Search Results

Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Names:

Addison Gallery of American Art  Search this

Alliance for Cultural Democracy  Search this

Art Workers Coalition  Search this

Heresies Collective, Inc.  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Political Art Documentation/Distribution (Organization)  Search this

Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this

Studio International (Firm)  Search this

University of Colorado -- Faculty  Search this

Women's Caucus for Art  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this

Darboven, Hanne  Search this

Edelson, Mary Beth  Search this

Hammond, Harmony  Search this

Henes, Donna  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Judd, Donald, 1928-  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Pearson, Henry, 1914-2006  Search this

Stevens, May  Search this

Extent:

70.5 Linear feet

0.454 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Date:

1930s-2010

bulk 1960-1990

Summary:

The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

A small amount of biographical material comprises resumes and an address book.

Correspondence files document all aspects of Lippard's professional life including her relationships with artists such as Carl Andre, Judy Chicago, Hanne Darboven, Ray Johnson, Sol LeWitt, and Henry Pearson; feminist artists including Mary Beth Edelson, Harmony Hammond, Donna Henes, and May Stevens; political and art-related activist groups such as Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Art Workers Coalition, Political Art Documentation/Distribution, Printed Matter, and Women's Caucus for Art; galleries and museums including Addison Gallery of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, and publishers including Art International and Art Forum. The series also traces the development of Lippard's involvement in activist causes including censorship and the rights of artists, Central America and the impact of U.S. policy on the region, and equality and reproductive rights for women, as well as her interest in conceptual and minimalist art. The series includes scattered artwork and photographs of artists.

Writings are primarily by Lippard and include correspondence, manuscript drafts, extensive notes, and publication records for some of her best-known books such as The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood (1966), Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973), Eva Hesse (1976), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990), as well as essays for publications such as Art Forum and Studio International and contributions to exhibition catalogs. Also found are edited transcripts from conferences, symposia and interviews conducted by and of Lippard, some audio recordings of interviews and symposia, including an interview with Donald Judd, and notes and typescripts for lectures and speeches.

A small number of files document Lippard's teaching work during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she taught several courses and seminars.

Exhibition files document Lippard's involvement with exhibitions she helped to organize or curate such as A Different War: Vietnam in Art (1989-1991) 557,087 and 955,000 (1969, 1970), 2,972, 453 (1971) c.7,500 (1973-1974) and those for which she wrote catalog contributions.

Printed material includes a collection of articles written by Lippard and a small amount of material concerning events, such as speaking engagements, in which Lippard was involved. Other printed material reflects Lippard's wide range of artistic, political and activist interests and documents exhibitions and performances and the activities of art-related and political groups. Material includes many exhibition catalogs, announcements, invitations, printed posters, news clippings, journal articles, brochures, pamphlets and other publications.

Artwork includes sixteen items by unidentified artists, including two by children. Photographs consist primarily of photographs of works of art in addition to a small number of photos of exhibition installations.

There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as nine series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 1-28, 51, OVs 54-63; 28.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1930s-1990s (Boxes 28-41, 51-52, OVs 64-66; 13.24 linear feet, ER01; 0.454 GB)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1966-1993 (Boxes 41, 52; 0.76 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibitions, 1960s-1990s (Boxes 42-45, 52, OVs 67-68; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1940s-2007 (Boxes 45-49, 52, OVs 69-77; 5.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork and Ephemera, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53; 4 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, 1950s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53, OV 71; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1965-2010, (Boxes 78-94; 17.0 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

New York and New Mexico writer and art critic, Lucy R. Lippard, is the curator of numerous exhibitions and the author of over twenty-four books and other writings that trace the emergence of minimalist and conceptual art and document Lippard's commitment to feminism and political activism.

Born in New York City in 1937, Lippard earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1958 and an M.A. in 1962 from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. In the 1960s she began writing art criticism for the journals Art International and Artforum. In 1966 she curated the landmark exhibition Eccentric Abstraction at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City. Lippard then curated the first of four defining conceptual art exhibitions that became known as her "numbers" shows, each titled after the populations of the cities in which they took place, with catalogs in the form of a set of 10 x 15 cm index cards. Opening at the Seattle Art Museum in 1969, 557,087 was followed by 955,000 in Vancouver, Canada, a few months later. 2,972,453 was held at the Centro de Arte y Comunicacíon in Buenos Aires in 1971 and c.7500 opened in Valencia, California, in 1973-1974 before traveling to several other venues in the United States and Europe.

Lippard's first book, The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood was published in 1966, followed by Pop Art the same year, and a collection of her early essays, Changing, in 1971. Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973) and From the Center: Feminist Essays on Women's Art (1976) documented the emergence of conceptual art and the early years of feminist art respectively. In 1976 Lippard published her seminal book on the life and work of Eva Hesse.

Between 1977 and 1978 Lippard lived on a farm in Devon, England, and worked on a novel, The First Stone, about the role of politics in the lives of three generations of women. During her walks across the English countryside she became interested in landscape art and conceived of her book Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory which was subsequently published in 1983. Other books include Get the Message?: A Decade Of Art For Social Change (1984), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990). Lippard has also written regular columns on art and politics for the Village Voice, In These Times and Z Magazine, and has been a contributing editor of Art in America.

Lippard was radicalized during a trip to Argentina in 1968 when she was invited to be a juror at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. On her return to the United States she became heavily involved in anti-war activities and the Art Workers Coalition. She is a co-founder of several feminist and artist organizations including the feminist collective Heresies, which produced Heresies: A Feminist Journal on Art and Politics from 1977-1992, Ad Hoc Women Artists, Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, Women's Action Coalition, and Women's Art Registry. In 1976 she was a founder of Printed Matter, a New York nonprofit dedicated to producing artists' publications. She also worked closely with Franklin Furnace, an artist-run space devoted to the promotion of artists' books, installation art, and video and performance art, and served on the organization's International Committee.

Lippard has been a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Queensland, Australia, and was Eminent Artist in Residence at the University of Wyoming Department of Art in 2015. She has received honorary doctorates in fine arts from Maine College of Art, the Massachusetts College of Art, Moore College of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and others, and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants in criticism, the Smith College Medal, the ArtTable Award for Distinguished Service to the Visual Arts, and the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Excellence.

Lippard has lived in New Mexico since 1992 and works as a freelance writer and speaker.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Lucy Lippard conducted in 2011 March 15, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, funded by a grant from the A G Foundation.

Provenance:

Lucy R. Lippard donated her papers in several increments between 1972-1995, 2006, 2015 and 2021.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. 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:

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

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

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

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Artists -- Political activity  Search this

Art criticism  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Women authors  Search this

Women art critics  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Minimal art  Search this

Women museum curators  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.lipplucy

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9101c6a69-dde9-42ed-94cc-d03650c249ed

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-lipplucy

Creator:

Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. and Paula Cooper Gallery  Search this

Names:

Park Place Gallery Art Research, Inc.  Search this

Paula Cooper Gallery  Search this

Paula Johnson Gallery  Search this

Bartlett, Jennifer, 1941-  Search this

Campus, Peter, 1937-  Search this

Cooper, Paula, 1938-  Search this

Di Suvero, Mark, 1933-  Search this

Fleming, Dean  Search this

Forakis, Peter  Search this

Grosvenor, Robert, 1937-  Search this

Leonard, Zoe  Search this

Magar, Anthony, 1936-  Search this

Melcher, Tamara  Search this

Murray, Elizabeth, 1940-  Search this

Myers, Forrest Warden, 1941-  Search this

Novros, David, 1941-  Search this

Ruda, Edwin  Search this

Shields, Alan, 1944-  Search this

Smith, Tony, 1912-1980  Search this

Thompson, Bob, 1937-1966  Search this

Valledor, Leo, 1936-1989  Search this

Extent:

135.3 Linear feet

0.001 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Interviews

Transcripts

Photographs

Date:

circa 1961-2018

Summary:

The records of the New York artist-cooperative Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. and the Soho contemporary art gallery Paula Cooper Gallery measure 135.3 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1961 to 2018. The collection documents the founding of the Park Place Gallery and its artists through correspondence, artists' files, photographic materials, financial records, printed and digital materials, and scattered business records. The bulk of the collection is Paula Cooper Gallery records; nearly two-thirds of which are artists' files containing a variety of materials such as correspondence, printed materials, and photographic materials. Also found is additional business correspondence, business records, financial records, and printed materials for Paula Cooper Gallery, as well as a handful of records from Paula Johnson Gallery. There is an 85.5 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2023 that includes artist files, exhibition files, correspondence, audiovisual material, archtectural plans and miscellaneous business records from Paula Cooper Gallery. Materials date from circa 1970-2018.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the New York artist-cooperative Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. and the Soho contemporary art gallery Paula Cooper Gallery measure 135.3 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1961 to 2018. The collection documents the founding of the Park Place Gallery and its artists through correspondence, artists' files, photographic materials, financial records, printed and digital materials, and scattered business records. The bulk of the collection is Paula Cooper Gallery records; nearly two-thirds of which are artists' files containing a variety of materials such as correspondence, printed materials, and photographic materials. Also found is additional business correspondence, business records, financial records, and printed materials for Paula Cooper Gallery, as well as a handful of records from Paula Johnson Gallery.

The collection is divided in three series, one series for each gallery represented in this collection. The records in each series are not comprehensive and do not represent the full scope of operations at each gallery. Due to the original arrangement of materials, some records related to Park Place Gallery are found in Series 3, and scattered records related to Paula Cooper Gallery are found in Series 2. Researchers are encouraged to reference both series.

Series 1, Paula Johnson Gallery records, contains six folders and includes an artist file for Bob Thompson; two ledger pages of accounts receivables; scattered exhibition announcements and flyers; two photographs of artwork by Vernon Lobb; tax records, and a handful of legal organizational records.

Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. records are filed in Series 2 and is arranged in five subseries: correspondence, business files, artists' files, financial records, and printed materials. The correspondence is between gallery employees and clients, museums, and other galleries regarding artwork inquiries, sales and exhibitions. Business files are limited in scope and include documents related to the founding of the gallery, a guest book, and one folder of legal and financial records. Artists' Files for eight of the ten Park Place Gallery artists are found: Dean Fleming, Peter Forakis, Tony Magar, Tamara Melcher, Forrest Myers, David Novros, Edwin Ruda, and Leo Valledor. Not present in this collection are files for Mark di Suvero and Robert Grosvenor. Artists' Files contain a variety of materials including artists' statements, bibliographies, biographies, correspondence, exhibition flyers, interview transcripts, clippings and other printed materials, and photographic materials. Financial Records include check ledgers, a general ledger, paid bill receipts, sales invoices, tax forms, and other miscellaneous financial and banking records. Printed Materials include newspaper clippings, gallery announcements, an interview transcript, a handwritten gallery floor plan, and a poster for the 1964 Park Place Invitational Show drawn by Mark di Suvero with artists' names handwritten by Robert Grosvenor.

The bulk of the collection is the records of Paula Cooper Gallery, Series 3. This series contains similar materials as Series 2 and is arranged in the same five subseries. Correspondence includes responses to appraisal requests (1968-1997) and copies of outgoing gallery correspondence from 1985-1999. Business Files contain documentation related to advertising and renovations to the gallery, as well as an artwork inventory book from the early years of the gallery's operation. The bulk of this series is comprised of Artists' Files which contain varied materials such as correspondence with artists, museums, and galleries regarding installations, artwork fabrication, and other business; biographies and bibliographies; exhibition files; printed materials; and photographic materials of artwork and installations. There is considerable documentation for artists Jennifer Bartlett, Peter Campus, Zoe Leonard, Elizabeth Murray, Alan Shields and the estate of Tony Smith. Sales invoices, consignment records, payment ledgers, cancelled checks and other financial materials are found in Financial Records. Printed Materials are comprised of some newspaper and magazine clippings, an interview transcript, and a copy of a manuscript.

There is an 85.5 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes artist files, exhibition files, correspondence, audiovisual material, architectural plans, and miscellaneous business records from Paula Cooper Gallery. Materials date from circa 1970-2018.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 4 series:

Series 1: Paula Johnson Gallery, 1963-1967 (Box 1; 6 folders)

Series 2: Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc., 1961-1973, 1989 (Boxes 1-4, 50-51, OV 52; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 3: Paula Cooper Gallery, 1962-2006 (Boxes 4-49, 51; 45.7 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 4: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1970-2018 (Boxes 53-138, OV 139-146; 85.5 linear feet)

Historical Note:

The artists' cooperative Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. opened in November 1965 at 542 West Broadway, showing the work of ten young contemporary artists. The cooperative did not represent an art movement, but frequently exhibited large-scale, non-figurative, geometric paintings and sculptures.

Many of the gallery's artists had attended art school in California and shared similar ideas about art, community, and collaboration. Since 1962, they had been informally exhibiting together at 79 Park Place and other various New York City locations under the name Park Place Gallery. With the successes of their informal exhibitions, and the loss of their lease at 79 Park Place, the group formalized their cooperative under the umbrella non-profit, Art Research, Inc. in 1965.

The cooperative was comprised of five sculptors, five painters, and five collectors. Members included sculptors Mark di Suvero, Peter Forakis, Robert Grosvenor, Tony Magar, and Forrest Myers; painters Dean Fleming, Tamara Melcher, David Novros, Edwin Ruda, and Leo Valledor; and collectors Virginia Dwan, Allen and Betty Guiberson, J. Patrick Lannan, Vera List, and John and Lupe Murchison. The collectors each donated an artwork by one of the artists for sale in the gallery, as well as financed the gallery's annual operating budget. As compensation, each collector was given one major work of art by each artist every year.

Paula Cooper (nee. Johnson) joined Park Place Gallery in 1966 and she became director in late 1966-early 1967. Previously, from 1964-1966, she ran Paula Johnson Gallery, showing artwork by Bob Thompson and other young artists.

Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. had its first group show in February 1966. In addition to showing art, the gallery occasionally held jazz sessions and other art-related gatherings. The gallery physically closed at the end of July 1967. However, Paula Cooper continued managing the sale of artwork and organized exhibitions at various locations. The final exhibition of Park Place Gallery artists was held at M.I.T. in late spring of 1968.

Paula Cooper opened Paula Cooper Gallery in Soho at 96 Prince Street in 1968. Her gallery is often credited as being the first gallery in Soho and thus paved the way for the migration of uptown galleries to the neighborhood. From the beginning, the gallery showed primarily conceptual and minimalist art and she continued representing some of the Park Place artists. Artists represented by Paula Cooper Gallery and found in this collection include Jennifer Bartlett, Dara Birnbaum, Peter Campus, Michael Hurson, Zoe Leonard, Robert Mangold, Elizabeth Murray, Cady Noland, Adrian Piper, Ulrich Rückriem, Edwin Ruda, Alan Shields, the estate of Tony Smith, Joseph White, Chris Wilmarth, Kes Zapkus, and many others. The gallery continues to operate in Chelsea on West 21st Street.

Sources consulted include "Reimaging Space: the Park Place Gallery Group in 1960s New York" by Linda Dalrymple Henderson, published by Blanton Museum of Art, 2008; and, "Art and Space: Park Place and the beginning of the Paula Cooper Gallery," by Liza Kirwin, 2007 (http://www.aaa.si.edu/exhibitions/paula-cooper).

Related Material:

Related collections found among the holdings of the Archives of America include a sound recording of a lecture given by Paula Cooper (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston sound recordings, May 18, 1983-February 8, 1984); audio tapes which include Paula Cooper (Bruce D. Kurtz video and audio recordings and papers, 1966-1995); and two silent 16mm films by Kenny Schneider (Park Place Gallery artists films, 1967.)

Provenance:

Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. records and Paula Cooper Gallery records were donated by Paula Cooper, director of the galleries, in thre accessions in 2006, 2009 and 2022.

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 and born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.

Rights:

All collection material in boxes 1-52, except photographs: Permission to quote, publish or reproduce requires written permission from Paula Cooper. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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.

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Transcripts

Photographs

Citation:

Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. records and Paula Cooper Gallery records, 1961-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund

Identifier:

AAA.parkplag

See more items in:

Park Place, The Gallery of Art Research, Inc. records and Paula Cooper Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw926d9e348-f361-4c9a-bec4-7cb8f9c08556

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-parkplag

Creator:

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Names:

Baeder, John  Search this

Butterfield, Deborah, 1949-  Search this

Castanis, Muriel, 1926-2006  Search this

Celender, Don, 1931-2005  Search this

Clarke, John Clem, 1937-  Search this

De Andrea, John, 1941-  Search this

Dufresne, Leonard, 1941-  Search this

Goings, Ralph  Search this

Grinder, Robert  Search this

Hanson, Duane  Search this

Kacere, John C., 1920-1999  Search this

Karp, Marilynn Gelfman  Search this

McLean, Richard Thorpe, 1934-  Search this

Rohm, Robert  Search this

Salt, John, 1937-  Search this

Wesselmann, Tom, 1931-2004  Search this

Extent:

80.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Prints

Diaries

Date:

1960-2014

Summary:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records measure 80.3 linear feet and are dated 1960-2014. The collection documents the operation and activities of the contemporary art gallery founded by Ivan C. Karp in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Exhibition files, artist files, printed material and photographic materials reveal the wide range of artists represented by OK Harris and the gallery's role in introducing Photo-realism to the public. Aso included are administrative files, prints by OK Harris artists, business and personal correspondence, 39 journals by Karp spanning a period of 62 years, and other personal papers. Material pre-dating the 1969 establishment of OK Harris Works of Art consists of printed items and a few letters.

Scope and Contents:

The Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records measure 80.3 linear feet and are dated 1960-2014. The collection documents the operation and activities of the contemporary art gallery founded by Ivan C. Karp in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Exhibition files, artists' files, printed material, and photographic materials reveal the wide range of artists represented by OK Harris and the gallery's role in introducing Photo-realism to the public. Also included are administrative files, prints by OK Harris artists, business and personal correspondence, 39 journals by Karp spanning a period of 62 years, and other personal papers. Material pre-dating the 1969 establishment of OK Harris Works of Art consists of printed items and a few letters.

Correspondence, both professional and personal, is with museums, galleries, art dealers, art collectors, and graduate students. Artists John Baeder, Deborah Butterfield, John Clem Clarke, John DeAndrea, Jim Dine, Leonard Dufresne, Robert Ginder, Ralph Goings, Duane Hanson, Richard McLean and Tom Wesselmann are among the correspondents.

Admininstrative files concern the daily operation of OK Harris Works of Art. Included are instructions regarding administrative functions and forms for routine activities to enable employees to conduct business in Ivan Karp's absence. Along with files about other items occasionally sold at the gallery, there are files about projects of interest to the Karps, sample announcements, invitations, and advertisements.

Exhibition files document group shows, collectibles and antique exhibitions, summer invitationals, and special event exhibitions at OK Harris Works of Art. The files include photographs and slides, schedules, lists of titles and prices, artists' resumes, installation layouts, reviews and publicity materials, and other items.

