stefan Hirsch, a painter and folk art collector.
Hemphill developed his interest in collecting while accompanying his mother on her shopping forays searching for Dresden china. His first acquisition was a wooden duck decoy purchased when he was seven years old. His early collections were of glass bottles, marbles, stamps, and puzzle jugs. In 1949, Hemphill moved to Manhattan and began to focus on modern European and American art and African sculpture, but after 1956 he concentrated exclusively on 19th and early 20th century American folk art. He often discovered artists during his extensive travels, especially in the American South.
In 1961, Hemphill became one of the six founding trustees of the Museum of Early American Folk Art, later named the Museum of American Folk Art, in New York City. Between 1964 and 1973, he was the museum's first curator and curated many exhibitions, helping to promote awareness of work created by self-taught or visionary artists. He later served as Trustee Emeritus for many years.
Between 1974 and 1988, Hemphill loaned portions of his extensive personal collection to 24 museums nationwide and in 1976, the American Bicentennial Commission selected works from his collection for a goodwill tour of Japan. He was named guest curator at the Brooklyn Museum in 1976 and at the Abby Aldrich Folk Art Collection in 1980, and often appeared as guest lecturer at various universities, the Smithsonian Institution, and at the Library of Congress. In 1986, Hemphill donated more than 400 folk art works to the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum, resulting in a landmark exhibition Made with Passion: The Hemphill Folk Art Collection of the National Museum of American Art.
Hemphill's publications include books Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists, co-authored with Julia Weissman in 1974, Folk Sculpture USA for the Brooklyn Museum in 1976, and Found in New York's North Country: The Folk Art of a Region, co-authored with Varick A. Chittenden in 1982 for the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute.
Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. died on May 8, 1998 in New York City.
Provenance:
Herbert Waide Hemphill donated his papers in 5 installments between 1988 and 1996.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual materials with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
The Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera measures 1.1 linear feet and dates from 1807 to 1946. Unrelated letters written by over 170 mostly 19th and early 20th century American artists are found in this compiled collection of art critic, dealer, and collector Albert Duveen. Additional ephemera includes printed material and photographs of artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera measures 1.1 linear feet and dates from 1807 to 1946. Unrelated letters written by over 170 mostly 19th and early 20th century American artists are found in this compiled collection of art critic, dealer, and collector Albert Duveen. Additional ephemera includes printed material and photographs of artwork.
Found are letters from artists Albert Bierstadt, Frederic E. Church, Frederick S. Church, Henry Inman, Constant Mayer, Jervis McEntee, Henry Mosler, Frederick Law Olmstead, Rembrandt Peale, Albert Rosenthal, and many others. Printed materials include catalog inventories of public and private art collections. There are also brochure booklets on New England historical houses and towns. Photographs are duplicate copies of early American artwork from Duveen's personal reference files.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Series 1: Letters, 1808-1910 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Printed material, circa 1909-1946 (4 folders; Box 1, OV 2)
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1808-1910 (3 folders; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Art critic, collector, and dealer Albert Duveen (1892-1965) lived and worked in New York City, New York. He is known for his expertise in early American art and was a cousin to Joseph Duveen, president of Duveen Brothers art dealers.
Related Materials:
The Archives holds a microfilm copy of the Albert Duveen art reference files and a lecture, "An Art Dealer is Intrigued by American Folk Art," delivered by Albert Duveen, March 4, 1961.
Provenance:
The Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera was purchased from Duveen by the Archives of American Art in February 1956.
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.
An interview of C. Jane and Jeffrey Camp conducted 1987 Dec. 2-1988 Jan. 15, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
The Camps speak of their family backgrounds and education; Jeffrey's training in public relations; his first wife Emily; opening their store, the American Folk Art Company, in Richmond, Va., in 1972; their early inventory; Emily's role and personality as business partner; the ethics of art dealing; meeting and marrying his second wife, C. Jane Simpson; representing woodcarver Miles B. Carpenter; Jane's role in the American Folk Art Company; dealers, including Randall and Shari Morris, Phyllis Kind, and Jay Johnson in New York, Judith Alexander in Atlanta, and Carl Hammer in Chicago; emotions felt when acquiring objects; their private collection; advice received from Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., Michael Hall, and Phyllis Kind about working with artists; discovering and learning about folk art; collecting trips with Hemphill and others; dealings and falling out with Howard Finster; and publications of the American Folk Art Company; specific pieces of art collected and sold; and changing prices in the folk art market.
Biographical / Historical:
C. Jane Camp (1953- ) and Jeffrey Camp (1944- ) are folk art collectors from Richmond, Va. and Ross Shire, Scotland
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:
This interview is access restricted; written permission required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Use of this interview is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers should quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, reseachers should quote from the audio recording.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Virginia -- Richmond -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Edith Halpert conducted 1962-1963, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.
