Marx, Groucho (Julius Henry), 1890-1977 (comedian) Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Scope and Contents:
Arkin, Alan; Atkins, Irene (Mrs. Lenny); Baker, Russell; Barbi, Vincent (to Erin); Begelman, David (telegram); Berlin, Irving; Blackbeard, Bill, cartoonist; Bobbs-Merrill, publisher; Breecher, Irving, writer; Bruce, David, Ambassador to Great Britain; Cavett, Dick; Cukor, George; Desmond, Jodi; Dib, M.
Dutch Masters Cigar Co.; Dwan, Bob, director; Evans, Bergen; Farmer, Georgia; Feuer, Cy; Foley, James E., student at Indiana University; Friendly, Fred W.; Galpern, Prof- Lasar; Gardner, Margaret, public relations; Garner, Peggy Ann (telegram); Garson, Toby and Bill; Gleason, Jackie
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Reference copies of audiovisual materials must be used. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Groucho Marx Collection, 1911-1978, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
101 V-J Day Celebrations: Times Square, Washington, London, Moscow, Prime Minister Clement R. Atlee - August 14, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
101 Franklin Delano Roosevelt: An echo of his speech to thenation - December 9, 1941 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
101 Mayor Fiorello H LaGuardia of New York reads the comicstrips over the radio during the newspaper strike - Jul 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 Conflict between Russia and the West: H.V. Kaltenborn - 11/ 6/45, Elmer Davis - 2/3/45, Walter Winchell - 2/17/46 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 Winston Churchill delivers his "Iron Curtain" speech at Fulton, Missouri - March 5, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 "Operation Crossroads": In an experimental test, a new type of atom bomb is exploded near Bikini Atoll - June 30, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Bernard Baruch presents the proposal of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to the United Nations - June 14, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Andrei A. Gromyko answers the Baruch proposal for controlof atomic energy - June 19, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 International War Crimes Trial at Nuremberg, Germany / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Lord Justice Lawrence hears pleas of "Not Guilty" from thetop Nazi War Criminals - November 21, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 U.S.Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson - July 26, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Arthur Gaeth witnesses the hangings of the ten top Nazi War Leaders - October 16, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 Robert Trout reports on the 1946 congressional elections:the Republicans win control of Congress - November 5, 1946 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 David E. Lilienthal offers his credo of Democracy before a Congressional committee - February 4, 1947 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 "Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium: The Babe Responds to thetribute - April 27, 1947 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Secretary of State George C. Marshall introduces the"Marshall Plan" at Harvard University commencement - 6/5/47 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Howard Hughes, aircraft builder and motion picture produceris questioned by H. Ferguson, Senate War Sub-Comm. - 8/9/47 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain and the Duke of Edinburgh (Lt. Philip Mountbatten) are married in London - 11/20/47 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Prime Minister Jawaharlal of India announces theassassination of Mohandas K. Gandhi - January 30, 1948 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 Jan Masaryk in a United Nations Broadcast - Shortly beforehis death on March 10, 1948 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 Howard K. Smith reports on Italian elections - 4/20/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 Jewish State of Israel is born - Shortwave broadcast ofhymn "Hatikvah" from Tel Aviv - May 14, 1948 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians, testifies before the House Labor Comm. - 1/21/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 "Operations Vittles": The Berlin Airlift - Began 6/26/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia addresses the Third Congress ofthe Peoples Front - In Belgrade / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Y. Vishinsky repeatshis charges of "Warmongering" before the U.N. - 9/25/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 Mrs Franklin Delano Roosevelt rebukes the Russians beforethe U.N. in Paris before the General Assembly / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
203 Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss appear before the House Un-American Activitie Committee - August 25, 1948 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
204 GOP Convention: Clare Boothe Luce - 6/21/48, Nominationfor the presidency - 6/24/48, Gov. T.E. Dewey accepts - 6/24 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
204 Dem. Convention: Sen. A.W. Barkley - 7/12/48, Southern Democrats walk out - 7/14/48, Pres. Truman accepts - 7/14/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
204 The Progressive Party Convention, Philadelphia: "Friendly Henry Wallace" song, H.Wallace accepts - 7/24/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 1948 Campaign: President Truman "I work for the Government" Dewey at Hollywood-9/24/48, Truman at Pittsburg-10/23/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 1948 Campaign (continued): Dewey at Kansas City-10/14/48 Dewey at Chicago-10/26/48, Truman at New York City-10/23/48 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 1948 Campaign (continued): In Washington, prior to hisinauguration, Truman interprets H.V. Kaltenborn election eve / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
203 General Dwight D. Eisenhower reaffirms he will not seek apresidential nomination - May 1948 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
Local Numbers:
FW-ASCH-LP-3828
Columbia.4261
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York Columbia 1949
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for additional information.