Artist files constitute the largest series in the collection at 34 linear feet, and document the gallery's relationships with artists throughout its 45 year history. Files are comprised of biographical information, correspondence, notes, publicity and other printed material (including a few items pre-dating the gallery). Among the many transactions recorded are arrangements for and documentation of solo exhibitions at OK Harris. There are photographs, slides and color transparencies of individual works, and some views of exhibition installations. John Baeder, Muriel Castanis, Don Celender, Ralph Goings, John Kacere, Richard McLean, Robert Rohm and John Salt are among the most extensively documented artists.

Printed material produced by OK Harris Works of Art includes exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, invitations, checklists, price lists posters, and notices of gallery sponsored events and activities. Printed material from other sources consists of exhibition reviews, articles about Ivan and Marilynn Karp, OK Harris Works of Art, and the gallery's artists. These appeared in art and mainstream periodicals, newspapers, exhibition catalogs, and books. Also found are posters, reproductions of artwork, and miscellaneous printed items. Artwork consists of 40 prints by artists affiliated with OK Harris. Most are signed; 2 are black and white prints, the remainder are color lithographs. Included is Radical Realism I, a set of 6 prints issued by Mother Lode Editions, 1972.

Thirty-two linear feet of photographs, negatives, slides, transparencies and digital images are of artwork by OK Harris artists, exhibition installation views, and miscellaneous subjects. Photographs of artwork by 59 OK Harris artists are found in binders called "Artists' Photo Books." Installation views of exhibitions held at OK Harris Works of Art during its 45 year history fill 61 binders. Miscellaneous subjects include OK Harris office space, galleries and staff. Also found are photographs of group shows, art fairs, and gallery artists' exhibitions at other venues.

The Ivan C. Karp personal papers include obituaries from print and internet sources along with other biographical information, published versions of brief interviews conducted for various purposes, writings, a few materials relating to business and academic activities, and some personal photographs. Journals, 1950-2012 (bulk 1991-2012) record travel, daily activities, and reflections.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1960-2013 (Boxes 1-2B; 2.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Administrative Files, 1969-2014 (Box 3; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1969-2014 (Boxes 3-4; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Artist Files, 1967-2014 (Boxes 4-38, 80; 34 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1963-2014 (Boxes 38-44, 80, OV 88 - OV 90; 5.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, 1970s-circa 1980 (Box 44, OV 81-OV 87; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographic Materials, 1960s-2014, bulk 1969-1999 (Boxes 44-76; 32 linear feet)

Series 8: Ivan C. Karp Personal Papers, 1961-2012 (Boxes 76-79; 4 linear feet)

Historical note:

OK Harris Works of Art specialized in a wide range of contemporary art and was known for its early support of Photo-realism. When it opened in 1969, the gallery was one of the first to operate in the SoHo area of Manhattan and its presence helped shape the neighborhood's development into a vibrant arts district.

Ivan C. Karp (1926-2012), the founder of OK Harris Works of Art, established a reputation in the art world while co-director of Leo Castelli Gallery from 1959-1969. He is credited with launching the careers of Pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, John Chamberlain, Tom Wesselmann, and Claes Oldenburg. Karp wrote, published, and lectured extensively on art and the art business. He was the author of a romantic novel about New York life, Doobie Doo (published in 1965, front cover by Roy Lichtenstein, back cover by Andy Warhol) and his short stories were published in literary reviews. Karp was actively involved in architectural preservation efforts in New York City. As President of the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society, he rescued and stored cornices, capitals, portals, columns and other architectural fragments of historical and aesthetic interest from demolition sites. Many are displayed in his Anonymous Arts Museum, Charlotteville, NY and some became part of a sculpture garden that Karp donated to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

While Leo Castelli Gallery was closed for summer vacations in 1963 and 1964, Karp ran his own contemporary art gallery in Provincetown. He named it OK Harris, a name he thought suggestive of a colorful, very American character. A few years later, Karp opened OK Harris Works of Art in SoHo where a portrait of a bearded man titled "Oscar Klondike Harris" hung in his office. "Mr. Harris" frequently assumed blame for delays, rejections and other unwelcome news or decisions. OK Harris Works of Art (first at 469 West Broadway and later at 383 West Broadway) was a 10,000 square foot ground-floor space where as many as six concurrent solo exhibitions were presented every six weeks. The goal was "to exhibit the broadest spectrum of the most adventuresome art being offered" and the focus was on emerging artists, many of them unknown. In addition to being at the forefront of the Photo-realist movement in 1969, OK Harris Works of Art was the first gallery to exhibit the work of Duane Hanson, Deborah Butterfield, Manny Farber, Richard Pettibone, Robert Cottingham, Robert Bechtle, Marilyn Levine, Nancy Rubins, Malcolm Morley, Luis Jiminez, Jake Berthot, Jack Goldstein, Porfirio DiDonna, and Al Souza.

An approachable, friendly man who enjoyed sharing his knowledge, Karp usually sat at the gallery's front desk and was available to all. Unlike many dealers, he was willing to look at and discuss artists' slides, offered encouragement, and often followed up with studio visits.

At his request, Marilynn Gelfman Karp became gallery director after her husband's death in 2012. She ran the business with gallery staff including Ivan's oldest son, Ethan. Following Ivan's guidelines, OK Harris Works of Art closed with a gala celebration 2014 for all the gallery's artists, collectors and friends.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Ivan C. Karp conducted by Richard Brown Baker, 1963 October 18; by Paul Cummings, 1969 March 12; and by Ronny Cohen, 1986 April 17-1988 October 18. The Marilynn Gelfman Karp Collection of Ephemera owned by the New-York Historical Society includes OK Harris printed material, prints, and posters.

Provenance:

Marilynn Karp, wife of Ivan C. Karp, donated scattered papers in 2011 and 2013, and the bulk of the collection in 2014.

Restrictions:

Use of original material 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 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.

Topic:

Photo-realism  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Prints

Diaries

Citation:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records, 1960-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.okharr

See more items in:

Ivan C. Karp papers and OK Harris Works of Art gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96a2748a9-b34e-44ba-9c6f-c4586b7960c9

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-okharr

Creator:

National Zoo  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2010-05-07T18:23:18.000Z

YouTube Category:

Pets & Animals  Search this

Topic:

Zoology;Animals;Veterinary medicine;Animal health  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNZP

Data Source:

National Zoo

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNZP

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_rcdGbUSChXs

Creator:

Hassinger, Maren  Search this

Names:

Maryland Institute, College of Art  Search this

Nengudi, Senga, 1943-  Search this

Extent:

11.3 Linear feet

4.55 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Diaries

Date:

1955-2018

Summary:

The papers of African American artist and educator Maren Hassinger measure 11.3 linear feet and 4.55 gigabytes, dating from 1955 to 2018. The collection contains biographical material; personal and professional correspondence; and writings; as well as project and exhibition files; material related to Hassinger's tenure at the Rinehart School of Graduate Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA); material related to other professional activities, including teaching files; photographic material; and artwork and artifacts.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of African American artist and educator Maren Hassinger measure 11.3 linear feet and 4.55 gigabytes, dating from 1955 to 2018. The collection contains biographical material including appointment and address books, education records, family and other home movie recordings, interview transcripts, and resumes; personal and professional correspondence; and writings including diaries, notebooks, notes, and writings by others. Also included are project and exhibition files, including accompanying audiovisual material and performance recordings; material related to Hassinger's tenure at the Rinehart School of Graduate Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA); material related to other professional activities, including other teaching files, panels, and grants; printed material; photographic material depicting Maren Hassinger, other individuals, and works of art, including student work; and artwork and artifacts.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1959-2001, 2013-circa 2015 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1961-2018 (Boxes 1-2; 1 linear foot, ER02; 3.01 GB)

Series 3: Writings, 1955-2017 (Boxes 2-3; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Project and Exhibition Files, 1966, 1982-2015 (Boxes 3-4, OV 12; 1.5 linear feet, ER03-ER04; 1.31 GB)

Series 5: Rinehart School of Graduate Sculpture/MICA Files, circa 1960s-2018 (Boxes 4-5; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Professional Activities, circa 1969-2017 (Boxes 5-6; 0.8 linear feet, ER05; 0.006 GB)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1960-2018 (Boxes 6-9, OVs 12-15; 2.9 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographic Material, 1969-2010s (Boxes 9-10, OV 12, Box 16; 2.2 linear feet, ER06; 0.224 GB)

Series 9: Artwork and Artifacts, circa 1960s-2010s (Box 11; 0.3 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Maren Hassinger (1947- ) is an African American artist in New York known for sculpture, performance, and public art in which she uses natural and industrial materials. She was also an educator and is the director emeritus of the Rinehart School of Graduate Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD.

Born Maren Jenkins in Los Angeles, California in 1947, Hassinger studied dance and sculpture at Bennington College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in sculpture in 1969. In 1973 she completed a Master of Fine Arts in fiber structure at UCLA.

During her time in Los Angeles, Hassinger began to collaborate with Senga Nengudi — a collaborative relationship that has continued throughout their careers. She also participated in the Studio Z collective with Nengudi, Ulysses Jenkins, David Hammons, and Houston Conwill.

Hassinger taught at the State University of New York, Stony Brook from 1992 to 1997 and was the director of the Rinehart School of Graduate Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art from 1997 to 2018. Throughout her career, she has been awarded numerous residencies, awards, and grants. Her work is held in many collections including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the California African American Museum, the Hammer Museum, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Provenance:

The Maren Hassinger papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2018 by Maren Hassinger.