Halpert speaks of her childhood in Russia and growing up in New York City; working at Bloomindale's, Macy's, Stern Brothers, and Cohen Goldman; her marriage to artist Sam Halpert, his health, and living in Paris in 1925; becoming an art student at the Academy of Design and feeling that Leon Kroll was an excellent art teacher until he began to correct her drawings; when George Bridgman thought she was ruining his class; the Lincoln Square Arcade, when she and Ernest Fiener and Robert Brackman would rent Conan's studio evenings and bring in instructors; how Newman Montross influenced her more than anybody about showing her art that she loved; burning all of her work because Kroll said she had no talent; receiving a painting from John Marin; her friendship and working relationship with Abby Rockefeller and other family members.
She recalls opening the Downtown Gallery, in Greenwich Village, in 1926; a brief history of modern art; many artists helping decorate the new Daylight Gallery in 1930 and the first show being called "Practical Manifestations of Art"; meeting Robert and Sonia Delaunay in France; when she refused to allow Ezra Pound to speak at one of the gallery lectures because of his anti-Semite remarks and William Carlos Williams and Ford Madox Ford argued with her over it; experiencing jealousy and professional attacks from other dealers; the successful "Pop" Hart show and book in 1929; the "Thirty-three Moderns" show in 1930 at the Grand Central Galleries; the Jules Pascin show in 1930; in America, most of the art buyers supporters of culture were women, until the WPA and World War II, when it became fashionable for men to be involved; Ambroise Vollard's advice on selling art; handling the frustrations of working in the art field; friendships with Stuart Davis,Charles Sheeler, and Ben Shahn; how artists work through dry periods in their creativity and the "Recurrent Image" show; a discussion on modern art galleries of New York City, such as Daniel, Knoedler, Ferargil, the New Gallery, 291, the Grand Central, Kraushaar, and Montross; her travels through Pennsylvania and Maine for good examples of folk art for the gallery; the "The Artist Looks at Music" show; the non-competitive spirit of the early modern American artists; of being saved financially in 1940 by selling a William Harnett painting to the Boston Museum and then renting new space for the gallery.
Also, Mitchell Siporin bringing Halpert and Edmund Gurry to Mitchell Field during World War II for a camouflage show and consequently Downtown Gallery artists and others were enlisted in the camouflage corps for the U.S. Air Force; Charles Sheeler and his wife find Halpert a house in Newtown, Conn.; her decision in 1933 to push folk art for acquisition by the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri; her great concern about what to do with her folk art literature collection; dismay and that no one writes about the history of folk art and those responsible for its creation and popularity; Louis Stern hiring her to organize a municipal exhibit in Atlantic City, N.J., with Donald Deskey designing the furniture and Holger Cahill managing the publicity; Joe Lillie helping her meet Fiorello La Guardia and Joe McGoldrick in 1934 about a municipal show in New York City, but it is moved to Radio City Music Hall through Nelson Rockefeller; the "Salons of America" show; wanting articles written about art for love rather than art for investment; working with Aline Saarinen on her book, "Proud Possessors;" letters from Stuart Davis, William Zorach and others that hurt her feelings; enjoying giving educational lectures and considering retirement because of ill health; the desire to write a book on the history of trade signs in folk art; feeling that the young artists are being ruined by too much support without working for it; planning to write a book entitled, "Unsung Heroes," about artists brave enough to experiment; organizing a show in Russia at her own expense; later representing the U.S. in art at the "American National Exposition"; the agitators and success of the exposition; Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Halpert also recalls Juliana Force, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Buckminster Fuller, George Luks, Edsel Ford, Max Weber, Danny Diefenbacker, Hamilton Easter Field, Frank Stella, Glenn Coleman, Margaret Zorach, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Henry Mercer, Romany Marie, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Mellon, Charles Pollet, Alex Brook, Lunca Curass, Dorothy Lambert, Duncan Candler, Frank Rhen, Louis Rittman, Bea Goldsmith, Arthur Craven, Robert Frost, Philip Wittenberg, Caesar de Hoke, Richard deWolfe Brixey, Seymour Knox, Walt Kuhn, Elisabeth Luther Cary, Charles Locke, Duncan Fergusson, Mrs. Solomon Guggenheim, Bob Tannahill, David Thompson, Marsden Hartley, Erwin Barrie, Robert Laurent, Conger Goodyear, Henry McBride, Edward Hopper, Charles Daniel, William Merritt Chase, Charles Hopkinson, Thomas Hart Benton, Frank Crowninshield, Alfred Barr, Lord Duveen, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin Jr., Karl Zerbe, Franz Kline, Arthur Dove, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, Valentine Dudensing, Peggy Bacon, Stefan Hirsch, Gertrude Stein, Isamu Noguchi, Jasper Johns, Chaim Soutine, B. K. Saklatwalla; Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Ben Shahn, Charles Demuth, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Edward Steichen, Carl Sandburg, Clement Greenberg, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Edith Halpert (1900-1970) was an art dealer from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 27 digital wav files. Duration is 32 hrs., 27 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art 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. The transcript was microfilmed in 1996.
The Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers measure 46.6 linear feet and span the years 1916 to 2000, with one brochure maintained in a research file dating to 1848. The bulk dates for the collection are 1932 to 1992. The papers primarily concern the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans which included modern American sculpture, American folk art, and other contemporary American paintings. Found within the papers are correspondence files, notes and printed material that served as research and reference material, along with financial material. The collection also contains writings, notes, and editorial material used by Jean Lipman in her dual roles as an editor for Art in America magazine and as a respected art critic and author.
Scope and Content Note:
The Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers measure 46.6 linear feet and span the years 1916 to 2000. A copy of an 1848 brochure, retained by Jean Lipman in her research and writings files accounts for the early span date listed in the title of the collection. The bulk dates for the collection are 1932 to 1992. The records include correspondence, notes and printed material that served as research and reference material, along with some financial material that documents the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans. The collection also contains writing and editorial material used by Jean Lipman in her dual roles as an editor for Art in America magazine and as a respected author.
The Personal Files describe the social activities and associations of the Lipmans and include biographical information, personal and family correspondence, gift giving activities, the art career of Jean Lipman, and relationships maintained by the Lipmans with various art organizations.
The Howard and Jean Lipman Art Collection Files describe the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans throughout their lifetime. The General Files section consists of reference files on art organizations and galleries with whom the Lipmans maintained relationships. Also included are particular topics or exhibitions of interest to the Lipmans. The Sculptors and Painters of Interest section served as reference files about the activities of artists in whom the Lipmans were interested and whose works they owned, or considered owning. The Folk Art Collection section documents the collecting and purchasing activities of the Lipmans as they amassed and then subsequently sold their two significant folk art collections.
The Artists Files document the friendship and projects that developed between the Lipmans and three major American artists: Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Of special interest to researchers will be some original Calder artwork mixed into the correspondence between the Lipmans and Calder, as well as drawings, sketches, prints, and posters found in the associated oversize folder. Also found in the Calder subseries are some proofs from Calder's Circus, edited by Jean Lipman.
The Research and Writing Files is divided into five sections dealing with research and writing projects undertaken by Jean Lipman. The first three sections deal with biographical projects that resulted in books or articles about three significant American primitive artists: Jurgan Frederick Huge, Rufus Porter, and Samuel Wood Gaylor. The fourth section deals with writing projects that resulted in the publication of several generalized books on the topic of American folk art. The final section consists of materials associated with the published articles and other authored works of Jean Lipman on a variety of American art topics.
The Art in America Editorial Files consists of editorial material maintained by Jean Lipman during her tenure (1941-1971) as editor of Art in America. The Financial Files reflect the early financial activities of the magazine during the brief period when the Lipmans owned it.
During the period that Jean Lipman served as editor, a variety of distinguished art historians, artists, architects, novelists, and poets contributed articles, columns, or artwork to the magazine. A sampling of correspondents that can be found in the general correspondence of this series include: Joseph Albers, Marcel DuChamp, John Dos Passos, Nelson Rockefeller, Charles Sheeler, and Andrew Wyeth. The General Correspondence Files also document the two subsequent changes of ownership and the growth of subscribers that occurred during the period of Lipman's editorship.
Editorial material related to individual magazine issues is found within this series, as well as information pertaining to the innovative advertising and special projects undertaken by the magazine as it sought to expand its readership and prestige. The Art in America series also chronicles the changes at the magazine that led to Lipman's resignation as editor in 1971.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series. Arrangement is generally alphabetical by subject heading or type of material. Items within folders are arranged chronologically by year.
Series 1: Personal Files (Boxes 1-3; 3 linear ft.)
Series 2: Howard and Jean Lipman Art Collection (Boxes 3-15; 12 linear ft.)
Series 3: Artists Files (Boxes 15-18, 46-47, OV 50-52; 3.6 linear ft.)
Series 4: Research and Writings Files (Boxes 18-28, 48; OV 50, 53; 10.3 linear ft.)
Series 5: -- Art in America -- Editorial Files (Boxes 28-45; 49, OV 50; 17.3 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Howard W. and Jean Lipman shared a lifetime sponsorship of art. The Lipmans' personal art collection, acquired throughout their marriage, was eventually divided into three separate parts: The Howard W. Lipman Foundation collection that was donated and merged into the modern sculpture holdings of the Whitney Museum of American Art; an American folk art collection that was later sold through two separate auctions in 1950 and 1981 and is now part of the holdings of the New York Historical Association and the Museum of American Folk Art; and a personal collection that was retained and displayed in the Lipmans' various residences in Connecticut, New York, and Arizona.