101 Will Rodgers talks about America and the Depression 1932 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
101 Franklin D. Roosevelt assumes the Presidency on March 4th, 1933: "Nothing to Fear but Fear" / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
101 Senator Huey Long, the Louisiana King-Fish and his "Sharethe Wealth" program (Just prior to his assassination 9/8/35) / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
101 Duke of Windsor Abdicates for "the woman I love", 12/11/36 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 Fiorello H. LaGuardia wages war against the "Ward Heelers / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 Alfred Landon campaigns for the Presidency, 1936 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 "Rendezvous with Destiny" speech: FDR at Franklin Field Philadelphia, June 27, 1936 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 John L. Lewis castigates those who have deserted Labor (Labor Day, 1937) / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
102 Hindenburg Air Disaster, Lakehurst, N.J., May 6, 1937 (Herbert Morrison of WLS, Chicago, at the scene) / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 September 30, 1938, at Munich (William L. Shirer) / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returns from Munich andtells of his meeting with Hitler, September 27, 1938 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Adolf Hitler lashes out against Eduard Benes and the Sudetenland, September 26, 1938 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, Yankee Stadium, June 22, 1938 (Clem McCarthy of NBC describes the Knockout) / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
103 Iron-Man Lou Gehrig steps down after 2130 games of baseball July 4, 1939 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 Elmer Davis announces the invasion of Poland by Germany September 3, 1939 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 Three Views of U.S. Neutrality: Charles A. Lindbergh, Alfred E. Smith, Hugh Johnson / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 Nazi Blitzkrieg on the Continent; actual march of Storm Troopers, "Seig Heils", etc., Spring, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 FDR at Charlottesville, Virginia, "The Hand that Held the Dagger", June 10, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
104 Benito Mussolini's Declaration of War, June 10, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Premier Paul Reynaud pleads for U.S. Aide as Nazi's over-run France, June 10, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 French surrender at Compiegne (via German Short-wave Radio) June 22, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Neville Chamberlain resigns as Prime Minister, May 10, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Winston Churchill forms a Coalition Government; Excerptsfrom several of his early speeches, May and June 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
105 Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margret Rose speak toevacuated British children / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 Joseph W. Martin, Wilkie Notification Ceremony, Elwood, Indiana, August 17, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 Wendell Wilkie accepts Republican Nomination, Elwood Indiana, August 17, 1940 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 FDR campaigns for Third Term: "Martin, Barton, and Fish"speech, October 30, 1944 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 Winston Churchill reads "Ship of State" message deliveredto him from President Roosevelt by Wendell Wilkie / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 "Arsenal of Democracy", Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 15, 1941 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
201 New York Philharmonic broadcast interrupted for Pearl Harborannouncement (John Daly), December 7, 1941 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 U.S. Declaration of War; speaker Sam Rayburn introduces FDRwho asks Congress to declare a State of War 12/8/41 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 D-Day, June 6, 1944; Messages on the invasion by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Charles de Gaulle, King Haakon et al / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 Broadcast from invasion Flagship Ancon on D-Day by George Hicks of ABC, June 6, 1944 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 Marshall Joseph Stalin on the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution, November 7, 1941 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 FDR makes his fourth race for the Presidency ("Fala Speech") September 23, 1944 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 Thomas E. Dewey campaigns for the Presidency, September 7, 1944 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