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 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:

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

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

Educators -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this

Topic:

African American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Women educators  Search this

African American art -- African influences  Search this

African American educators  Search this

African American sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Diaries

Citation:

Maren Hassinger papers, 1955-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.hassmare

See more items in:

Maren Hassinger papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cd224705-e329-48a4-bf88-db31ad8ebd4e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hassmare

Artist:

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Names:

Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this

Cornell, Robert  Search this

Extent:

196.8 Linear feet

186 Nitrate negatives

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Nitrate negatives

Photographic photoprints

Photographs

Place:

New York, New York

Date:

1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972

Summary:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Scope and Contents:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Correspondence is with collectors, museums, galleries, artists, friends, family, charity organizations, admirers and those admired by Cornell, and World War II European pen pals. Discussions about the appreciation, donation, sale, purchase, and exhibition of Cornell's works are frequent, with the inclusion of shipping and loan documentation or notices of payment installments. Galleries and museums frequently request that Cornell agree to an exhibition, which he often declines, and fans request free works be mailed or affordable works be sold to them. With friends, artists, and those he admired, Cornell discussed topics that fascinate him, included bits of poetry or philosophical musings, sent clippings or a collaged letter, and occasionally discussed a project or work in process. After World War II, when so many were displaced by the war in Europe, Cornell answered ads for pen pals in the "Christian Science Monitor," often responding to requests for clothing or other goods, and sometimes exchanging many letters over several years. Family correspondence is with his mother, sisters, brother, and others, and often notes activities of the day, foods eaten, and general musings, as well as occasionally mentioning a project or artwork. Correspondents of note include Stan Brakhage, Betty Freeman, Charles Henri Ford, Allegra Kent, Yayoi Kusama, Roberto Matta, Marianne Moore, Octavio Paz, Sonia Sekula, Pavel Tchelitchew, Parker Tyler, Dorothea Tanning, and Betsy von Furstenberg, among others.

Cornell was often preoccupied with his thoughts, feelings, memories, a project or thematic "exploration," and jotted notes on seemingly any surface available. Notes and musings are on napkins, the backs of envelopes, newspaper clippings, and paper bags from record and magazine stores. Frequently, an observation would trigger a lengthy nostalgic moment, or a "feé," fairy-like child or girl, would capture his imagination and lead him to thoughts of 18th-century ballerinas and silent film stars. Cornell wrote longer diary notes, sometimes expanding on an earlier notation or emotion, and often wrote when he experienced trouble sleeping or woke early. Drafted letters to imaginary muses or admired individuals are interspersed among diaries, often revealing Cornell's yearnings to find emotional intimacy and human connection. Over time, Cornell revisited his notes and occasionally made further notations about renewed thoughts on a topic, dating the note with "revisited" or "reviewed." Notes are often written in a stream-of-consciousness style, for example, jumping from the mention of a record album or composer, to a ballerina of the same period, a note about a French poet, the memory of childhood, or an observation made earlier in the day, all in the space of a few lines. Notes about artistic processes or meanings behind works or images do occasionally emerge from the tangled, poetic notations. Notes also often provide insights into Cornell's internal emotional state and give clues about his intentions behind an artwork or a particular thematic fixation.

Financial materials document Cornell's professional and personal business activities, including the sale of artworks, annual expenses for supplies and household incidentals, payments and schedules for personal assistants, receipts for donations to charities and nonprofits, and tax documents. There is also information about who worked as assistants, or "helpers," in his later years and where Cornell purchased art supplies. Additionally, specific details are documented through receipts and invoices, such as what kind of paint he purchased. Estate records include preparations made for Cornell's artworks after his death, and clippings about other deceased artist's estates show that he thought often about such arrangements in his later years.

Exhibition files highlight several select solo exhibitions for Cornell, as well as preparations and planning for the "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" in honor of his brother in 1966. Also included are several early exhibition catalogs and announcements, including "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932) and "Exhibition of Objects (Bibloquet) by Joseph Cornell" (December 6-31, 1939) at the Julien Levy Gallery, and "Romantic Museum: Portraits of Women, Constructions and Arrangements by Joseph Cornell" (December 1946) at the Hugo Gallery.

Film projects and collected film materials consist of files related to Cornell's various experimental film projects: "Aviary," "Cappuccino," "Centuries of June," "Fable for Fountains," "Nymphlight," "Serafina's Garden," and unrealized film scenario "Monsieur Phot." Files include film-making notes, correspondence, and photographs. Cornell's interest in film also led him to collect film-related materials, such as film stills, film posters, and screening programs. Scattered correspondence documents the interest other institutions and individuals had in purchasing and viewing his collection. Though most of his collected film stills and movie posters were donated to the Anthology Film Archives, film stills from "Escape Me Never" (1935) and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) are still within the collection, as well as film-screening programs for Cornell's collection of films.

Writing and design projects document Cornell's work authoring articles and designing issues of specialty dance magazine "Dance Index," and his layouts for popular magazines like "Good Housekeeping," "House and Garden," and "Mademoiselle." Other writing projects include brochures dedicated to opera singers Maria Malibran and Giulia Grisi, "Maria" and "Bel Canto Pet." Materials used for these brochures, such as copper photo engraving plates, are also found. Design work includes a series of Christmas cards created with The Museum of Modern Art as well as traced patterns ("textile tracings") and design clippings from Cornell's time working as a "textile designer" for Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio.

Cornell acquired troves of source material from bookstalls, antique stores, sporting good and department stores, hardware stores, and magazine and record shops. He kept boxes and files of material on admired individuals, such as actresses, artists, dancers, and singers, as well as on art projects or thematic "explorations." Files are on general topics such as American history, scientific phenomena, animals, plants, and humankind, as well as on series of artworks, such as "Castles," "Homage to the Romantic Ballet," and "Medici Slot Machines." Focused "exploration" projects include "Celestial Theatre," "Colombier," "GC 44," and "Switzerland," among others. Materials include photographs, photostats, maps, book fragments, autographed letters, notes, collage clippings and cutouts, collected prints and engravings, box and collage fragments, and scattered artifacts.

Collected ephemera includes large amounts of blank postcards and greeting cards, stamps, collected bus and train tickets, food labels and packaging, decals, and other materials. Artifacts are three-dimensional collected objects and source objects, which include found objects from the streets, dried flowers, and pieces of nature gathered from walks around his neighborhood. Cornell may have gathered materials because they inspired a memory or nostalgic feeling, or because they fit with a bin of other similar objects to select from for an artwork in progress.

Photographs found within the collection are of Cornell at work and as a child with family. Also found are assorted personal and family photographs, photographs of Cornell's attic and garage storage, and photographs of his Utopia Parkway house. Photographs of artwork include few installation photographs, in addition to photographs of Cornell's boxes and collages. Collected photographic materials include vintage photographs, such as tintypes, a cyanotype, stereoscopic glass slides, albumen prints, cabinet cards, and cartes-de-visite. Cornell also collected cased photographs, such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and one opalotype. Negatives and photostats were often produced from various prints and even other photographs and used in Cornell's boxes and collages. Images are of men and women, actors, authors, dancers, performers, well-known men and women, royalty, places, and artwork. Photographs of note include those by Hans Namuth of Willem and Lisa de Kooning and of Edward Hopper's bedroom; photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson; a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron; photographs by Brassai; and a photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz from "Camerawork."

Also found in the collection are works of art by others, including a sketch by Pavel Tchelitchew, as well as artwork by Cornell, such as unfinished collages, Rorschach drawings or ink blots, and childhood artwork. Printed material includes assorted bulletins, flyers, exhibition materials for other artists, journals, and sent printed membership and charity materials. Magazines, including "View," are also included, and often have annotations by Cornell or a note to "cut" or "review" with page numbers. A large amount of magazine and newspaper clippings are in the collection, sometimes collected with a group of like material by Cornell, and at other times simply gathered in heaps. Occasional annotations are also found on the clippings.

Cornell's personal library and book collection includes over 2500 titles, ranging from fiction, poetry, and cinema, to history, science, and travel. Notable among the titles are "Baedeker's" travel guides that Cornell often sourced for his "Hotel" box series, as well as an influential publication by Max Ernst, "La Femme 100 têtes," which includes a typed letter and exhibition flyer tucked within. Books often have annotations, some fairly extensive, by Cornell, and assorted collected items, notes, and correspondence tucked between pages. Pages were often cut by Cornell, either to make photostats and use in a box, or to file with other thematic "explorations." A wide range of authors and topics provide insight into Cornell's interests and to ideas behind artwork and diary notes. Cornell's collection of record albums includes over 145 records. These contain inserted notes and clippings and are often referenced in diary notes Cornell made, noting a recent album or song listened to while at work in his studio.

The papers of Cornell's mother, Helen Storms Cornell, and his brother, Robert Cornell, are also included in the collection. Both lived with Cornell his whole life, spending the most time with him at their home at 3708 Utopia Parkway. Financial materials document shared responsibilities for billing, utilities, household fixes and chores, and expenditures, and Helen kept detailed financial records in a series of ledgers. Robert notes when he borrowed money from Cornell, or when he means to pay Cornell back for the purchase of a typewriter. Activities documented in diaries also occasionally cross paths with Cornell, noting his visitors or an exchange of letters continued after introductions through Cornell. Personal activities, such as Robert's interest in his train collection and his drawing projects and cartoon series, are also documented.