Married in 1933, the Lipmans began jointly collecting American folk art at a time when few art museums or institutions recognized the historical and artistic value of early primitive, self-taught artists. By the late 1940s, the Lipmans had amassed a large, significant collection that was highly regarded for its quality and scope.
During the early 1950s, the Lipmans also began actively collecting sculpture, focusing upon American contemporary sculptors. In the late 1950s they created the Howard W. Lipman Foundation, with an initial inventory of forty sculptures and three paintings by contemporary American artists. The purpose of the foundation was to acquire significant works by emerging American sculptors and to make them available through loans or donations to various art institutions.
In 1965 the Howard W. Lipman Foundation approached the Whitney Museum of American Art with a proposal to coordinate the foundation's efforts and goals with the museum's contemporary sculpture program. The foundation offered a majority of its growing collection of sculpture and acquisition funds towards the development of the evolving permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Thereafter, the Howard W. Lipman Foundation served in an advisory role to the museum's acquisitions, and the foundation supplied the necessary funds to acquire works of sculpture desired by the Whitney for its permanent collection.
In addition to their folk art and foundation collections, the Lipmans also acquired important works by Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith, through their lifelong association and friendship with these artists. Many of these pieces were retained in the Lipmans' personal collection throughout their lives.
Individually the Lipmans also expressed their interest in art through various means. Jean Lipman served as editor of Art in America magazine from 1940 to 1970, which provided her with continuous exposure to emerging artists and trends in American art. Jean Lipman's abiding interest in folk and contemporary art was also expressed through her voluminous writings. Throughout her life she wrote and edited highly acclaimed books and articles about major themes and artists in American art, and she was a recognized folk art authority and connoisseur. Some of her best known works include: The Flowering of American Folk Art; Rufus Porter, Yankee Wall Painter; and Calder's Universe.
Jean Lipman, born in 1909, was also an amateur artist in her later years, creating paintings and assemblages that often dealt with the theme of "art about art." She was represented by a gallery in New York City, as well as one in Arizona, and she had several solo exhibitions.
Howard W. Lipman, born in 1905, showed an early interest in art. By the mid 1920s he had gone to Paris to study painting, but Lipman found himself more attracted to sculpture and he began studying with a German wood carver. In the late 1930s, after returning to the New York City area, Lipman began stone carving with the Clay Club on Eighth Street, adjacent to the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was represented by a New York City gallery and participated in local exhibitions.
Deciding that his sculptural talent was not sufficient for professional pursuit, Lipman began his business career as a stockbroker in Neuberger and Berman, a prominent New York investment management firm that he helped to establish in 1939. Lipman subsequently channeled his artistic endeavors toward collecting and supporting the work of established and emerging American sculptors. He also served on the boards of both the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Archives of American Art.
Howard and Jean Lipman maintained long and close relationships with three prominent American artists: Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Jean Lipman, in particular, was involved in promoting and documenting Calder and his works through numerous articles, books, and exhibitions that she helped produce as editor of the magazine Art in America and publications director for the Whitney Museum of American Art. Calder's Universe, which she edited to accompany a major Whitney Museum of American Art retrospective exhibition of his works in 1976, was considered by Calder to be his "official" biography. The book went to fourteen printings, one of the largest ever, in the history of art books.
The Lipmans were also great admirers of Louise Nevelson and her work. They purchased her artwork for their own collection, as well as donating pieces to various art museums and institutions. Jean Lipman wrote articles about Nevelson and edited the book, Nevelson's World.
David Smith and the Lipmans established a friendship in the late 1950s that lasted until Smith's untimely death in May 1965. The Lipmans purchased several Smith sculptures, which they placed on the grounds of their Wilton, Connecticut, home. They also purchased Smith works for donation to public institutions, such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
The Lipmans retired to Carefree, Arizona, a private residential community renowned for its sensitivity to ecologically-based, architectural design. Howard Lipman died in 1992. Jean Lipman remained active in art and community affairs until her death in 1998.
Provenance:
The papers of Howard and Jean Lipman were initially donated to the Archives of American Art by Howard and Jean Lipman from 1965-1989. Subsequent additions to the original gift were made by Jean Lipman in 1998 and by Peter and Beverly Lipman in 2001. Several small portions of these early accessions were microfilmed.
An associated gift that was originally accessioned as the Art in America Magazine Records was made by Howard and Jean Lipman from 1970-1973. This group, which largely consisted of Jean Lipman's editorial files from her years as editor of the magazine, was subsequently merged with the Howard W. and Jean Lipman records in 2004.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