202 FDR addresses Joint Session of Congress after his returnfrom Yalta, March 1, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 Announcement of President Roosevelt's death, April 12, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 Description Roosevelt funeral procession, Washington D.C, April 14, 1945 (Arthur Godfrey) / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 Harry S. Truman makes his First Appearance as Presidentbefore a Joint Session of Congress, Speaker Rayburn-4/16/45 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 President Truman announces German Surrender, May 8, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
205 Secretary of State Edward Stettinius opens San Francisco Conference of the United Nations, April 25, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
206 Chaplain William Downey, U.S. Army Air Forces, says a prayer at Tinian, before take-off of Enola Gay, August 6, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
206 President Truman tells of our race for Atomic Energy and ourplans for it, August 9, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
206 First Bulletin of Japanese Surrender (Robert Trout) August 14, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
206 General Douglas MacArthur accepts Japanese Surrender aboard Battleship Missouri, September 1, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
206 Epilogue: The thirteen years Battleship Missouri, September 1, 1945 / Edward R. Murrow, Fred W. Friendly.
Local Numbers:
RA-RAMS-LP-0266
Columbia.4095
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York Columbia
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for information.
The papers of social realist painter, photographer, illustrator, printmaker, and teacher Ben Shahn (1898-1969) measure 25.1 linear feet and date from 1879-1990, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1970. The bulk of the collection consists of over 14 linear feet of incoming letters from artists, writers, colleagues, publishers, art organizations, galleries, and universities and colleges. Also found are biographical materials, project and source files, printed material, artwork by Shahn and others, photographs taken of and by Shahn, interview transcripts, sound recordings of interviews and a motion picture film.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of social realist painter, photographer, illustrator, printmaker, and teacher Ben Shahn (1898-1969) measure 25.1 linear feet and date from 1879-1990, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1970. The bulk of the collection consists of over 14 linear feet of incoming letters from artists, writers, colleagues, publishers, art organizations, galleries, and universities and colleges. Also found are biographical materials, project and source files, printed material, artwork by Shahn and others, photographs taken of and by Shahn, interview transcripts, sound recordings of interviews and a motion picture film.
Biographical material and family records include a 1924 passport for Shahn and his first wife, Tillie, biographical sketches of Shahn, and award certificates received by him.
Letters are primarily written to Shahn from family members, artists, writers, colleagues, publishers, art organizations, galleries, and universities and colleges. Notable correspondents include Leonard Baskin, Alexander Calder, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Joseph Hirsch, Leo Lionni, John Bartlow Martin, George and Marian Nakashima, Clifford Odets, Charles Olson, Robert Osborn, Diego Rivera, Jerome Robbins, Selden Rodman, James Thrall Soby, Raphael Soyer, and William Carlos Williams. A small number of scattered letters from Shahn can also be found throughout the series.
Project files document approximately twenty-one of Shahn's commissions, including murals for the community center at Jersey Homesteads, the Bronx Central Annex Post Office, the Social Security Building in Washington D.C. , and the William E. Grady Vocational High School. The files also document his involvement in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Roosevelt, in addition to projects for schools, temples and private homes.
Financial and legal records include consignment records, loan agreements, royalty statements and receipts for artwork sold.
Notes and writings are by Shahn and others including Alan Dugan, W. H. Ferry, Theodore Gusten, and John Bartlow Martin. They include lists of artwork, many of which are annotated.
Artwork includes a sketchbook and several unbound sketches and lettering by Shahn, in addition to drawings and prints by others including Shahn's children, Mario Casetta and Stefan Martin.
Source files contain printed material and photographs relating to topics depicted by Shahn in his artwork such as children, dams, farming, houses, industry, mines and miners, slums, war and workers. These files also contain scattered photographic prints by FSA and OWI photographers including Shahn, Jack Delano, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, and John Vachon.