Arrangement:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection is arranged into 15 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1972 (Boxes 1, 98, OV118; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1813, 1934-circa 1973 (Boxes 1-8, 86; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notes, 1940-1976 (Boxes 8-10, 98-99, 135, OV108, OV119; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business and Estate Records, 1950-1978 (Boxes 10-14; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1932-1973 (Box 14; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Film Projects and Collected Film Materials, circa 1924-1972 (Boxes 14-16, 100, 133; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 7: Writing and Design Projects, circa 1910s, 1936-1962 (Boxes 16-18, 86, 100, 131-132, OV109-OV111, OV120-OV122; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Source Material, 1750-circa 1911, 1926-1972 (Boxes 19-49, 86-92, 96, 100-105, 126-130, 132-137, OV112-OV115, OV125; 42.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, 1768, circa 1839-1972 (Boxes 49-52; 3.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1800s-1972 (Boxes 52-56, 80-86, 93, 106, 128, 133, OV116, OV123-OV124; 7.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Artwork, circa 1810-1972 (Boxes 56-57, 107, OV117; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 12: Printed Material, 1855-1972 (Boxes 57-76, 94-96, 107; 16 linear feet)

Series 13: Book Collection and Personal Library, 1722-1980 (99.8 linear feet)

Series 14: Record Album Collection, circa 1925-1974 (3.2 linear feet)

Series 15: Cornell Family Papers, 1910-1980 (Boxes 77-79, 97, 107; 3.2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was a self-taught assemblage and collage artist, and filmmaker, active in New York City. He was born in Nyack, New York on December 24, 1903, and died of heart failure at his home in Queens, New York on December 29, 1972. The oldest of four children, he was born Joseph I. Cornell to his mother, Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), and his father, Joseph I. Cornell (1875-1917). Cornell had two younger sisters, Elizabeth ("Betty") Cornell Benton (1905-2000) and Helen ("Sissy") Cornell Jagger (1906-2001), as well as one brother, Robert Cornell (1910-1965), who had cerebral palsy.

Cornell attended the Phillips Academy, a preparatory boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, beginning shortly after his father's death in 1917. He attended for four years but did not receive a diploma, and soon began work as a textile salesman for the William Whitman Company in Manhattan. His work took him, by foot, through the city, visiting secondhand bookshops on Fourth Avenue, browsing music stores and magazine shops, and catching early shows at the Metropolitan Opera House. He would occasionally wait outside the stage doors for favorite singers and dancers to emerge, requesting signatures on photographs or bits of costumes.

Around 1926, Cornell joined the Christian Science Church, joined by his brother Robert shortly thereafter, and both continued to be lifelong members. Cornell kept a number of books in his personal library on Christian Science teachings and regularly subscribed to "The Christian Science Monitor."

After living in several rental houses in Bayside, New York, Cornell's mother purchased a house for the family in 1929 in Flushing, Queens. Cornell, along with his mother and brother, would live at 3708 Utopia Parkway, for the rest of their lives. His two sisters soon married and moved away, eventually settling in Westhampton, Long Island and in the poultry-farming business.

With no formal art training to speak of, Cornell's first work was a Max Ernst-inspired collage, "Untitled (Schooner)," created in 1931. He was especially inspired by Ernst's collage novel, "La Femme 100 têtes," published in 1929. French artist Odilon Redon was also among the few artists Cornell named as an influence on his art. His first sculptural works were small, cardboard pill boxes with bits of ephemera, costume adornments, and nature hidden inside. Cornell also created a series of glass bell jar works, placing small trinkets and Victorian-era-like compositions within. It was these early collages and bell jar works that were included in Cornell's debut exhibition, "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932), a group show at the Julien Levy Gallery. Cornell designed the announcement for the show and exhibited alongside Max Ernst, Man Ray, Pierre Roy, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Eugène Atget, George Platt Lynes, Jean Cocteau, and Salvador Dalí. Months later, Cornell was invited to have his first solo show, "Objects by Joseph Cornell: Minutiae, Glass Bells, Shadow Boxes, Coups d'Oeil, Jouets Surréalistes" (November 26-December 30, 1932), also at the Julien Levy Gallery.

In 1932, after eleven years of work, Cornell was laid off from the William Whitman Company due to the Great Depression. Soon after, he took on more responsibility in the church, working part-time as an attendant in the Christian Science Reading Room in Great Neck, New York. Beginning in 1933, he taught Sunday school classes for three years and in 1935, became the Sunday school librarian. However, his religious activities and artistic ventures continued to remain separate.

In the early 1930s, Cornell progressed from movie lover to filmmaker. When Julien Levy began his New York Film Society in 1933, holding screenings of various experimental films in the gallery, Cornell began buying and collecting films and film stills in earnest. He set up a 16-millimeter projector in his home to screen favorites, such as those by Georges Méliès, D.W. Griffith, and Louis Feuillade. His collection quickly grew to over 2,500 film stills and several hundred films, and included silent era films, such as nature documentaries, goofy newsreels, travelogues, early cartoons, and slapstick comedies, as well as several feature films. In 1933, Cornell wrote a screenplay, or "scenario," entitled "Monsieur Phot." Between 1935 and 1937, Cornell also occasionally created publicity photomontages for Universal and Columbia studios. Of the nearly thirty films Cornell created, periods of activity can generally be separated into two areas: collage films of the late 1930s, consisting of combined elements from films in his own collection, and films he directed in the 1950s, which were collaborations with other filmmakers set in New York City. "Rose Hobart," Cornell's most celebrated collage film, was created and shown in the Julien Levy Gallery in 1936 and includes clipped footage from "East of Borneo." Later films were directed and filmed with cinematographers Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, and Larry Jordan.

In 1934, Cornell began a job at the Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio as a "textile designer," a job he held for six years. Continuing to work at his kitchen table in the evenings, Cornell completed his first assemblage box construction, "Untitled (Soap Bubble Set)," in 1936. It was first exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art's show, "Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism" (December 9, 1936-January 17, 1937). This work was also the first to be acquired by a museum, purchased for $60.00 by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Massachusetts in 1938. Cornell's European debut was also in 1938, as one of three Americans represented in the "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme" (January 17-Febuary 24, 1938) at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, alongside Man Ray and Anne Clark.

At the end of 1939, Cornell began corresponding with poet Charles Henri Ford, founder of avant-garde magazine "View," Pavel Tchelitchew, and Parker Tyler. After his "Soap Bubble Sets," this period saw the development of Cornell's homages to singers and actresses, including "Untitled (Fortune-Telling Parrot for Carmen Miranda)," the destroyed "Garbo (Greta Garbo in the Legendary Film 'The Crystal Mask,' c. 1845)," and "Dressing Room for Gilles." He also began using photostats of art reproduction prints, as with the print of Jean Antoine-Watteau's painting, "Pierrot" (circa 1719), used in his "Gilles" box.

In the 1940s, the Romantic ballet emerged as Cornell's new topic of interest. Through his friend Pavel Tchelitchew, Cornell was introduced to the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet founders, Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. Cornell collected dance memorabilia and had a great love of the Romantic ballet. His favorite dancers were primarily ballerinas of the nineteenth century, including Fanny Cerrito, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, Lucille Grahn, and Carlotta Grisi. Cornell's "Homage to the Romantic Ballet" works largely took the shape of jewel-box style wooden boxes with glass overlays and included bits of velvet, tulle, sequins, crystals, and chiffon, occasionally collected from dancers themselves. His most well-known work of this series is "Taglioni's Jewel Casket" (1940). Cornell also admired several living ballet dancers, including Tamara Toumanova, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Allegra Kent, who would all make their way into Cornell's box works and/or collages. Collecting for the "exploration," "Portrait of Ondine," Cornell's cased portfolio dedication to Fanny Cerrito and her role in the ballet "Ondine," began in the 1940s, though not completed until around 1960.

In late 1940, Cornell quit his job at Traphagen to concentrate on freelance commercial magazine design and editorial work during the day and his artwork at night. That same year, Charles Henri Ford started "View" magazine to promote Surrealists and Neo-Romantics in New York City and often asked Cornell to contribute. Published in the December 1941-January 1942 issue, one of his early contributions was a collage dedication to stage actress Hedy Lamarr: "Enchanted Wanderer: Excerpt from a Journey Album for Hedy Lamarr" (1941). Along with writing the accompanying text, he created a photomontage of Lamarr with her face overlaying the painted portrait of a Renaissance boy by Italian painter Giorgione. Peggy Guggenheim, at the advice of Marcel Duchamp, purchased multiple Cornell works prior to opening her new gallery, Art of This Century. Cornell also befriended Roberto Matta Echaurren, another Surrealist living in exile, who introduced him to Robert Motherwell.

After deciding to fully dedicate his time to his art in early 1940, he set up a studio in his basement. Complete with floor-to-ceiling wooden shelving, he kept his large collection of boxed source material stacked with handwritten labels in cardboard boxes. Themed folders of materials such as "Stamps" or "Maps" were kept in stacks and works in progress and finished works were stored in the basement, garage, and attic. Entering a renewed period of productivity, Cornell embarked on many new and important box projects in 1942. One of the first boxes created in his new basement studio, and the first of the "Penny Arcade" or "Medici Slot Machine" series, was "Medici Slot Machine" (1942), which includes a photostat of "Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa" (1557) by Sofonisba Anguissola. Another work from this time is the first of his "Castle" or "Palace" series, "Setting for a Fairy Tale" (1942), which uses a photostat of a French building from Jacques Androuet du Cerceau's book, "Les Plus excellents bastiments de France" (1576). "Untitled (Pharmacy)" (circa 1942) was the first of his "Pharmacy" series and included twenty-two apothecary jars. Cornell tended to work in series and created thirteen "Palace" boxes between 1942 and 1951, and ultimately created six "Pharmacy" works.

In 1943, Cornell began working at an electronics company, the Allied Control Company, Inc., to do his part to contribute to the defense effort during the war. He also sent correspondence and care packages to displaced Europeans, who listed their needs in "The Christian Science Monitor." Influenced by World War II, one of his strongest works to emerge in 1943 was "Habitat Group for a Shooting Gallery." Another notable work to come out of this period, "The Crystal Cage (Portrait of Berenice)," was an excerpt from one of his album "explorations" that was published in the January 1943 issue of "View."