Printed material includes news clippings covering Shahn and his career as well as subjects of interest to Shahn. Also found are exhibition catalogs and announcements for exhibitions for Shahn and others, and reproductions of Shahn's artwork including publications illustrated by him.
Photographs are of Shahn, his family and friends and colleagues including Alexander Calder, Jerome Robbins, Charles Sheeler, David Smith and William Zorach. Also included are photographs taken by Shahn of New York City and for the FSA in the 1930s, as well as photographs of artwork by Shahn. Photographs by others include one photo each by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee and Arthur Rothstein.
The collection also contains transcripts of eight radio, television and motion picture interviews of Shahn and a reel of 16mm motion picture film from the BBC-TV program "Monitor," in addition to sound recordings of interviews of Shahn by Tony Schwartz and Arlene Francis. Artifacts include a Christmas greeting in the form of a sock.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 12 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical and Family Records, 1879-1984 (Box 1, OV 36; 0.2 linear ft.)
Series 2: Letters, 1929-1990 (Boxes 1-25, 35, 43, OVs 36-38; 14.5 linear ft.)
Series 3: Project Files, 1933-1975 (Boxes 25-26; OVs 36-37; 1.03 linear ft.)
Series 4: Financial and Legal Records, 1934-1988 (Boxes 26-27, 35; 0.81 linear ft.)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1933-1988 (Boxes 27-28, 43; 1.72 linear ft.)
Series 6: Artwork, circa 1930s-1965 (Boxes 28, 35; 11 folders)
Series 7: Source Files, circa 1900s-1960s (Boxes 28-30, 35; 1.81 linear ft.)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1912-1988 (Boxes 30-33, 35, OV 39; 3.22 linear ft.)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1900-1969 (Boxes 33-35; 0.86 linear ft.)
Series 10: Interview Transcripts, 1943-1968 (Box 34; 0.25 linear ft.)
Series 11: Audio and Video Recordings, 1959-1968 (Box 34; 0.25 linear ft.)
Series 12: Artifacts, circa 1930s-circa 1960s (Box 34; 2 items)
Biographical/Historical note:
Ben Shahn (1898-1969) was a social realist painter, muralist, printmaker, photographer, illustrator, and teacher who worked primarily in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey. He was most active in the 1930s through the 1950s and worked on several federally funded arts projects, including the Farm Security Administration's photographic documentation project of rural America during the Depression.
Ben Shahn was born in Kovno, Lithuania and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1906 where he settled in Brooklyn, and later Roosevelt, New Jersey, after becoming a naturalized citizen in 1918.
Following an apprenticeship as a lithographer from 1913-1917, Shahn studied at New York University, the City College of New York, and the National Academy of Design from 1919-1922. He married Tillie Goldstein in 1922 and they had two children, Judith and Ezra.
Two years after Shahn's first solo exhibition at the Downtown Gallery in 1930, his Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, a series of 23 gouaches about the Sacco and Vanzetti trial of the 1920s, was exhibited at the Downtown Gallery to critical and public acclaim. The exhibition marked the beginning of Shahn's reputation as one of the most important social realist painters in America. Shahn's commitment to social and political justice found a natural outlet in mural painting when, in 1933, he was hired to assist Diego Rivera on the labor and industry mural Man at the Crossroads, for New York City's Rockefeller Center. The mural was destroyed amid controversy in 1933 before it was completed, but Shahn had learned much about the art of fresco painting during the project and was inspired by the potential of the mural as a unique art form for presenting life's struggles and stories to a large public audience. Between 1933 and 1937 Shahn worked on various murals for other buildings, including New York's Central Park Casino (circa 1934) and Riker's Island Prison (1934), none of which saw completion. In 1937, however, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) commissioned Shahn to execute a mural for the Community Center in the town of Jersey Homesteads, later Roosevelt, New Jersey, which Shahn completed in 1938. Shahn settled in Jersey Homesteads the following year and remained there for the rest of his life. Other important mural commissions followed for the Bronx Central Post office (1939) and the Social Security Building in Washington DC (1942).
One of Shahn's assistants on the Jersey Homesteads mural was Bernarda Bryson, whom he had met in 1933 when she came to New York to interview Rivera about the Rockefeller Center mural controversy for an Ohio newspaper. Shahn and Bryson became lifetime companions and had three children, Susanna, Jonathan and Abigail, although they did not marry until shortly before Shahn's death in 1969. Shahn and Tillie Goldstein were divorced in 1944.
Shahn had enrolled with the federal Public Works of Art Project in 1934, and between 1935 and 1938 he and Bryson travelled across country as Shahn photographed poverty-stricken areas and documented rural life for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the Resettlement Agency. Shahn's interest in photography developed in the early 1930s when, encouraged by his friendship with Walker Evans, he began photographing street scenes and people in New York City. He later used the images as the basis for many of his prints and paintings.
In 1942 Shahn began working for the Office of War Information (OWI) and was instructed to produce posters and pamphlets explaining to citizens the necessities of wartime, such as the need for secrecy and food rationing. Ultimately, only two of Shahn's posters were ever used; the rest were rejected as being too harsh for their intended audience. Shahn later worked for the Congress of Industrial Organization Political Action Committee (CIO-PAC), producing posters for the 1944 campaign to re-elect Roosevelt, who he believed in deeply. He was promoted to director of the CIO's Graphic Arts Division for the 1946 congressional campaign following Roosevelt's death, but that job ended when the election went poorly for the Democratic party.
Shahn returned increasingly to painting and a retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art in 1947. He also became more active in academia as an accomplished writer, teacher and lecturer. He received honorary doctorates from Princeton University and Harvard University, and become the Charles Eliot Norton professor at Harvard in 1956. Shahn's Norton lectures were collected and published as the influential The Shape of Content in 1957. He also began to work as a commercial artist for a variety of companies and publications including CBS, Time, Harper's, and the Container Corporation of America. Shahn believed, however, that the artist's ideas and integrity must always be reflected in his commercial art. He refused to compromise on this point and was very selective in his choice of commercial commissions. Shahn illustrated many books and articles, designed sets for stage productions such as New York Export: Opus Jazz, choreographed by Jerome Robbins, and designed mural mosaics for synagogues, universities and private homes.
Since the 1930s Shahn had been represented by Edith Halpert at the Downtown Gallery, but his relationship with her was always contentious on the subject of payments Shahn received for commercial work, and became increasingly so as his income from such sources increased. Finally, in 1968, Shahn wrote to Halpert telling her that after ten years of "an accumulation of ill-feeling, discomfort and recrimination between us" he felt compelled to end their dealer-artist relationship.
By the time of Shahn's break with Halpert his health had begun to fail. He died of a heart attack following surgery in a New York City hospital on March 14, 1969.
Related Archival Materials note:
The Archives of American Art holds four oral history interviews with Ben Shahn: 1964 Apr. 14 interview conducted by Richard K. Doud for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project in which Shahn speaks of his travels and work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the American image as portrayed by FSA; 1965 Jan. 17 interview; 1965 Oct. 3. interview conducted by Harlan Phillips for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project; and 1968 Sept. 27 interview conducted by Forrest Selvig. Most of these interviews have transcripts available online.
The Archives also holds the Bernarda Bryson Shahn papers, circa 1947-2005, and two oral history interviews with Bernarda Bryson Shahn: 1983 Apr. 29 and 1995 July 3.
Separated Materials note:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N70-6) including addresses and essays by Shahn, seven royalty statements, and three letters from publishers. Many of the writings found on this reel were included in subsequent donations. All other lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Ben Shahn papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several installments between 1967-1991 by Shahn's widow, Bernarda Bryson Shahn who also lent materials for microfilming in 1969. Jean Shahn, Ben Shahn's daughter-in-law and estate representative, donated additional material in 2018 and 2021.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact 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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. The collection documents Kuh's career as a pioneer modernist art historian and as the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.