Cornell left his job at Allied Control in 1944, but soon began working at the Garden Centre in Flushing, owned by a fellow Christian Scientist. Cornell was often nostalgic for this time in his life, devoting an entire "exploration" of material fondly remembered as "GC 44." He rode a bicycle to work and enjoyed collecting trips gathering dried grasses, driftwood, shells, and other relics of nature on the same bicycle as he rode through the streets of Queens. During this time, he continued to tend to his projects for "Dance Index," a magazine founded in 1942 by Lincoln Kirstein, but taken over by Donald Windham in 1944. Cornell designed several covers for the magazine and was given control of the entire summer 1944 issue, which he devoted to the Romantic ballet. He also devoted a special 1945 issue to Hans Christian Andersen, making great use of the New York Public Library Picture Collection.

Throughout the 1940s, Cornell continued to support himself with commercial design work for magazines like "Vogue," "Good Housekeeping," "Harper's Bazaar," "Town & Country," and "Mademoiselle." In 1946, after thirteen years at the Julien Levy Gallery, he joined the Hugo Gallery. In December 1946, Cornell's solo exhibition, "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell," celebrated his favorite movie stars, singers, and ballet dancers, and included his work created for the show, "Untitled (Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall)." Cornell's "Greta Garbo" box, as well as "Souvenir for Singleton," an homage to Jennifer Jones and her role in the film "Love Letters," were also included in the show. In late 1948, his West Coast debut was in the exhibition, "Objects by Joseph Cornell," held at the Copley Gallery. The end of the 1940s saw the final issue of "View" magazine in 1947, the closure of the Julien Levy Gallery in April 1949, and Cornell's departure from the Hugo Gallery after his last show in November 1949.

In late 1949, Cornell joined the Charles Egan Gallery, known primarily for showing Abstract Expressionists. At this time, Cornell was working on a new series of boxes known as his "Aviary" works, most of which include a white-painted box with cutouts of birds mounted on wood. Though he had worked on bird-related boxes before, including an "Owl" series in the mid-1940s, his "Fortune Telling Parrot" (1939), and "Object 1941" (1941), these newer works were stripped of French elements and left "clean and abstract" by design. His first show at the Egan Gallery, "Aviary by Joseph Cornell" (December 7, 1949-January 7, 1950), included twenty-six "Aviary" works, nearly all created in 1949. Donald Windham agreed to write the foreword for the exhibition catalog, a single folded sheet, and Cornell gave him one of the boxes in the show, "Cockatoo: Keepsake Parakeet," in appreciation. Through the Egan Gallery, Cornell became friends with a new group of artists, including Franz Kline, Jack Tworkov, and Willem de Kooning. Cornell also held two screenings of a selection of his collected films at Subjects of the Artist, an art school founded by Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, David Hare, and William Baziotes.

In 1950, Cornell's second show at the Egan Gallery, "Night Songs and Other New Work" (December 1, 1950-January 13, 1951), introduced his new "Observatory" series. These works are largely defined by stark, whitewashed spaces with astronomical charts and constellations replacing colorful birds. The Museum of Modern Art purchased its first Cornell work from this show in early 1951, "Central Park Carrousel, in Memoriam" (1950).

For three months in 1951, Cornell was beset by various ailments and had trouble finding the energy to create new work. He worried more for his aging mother and the health of his brother. After a monthlong vacation with his sisters in Westhampton, he returned with renewed interest in Emily Dickinson's poetry. His whitewashed boxes took on a new form in his newest "Dovecote" series, using grids and circular cutouts. The works then transformed into homages to Dickinson, notably "Toward the Blue Peninsula: For Emily Dickinson" (circa 1953), and then to his "Hotel" series. Cornell's "Hotel" boxes include photostats of vintage European ads for hotels collected from vintage travel guides, especially "Baedeker's," adhered to the back walls of the boxes. Another new series of work, his "Juan Gris" series, was dedicated to Cubist artist Juan Gris. Between 1953 and the mid-1960s, Cornell created at least fifteen "Juan Gris" boxes, which often include a cutout of a white cockatoo in a Cubist-collage habitat. Cornell's third and last show at Egan Gallery, "Night Voyage" (February 10-March 28, 1953), included some of these newest works. After leaving Egan Gallery, his work was introduced to Chicago collectors in a solo show at the Frumkin Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: 10 Years of His Art" (April 10-May 7, 1953), which included nearly thirty pieces. Cornell's first museum retrospective was this same show held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (July 12-August 30, 1953).

As New York City continued to change, Cornell grew more nostalgic for the city he had explored since the 1920s. The impending closure of the Third Avenue El train prompted him to dream up a film project to capture its last days, resulting in "Gnir Rednow," a reworking of Stan Brakhage's 1955, "Wonder Ring." During this time, Cornell joined the Stable Gallery, run by Eleanor Ward, interacting often with Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Joan Mitchell, remaining there until the end of the 1950s. His astronomy-themed exhibition, "Winter Night Skies" (December 12, 1955-January 13, 1956), included his "Night Skies" series of work with celestial chart fragments, Greek mythological figures, and paint-splattered "windows" representative of star-filled night skies. In 1956, he became aware of ballerina Allegra Kent, and began a series of work devoted to her, the first of which was "Via Parmigianino (Villa Allegra)" (1956), which included a photostat of a painting by Parmigianino, "The Madonna of the Long Neck" (circa 1540). In late 1957, after two years, Cornell had his last show at Stable Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: Selected Works" (December 2-31, 1957), consisting of a series of "Sand Fountain" boxes and "Space Object" or "Celestial Navigation" works. The "Sand Fountain" boxes included different colors of sand meant to flow within, often from the tops into cordial glasses. His "Celestial Navigations" included galaxy-like compositions set within the boxes, with rolling, painted cork balls, metal rings, and constellation charts, sometimes hovering over cordial glasses or clay pipes. This last Stable Gallery show earned him his first published profile, written by Howard Griffin for the December 1957 issue of "Art News." Also in 1957, he won the Kohnstamm Prize for Construction at the Art Institute of Chicago's 62rd Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture.

Towards the end of the 1950s, Cornell spent less time creating new bodies of work, and focused more on revisiting previous series and reviewing piles of collected source material. In 1959, Cornell returned to making collages, frequently sourcing popular magazines. In December 1959, Cornell was awarded $1,500 for his "Orion" collage, entered in the Art Institute of Chicago's "63rd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture." Also in December, he was offered a show at Bennington College in Vermont, which he titled, "Bonitas Solstitialis: Selected Works by Joseph Cornell and an exploration of the Colombier" (November 20-December 15, 1959). The show included one of his newest "explorations" of collected material related to "colombier," or pigeon houses.

By 1962, Cornell was working diligently on new collages, using Masonite boards and colorful magazine clippings. He also began creating collages using nude images interspersed with constellation clippings or hazy blue dyes. As in previous decades and art movements, Cornell became acquainted with new artists, spending less time in the city and more time hosting visitors at his Utopia Parkway home. Visitors included artists Walter De Maria, Robert Whitman, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Robert Indiana. Tony Curtis also became a frequent visitor and friend, introduced by Richard Feigen in 1964. The early 1960s was also the first time Cornell put out an advertisement for assistants in the "Long Island Star-Journal," employing a number of young men and women who helped organize clippings and run errands. Cornell also met Joyce Hunter, a young runaway waitress at a city coffee shop, who would occupy his thoughts and diary notes for the next several years. When she was murdered at the end of 1964, Cornell paid for her funeral. He went on to make several "Penny Arcade" collages in memoriam to her, including, "Penny Arcade (re-autumnal)" (1964).

In 1964, Cornell began friendships with several women including artist Carolee Schneeman, who was his first assistant in the early 1960s. He also met artist Yayoi Kusama through art dealer Gertrude Stein. After becoming friends, she visited him often and they exchanged letters and notes. As he did with other artist friends, Cornell supported her by purchasing several of her early watercolor paintings, and they stayed connected until his death in 1972.

Cornell's life greatly changed in 1965 with the death of his brother, Robert. By this time, his mother lived with his sister in Long Island, and Cornell was alone in the Utopia Parkway house for the first time. He exchanged frequent letters and phone calls with his mother and devoted much time to thinking about Robert and Joyce, often aligning them in his diary notations. Cornell also created a series of collages dedicated to his brother's memory, incorporating photostats of Robert's hundreds of drawings into Cornell's work, as with the later collage, "The Heart on the Sleeve" (1972). Cornell's "Time Transfixed" series of collages were also dedications to Robert's memory, referencing Magritte and Robert's love of trains. He mounted an exhibition, "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" (January 4-29, 1966), at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, where he showed Robert's artwork alongside his newly created collage dedications.

After Robert's death, Cornell relied more heavily on assistants, going through many part-time "helpers." In October 1966, Cornell's mother died, adding her to his constant thoughts and diaries. Though he was still grieving, he was given two major retrospectives in 1967. The first was at the Pasadena Art Museum, put on by James Demetrion and Walter Hopps, "An Exhibiton of Works by Joseph Cornell" (January 9-February 11, 1967). The second retrospective was at the Guggenheim Museum just three months later, "Joseph Cornell" (May 4-June 35, 1967), organized by Diane Waldman. After these shows, he was highlighted in the December 15, 1967 issue of "Life" in the article, "The Enigmatic Bachelor of Utopia Parkway."

In 1968, Cornell was given an "award of merit," which included a medal and $1,000, by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also given a medal and $1,000 by the Brandeis University Creative Arts Awards in the painting category, along with an exhibition. Days later, "The New York Times" announced Cornell the winner, along with Donald Judd, of India's first Triennale of Contemporary World Art. The Brandeis exhibition, "Boxes and Collages by Joseph Cornell" (May 20-June 23, 1968), was organized by William Seitz and concentrated on Cornell's more recent 1960s collages. Cornell was also included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's hundredth anniversary show, "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940 to 1970" (October 18, 1969-February 1, 1970), where twenty-two of Cornell's boxes were shown in their own gallery. At the end of 1970, Cornell was given a solo show at the Metropolitan, "Collages by Joseph Cornell" (December 10, 1970-January 24, 1971), which included forty-five of his newest collages.

Now preferring to stay closer to his home in Flushing, Cornell was more interested in sharing his art with young adults and children, than an adult audience. He hosted a group of high school students, sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's education department, at his home in conjunction with his collage show (1970-1971). He also showed his work in the art department of Queens College of the City University of New York. Cornell still hosted visitors on occasion, having Yoko Ono and John Lennon at his home at least once. Leila Hadley, Betsy von Furstenberg, and Anne Jackson also made frequent visits. With his deteriorating health, Cornell worried about what would happen to his work after his death and hired lawyer Harry Torczyner to help him plan his estate and get his affairs in order.

In 1972, Cornell had a show at the Cooper Union, a college in New York, specifically for children. He displayed his boxes and collages at child-height and had cherry soda and brownies at the opening reception on February 10. He then held a show at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, also for children: "Children's Preview of the Exhibition of Joseph Cornell – Collages and Boxes (April 18-June 17, 1972). In the winter of 1972, at the request of the Phoenix House drug treatment and prevention program, Cornell contributed to a charity project compiling limited-edition lithographic prints for a portfolio, which included artists like David Hockney, James Rosenquist, and Ellsworth Kelly.

On December 29, 1972, a week after turning sixty-nine, Cornell died of heart failure at his home. He was cremated and interred near the graves of his mother, father, and brother, overlooking the Hudson River in Nyack, New York.

Works Cited:

1. Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe. "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination." New Haven, Connecticut and London: Yale University Press, 2007. Exhibition Catalog.

2. McShine, Kynaston. "Joseph Cornell." New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980.

3. San Francisco Cinematheque and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "Joseph Cornell: Films." 2007. Exhibition Program. (Presented in conjunction with SFMOMA's exhibition of "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination").

4. Schaffner, Ingrid and Lisa Jacobs. "Julien Levy: Portrait of an Art Gallery." Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The MIT Press, 1998.

5. Solomon, Deborah. "Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell." New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.

Separated Materials:

The Smithsonian Archives of American Art houses the Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972.

Provenance:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection was donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum by Joseph Cornell's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth Cornell Benton and John A. Benton, in 1978, which prompted the creation of the Joseph Cornell Study Center. Additional materials were donated in installments by the artist's estate, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, from 1985 to 1997. Elizabeth and John A. Benton originally donated 66 linear feet of three-dimensional and non-textual source material and 50 linear feet of books to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which were subsequently transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Joseph Cornell Study Center in 1994 and 1995.

Restrictions:

Access to the collection requires an advanced appointment. Contact collection staff at least two weeks prior to preferred date, at AmericanArtCornellStudy@si.edu.

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, Series 13: Personal Library and Book Collection, and Series 14: Record Album Collection, are still undergoing processing and preservation and may not be available for research use. Record albums are unavailable for playback. Contact collection staff for full lists of publications and record albums.

Rights:

Unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Occupation:

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

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Assemblage (Art)  Search this

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

Found objects (Art)  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Celebrities  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Photographic photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1900-1950

Photographs -- 1860-1870 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver albumen -- Cartes-de-visite

Photographs -- Daguerreotypes -- 1840-1860

Citation:

Joseph Cornell Study Center collection, 1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972. Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was generously provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Identifier:

SAAM.JCSC.1

See more items in:

Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Research and Scholars Center

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ih7d97fc249-474d-41bf-953d-5305df1e4c06

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-saam-jcsc-1

Collection Collector:

Robinson, Franklin A., Jr., 1959- (actor)  Search this

Collection Creator:

Quinn, Terry (photographer)  Search this

Container:

Box 39, Folder 11

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1950

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Preservation of the 8mm films in this collection was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.

See more items in:

Robinson and Via Family Papers

Robinson and Via Family Papers / Series 2: Robinson Family / 2.6: Robinson, Franklin A. / 2.6.1: Correspondence, diaries, personal ephemera

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c69fd212-5fa6-426e-8f82-ac71a4266346

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0475-ref167

Physical Description:

ceramic (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 19 cm x 13.5 cm; 7 15/32 in x 5 5/16 in

Object Name:

syrup jar

jar

Date made:

18th century

Subject:

Pharmacy  Search this

Related Publication:

Urdang, George and Ferdinand William Nitardy. The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy: A Catalogue of the Collection

Credit Line:

Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

ID Number:

1991.0664.0596

Accession number:

1991.0664

Catalog number:

M-05808

1991.0664.0596

Collector/donor number:

SAP 520

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Health & Medicine

European Apothecary

Art

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-5f13-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_993659

Physical Description:

bronze (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 16 1/2 in x 14 in x 2 1/4 in; 41.91 cm x 35.56 cm x 5.715 cm

Object Name:

plaque

Date made:

1987

ID Number:

2017.0159.01

Catalog number:

2017.0159.01

Accession number:

2017.0159

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Biological Sciences

Exhibition:

Giving in America

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-a6e9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1848105

Maker:

Heller & Brightly  Search this

Measurements:

overall (without leveling base): 11 1/2 in; 29.21 cm

horizontal circle: 7 1/2 in; 19.05 cm

magnetic compass: 5 1/4 in; 13.335 cm

telescope: 11 1/2 in; 29.21 cm

hanging level: 6 1/4 in; 15.875 cm

overall in case: 13 1/4 in x 9 in x 13 5/8 in; 33.655 cm x 22.86 cm x 34.6075 cm

Object Name:

transit

Place made:

United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Related Publication:

Heller & Brightly. Remarks on Surveying Instruments

Credit Line:

University of Pittsburgh

ID Number:

PH.334889

Catalog number:

334889

Accession number:

315134

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences

Surveying and Geodesy

Measuring & Mapping

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-62e1-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_745933

Creator:

Holmes, William Henry 1846-1933  Search this

Author:

Hayden, F. V (Ferdinand Vandeveer) 1829-1887  Search this

Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.)  Search this

Subject:

Holmes, William Henry 1846-1933  Search this

Physical description:

1 volume illustrations, clippings, photographs, letters. 27 cm

Type:

Electronic resources

Place:

Yellowstone National Park

Date:

1870

1870-1932

Topic:

Geology  Search this

Call number:

CT275.H75 A1 v. 3

CT275.H75 A1

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1063467

Physical Description:

polychrome (overall surface decoration color name)

ceramic, earthenware, refined (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 4 5/16 in x 10 5/8 in; 10.9855 cm x 26.9875 cm

Object Name:

Cake Stand

stand, cake

Place made:

United States: New York

Date made:

1876

About 1876

Credit Line:

Marcus Benjamin Collection

ID Number:

CE.379684

Catalog number:

379684

Accession number:

150313

See more items in:

Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-6d43-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_596459

Provenance:

Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton  Search this

Former owner:

Minge family  Search this

Orgain, Martha A.  Search this

Douthat, Fielding Louis  Search this

Douthat, Mary Willis Marshall  Search this

Garnett, Alexander Yelverton Peyton  Search this

Bahnsen, Henry Lawrence  Search this

Moon, Louise  Search this

Moon, John  Search this

Gray, Sarah Moon  Search this

Owner:

Gray, Lawrence Lewis  Search this

Gardener:

Edwards, Norman  Search this

Edwards, Wesley  Search this

Landscape architect:

Callaway, Chip  Search this

Landscape designer:

Wharton, Abbie  Search this

Thompson, Sue  Search this

Tosh, Terry  Search this

Arborist:

Girardi, Peter  Search this

Landscaping:

Carter, Ike  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

39 Digital images (color, JPEG file.)

1 Slides (photographs) (color, slide., 35 mm.)

Type:

Archival materials

Digital images

Slides (photographs)

Place:

United States of America -- Virginia -- Charles City County -- Charles City

Upper Weyanoke (Charles City, Virginia)

Scope and Contents:

2 folders, 39 digital images (2019), and 1 35mm slide (reproduction of a 1931 plan).

Varying Form:

Weyanoke

General:

That the 360-foot long garden path was cultivated in the mid-19th century when the two-story Greek Revival brick house was built is undisputed. Less certain is whether there was an earlier version of the garden in colonial times when Upper Weyanoke was settled as a James River plantation. Transport to this location during the colonial period would have been via the river and the owners would have provided a gracious entry. Moreover, there are trees along the garden path that predate 1850, even a live oak not usually grown in this climate. Axial lines and symmetry were features of colonial gardens, and the walk leads directly from the living quarters to the river. The 19th century Colonial Revival garden path may well have been on the site of the original 17th and garden path overlooking terraces. There was a 17th century brick garrison built on the property to defend against native attacks; the second existing house, a 1-1/2 story brick cottage with later additions cited in official documents, was originally built in the first quarter of the 19th century.

Since 2010 the current owners have devoted eight years to restoring and replanting the garden path, a linear grass walkway bordered on each side by southern and saucer magnolia, fig, boxwood, crape myrtle, camellia, vitex, spirea and huge sweet olive that have grown beyond their usual dimensions. After clearing dead vegetation and weeds from the borders they planted 1500 heirloom narcissus, dug a new well and installed a sprinkler system. In 2011 Hurricane Irene toppled 30 trees in this garden and stalled the restoration. With more sunshine reaching the borders previously hidden perennials started blooming again, including peonies, iris, red spider lilies and narcissus. Hundreds of bulbs, shrubs and trees were added to the garden path, especially native varieties favored by pollinators. Weather conditions include strong winds off the James River so non-symmetrical drifts of certain plants have been more successful than trying to sustain matching borders.

The 53-acre property has been inhabited nearly continuously since the 1600's and the word Weyanoke translates to Land of Sassafras in the native language. The sassafras growing at the river end of the garden path is more than 60 feet tall, now at cliff's end due to erosion. The plantation was commandeered by Union troops under Generals Grant and Sheridan during the Civil War; ornamental gardens including terraces would have been trampled. Also, author Mary Johnston used Upper Weyanoke as the setting for To Have and To Hold written in 1900. The property was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Persons associated with the garden include: the Minge family (former owners, mid-1700's-1840's); Martha A. Orgain (former owner, c. 1842-1854); Fielding Lewis Douthat and Mary Willis Marshall Douthat and family (former owners, 1854-1930's); Dr. and Mrs. Alexander Yelverton Peyton Garnett (former owners, 1930's-1942); Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lawrence Bahnsen (former owners, 1942-1974); Mrs. Louise Moon (former owner, 1974-1997); Mr. and Mrs. John Moon and Sarah Moon Gray (former owners, 1997-2010); Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Lewis Gray (owners, 2010- ); Norman Edwards and Wesley Edwards (gardeners, 2010- ); Chip Callaway (landscape architect, 2010-2014); Abbie Wharton, Sue Thompson and Terry Tosh (landscape designers, 2011- ); Peter Girardi (arborist, 2010- ); Ike Carter (landscaping, 2010- ).

Additional images of Garden Path before and during restoration and after Hurricane Irene (2011); historic images from the Arthur A. and Sidney Shurcliff collections.

Related Materials:

See the Archives of American Gardens' Eleanor Weller Reade Collection and the Hollerith Family Slide Collection for additional images. Measured drawing (1931) by Arthur Shurcliff located at the Colonial Wiliamsburg Foundation Library.

Related materials found at the Francis Loeb Library, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia state.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Gardens -- Virginia -- Charles City  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File VA234

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb699d81bd1-6870-4854-a6f3-71a53e2c0a4e

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref32528

Creator:

Rutledge, Anna Wells  Search this

Subject:

Clarke, Thomas B. (Thomas Benedict)  Search this

Gilmor, Robert  Search this

Powers, Hiram  Search this

Citation:

Anna Wells Rutledge papers, 1922-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Research and writing about art  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)8388

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210562

AAA_collcode_rutlanna

Theme:

Research and writing about art

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210562

Creator:

Pizitz, Silvia  Search this

Citation:

Silvia Pizitz papers, 1927-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Women  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13467

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)261386

AAA_collcode_pizisilv

Theme:

Women

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_261386

Designer:

Eng, Miu, 1955-  Search this

Extent:

2.1 Linear feet (consisting of 1 oversized box)

Culture:

Chinese Americans  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Newsletters

Posters

Photographs

Place:

Chinatown (Washington, D.C.)

Date:

1973-1983

Summary:

The Miu Eng Eastern Wind Collection, which dates from 1973-1983 and measures 2.1 linear feet, speaks to Ms. Eng's role as an activist and artist in Washington D.C.'s early Asian American movement. The collection includes newsletters, photographs, and booklets documenting Ms. Eng's activities with Eastern Wind, a pan-Asian American youth organization formed in 1973 that sought to document and address Asian American issues in the D.C. area. The collection also includes posters designed by Ms. Eng for several D.C. Asian American community programs of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Scope and Contents:

Biographical files contain a 1977 award presented to Eng for her work on a large-scale mural entitled "Chinese in America: Past, Present, and Future" that was mounted at the corner of 7th and H Streets NW in Washington, DC.

Newsletters include four newsletters published by Eastern Wind, described as "the Asian American community newsletter of Washington, D.C." Highlights from the newsletters include updates on the status of Asian American Studies at University of Maryland, a history of D.C. Chinatown, and essay series on Asian Americans in the Women's Movement and the history of Asian American ethnic groups in Washington D.C. A separate booklet, "Washington, D.C.'s Chinese Community," was published in 1975 by Eastern Wind and contains archival and oral history research conducted as part of Eastern Wind's Chinatown History Project.

Photographs include three reproduced black-and-white photographs taken by Harry Chow depicting various stages of Eastern Wind's 1976 Chinatown mural project, and a 28:32 DVD slide show containing photographs taken by Chow, including daily scenes of D.C. Chinatown, the 1973 Chinese American Summer Festival, the design and production of the Chinatown mural, and covers of Eastern Wind's newsletter from 1973-1974.

Posters include posters designed by Miu Eng for D.C. Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, 1981-1983, as well as a 1979 poster Eng designed for WPFW-FM's radio show, "Gold Mountain."

Arrangement:

Miu Eng Eastern Wing Collection is arranged in 4 series.

Series 1: Biographical Files

Series 2: Newsletters

Series 3: Photographs

Series 4: Posters

Biographical / Historical:

Miu Eng (1955-present) is a Chinese American designer whose work helped document Asian American community activism in the Washington, D.C. area in the 1970s and 1980s. Born in 1955 in Hong Kong, Eng's family immigrated to the United States when Eng was 11 years old. They settled in Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown on New York Avenue NW, where her grandfather had been working as a restaurant chef.

While in high school, Eng became involved in Eastern Wind, a pioneering group of Asian American college students who had come together in August of 1973 with the goal of addressing and raising awareness about Asian American issues in the D.C. area. The group, part of a national movement of growing pan-Asian American political awareness, published a newsletter (also called Eastern Wind) through the mid-1970s, for which Eng designed covers and provided illustrations. With funding from the DC Bicentennial Commission and sponsorship by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Eastern Wind designed and mounted a 32-foot wide mural celebrating the past, present, and future of Chinese America. Eng served as a key designer, sketching and orchestrating the painting of the mural, which would be installed on the exterior of the Jade Palace Restaurant on H Street and 7th Streets NW.

After graduating from George Washington University with a B.A. in graphic design and economics, Eng continued to provide design work for various local Asian-American community efforts, including designing posters for the WPFW Asian American radio show "Gold Mountain," D.C. and for the city's observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week.

Provenance:

Donated by Miu Eng in 2017.

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:

Activism  Search this

Asian Americans  Search this

Asian American women artists  Search this

Student movements  Search this

Civil rights  Search this

Genre/Form:

Newsletters

Posters

Photographs

Citation:

Miu Eng Eastern Wind collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Miu Eng.

Identifier:

ACMA.06-102

See more items in:

Miu Eng Eastern Wind Collection

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7a37b74d3-2335-4883-8e1c-b3ccbbbeb52a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-acma-06-102

Creator:

Pizitz, Silvia  Search this

Extent:

1 Linear foot

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1927-1989

Summary:

The papers of New York art collector Silvia Pizitz (1905-1991) date from 1927 to 1989 and measure 1.0 linear feet. Found are artist files, biographical material, correspondence, photographs and slides, and printed material. Of note are records concerning the donation of Pizitz's art collection and material relating to Pizitz's family department store in Birmingham, Alabama.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York art collector Silvia Pizitz (1905-1991) date from 1927 to 1989 and measure 1.0 linear feet. Found are artist files, biographical material, correspondence, photographs and slides, and printed material. Of note are records concerning the donation of Pizitz's art collection and material relating to Pizitz's family department store in Birmingham, Alabama.

Arrangement:

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

Biographical / Historical:

Art collector Silvia Pizitz (1905-1991) was active in New York City, New York. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Pizitz studied at the Grand Central School of Art and continued her appreciation of art by acquiring a large art collection. Later in life, she donated her collection to various institutions including Cornell University, New York University, and the University of Birmingham.

Provenance:

Donated 2006 by Raeford Liles, Pizitz's widower.

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.

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:

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

Citation:

Silvia Pizitz papers, 1927-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.pizisilv

See more items in:

Silvia Pizitz papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e1a5b4f8-eb14-4d3c-958b-7e8924cb9b84

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-pizisilv

Creator:

Rutledge, Anna Wells  Search this

Names:

Clarke, Thomas B. (Thomas Benedict), 1848-1931  Search this

Gilmor, Robert, 1774-1848  Search this

Powers, Hiram, 1805-1873  Search this

Extent:

1 Linear foot

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1922-1961

Summary:

The papers of art historian Anna Wells Rutledge measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1922 to 1961. The papers focus on Rutledge's research on artists and art collectors in the Southern United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the subjects are Thomas B. Clarke, Robert Gilmor, Hiram Powers, and others.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of art historian Anna Wells Rutledge measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1922 to 1961. The papers focus on Rutledge's research on artists and art collectors in the Southern United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the subjects are Thomas B. Clarke, Robert Gilmor, Hiram Powers, and others.

Arrangement:

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

Biographical / Historical:

Anna Wells Rutledge (1907-1966) was an art historian in Charleston, South Carolina. She wrote and published many works on early American artists and art collectors, focusing on the South.

Related Materials:

The South Carolina Historical Society holds the Anna Wells Rutledge papers, 1886-1990 (bulk 1940-1990) (404.00) measuring 31.0 linear feet.

Provenance:

Donated 1961 by Anna Wells Rutledge.

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.

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:

Art historians -- South Carolina -- Charleston  Search this

Citation:

Anna Wells Rutledge papers, 1922-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.rutlanna

See more items in:

Anna Wells Rutledge papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91841316c-7aa4-4ca1-b211-d6978c8e2537

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-rutlanna

Creator:

Bry, Edith, 1898-  Search this

Citation:

Edith Bry papers, 1914-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women printmakers  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Craft  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6690

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208815

AAA_collcode_bryeditp

Theme:

Women

Craft

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208815

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