Biographical material consists of copies of Kuh's birth certificate, resumés, passports, award certificates, honorary diplomas, and address books listing information about several prominent artists and colleagues.
Four linear feet of correspondence offers excellent documentation of Kuh's interest in art history, her travels, her career at the Art Institute of Chicago, her work as a corporate art advisor, and as an author. There are letters from her mother Olga Woolf, friends, and colleagues. There is extensive correspondence with various staff members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the First National Bank of Chicago, and The Saturday Review. Also of interest are letters from artists and collectors, several of whom became life-long friends including Walter and Louise Arensberg, Cosmo Campoli, Serge Chermayeff, Richard Cox, Worden Day, Claire Falkenstein, Fred Friendly, Leon Golub, Joseph Goto, David Hare, Denise Brown Hare, Jean Hélion, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Len Lye, Wallace Putnam, Kurt Seligmann, Shelby Shackelford, Hedda Sterne, and Clyfford Still. Many letters are illustrated with original artwork in various media.
There are also scattered letters from various artists and other prominent individuals including Josef Albers, George Biddle, Marcel Breuer, Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, Joseph Hirshhorn, Daniel Catton Rich, and Dorothea Tanning.
Personal business records include a list of artwork, Olga Woolf's will, inventories of Kuh's personal art collection, miscellaneous contracts and deeds of gift, receipts for the sale of artwork, files concerning business-related travel, and miscellaneous receipts.
Artwork in the collection represents a wide range of artist friends and media, such as drawings, watercolors, paintings, collages, and prints. Included are works by various artists including lithographs by David Hare and a watercolor set, Technics and Creativity, designed and autographed by Jasper Johns for the Museum of Modern Art, 1970.
Notes and writings include annotated engagement calendars, travel journals for Germany, a guest book for the Kuh Memorial gathering, and many writings and notes by Kuh for lectures and articles concerning art history topics. Of interest are minutes/notes from meetings for art festivals, conferences, and the "Conversations with Artists Program (1961). Also found are writings by others about Kuh and other art history topics.
Six scrapbooks contain clippings that document the height of Kuh's career as a gallery director and museum curator. Scrapbook 6 contains clippings about Fernand Léger, the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1953.
Additional printed material includes clippings about Kuh and her interests, a comprehensive collection of clippings of Kuh's articles for The Saturday Review, exhibition announcements and catalogs, calendars of events, programs, brochures, books including Poems by Kuh as a child, and reproductions of artwork. Of particular interest are the early and exhibition catalogs from the Katharine Kuh Gallery, and rare catalogs for artists including Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Stanley William Hayter, Hans Hofmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Pablo Picasso.
Photographs provide important documentation of the life and career of Katharine Kuh and are of Kuh, family members, friends, colleagues, events, residences, and artwork. Several of the photographs of Kuh were taken by Will Barnet and Marcel Breuer and there is a notable pair of photo booth portraits of Kuh and a young Ansel Adams. There are also group photographs showing Angelica Archipenko with Kuh; designer Klaus Grabe; painters José Chavez Morado and Pablo O'Higgins in San Miguel, Mexico; Kuh at the Venice Biennale with friends and colleagues including Peggy Guggenheim, Frances Perkins, Daniel Catton Rich, and Harry Winston; and "The Pre-Depressionists" including Lorser Feitelson, Robert Inverarity, Helen Lundeberg, Arthur Millier, Myron Chester Nutting, and Muriel Tyler Nutting.
Photographs of exhibition installations and openings include views of the Katharine Kuh Gallery; Fernand Léger, Man Ray, and László Moholy-Nagy at the Art Institute of Chicago; and Philip Guston, Jimmy Ernst, Seymour H. Knox, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. There are also photographs depicting three men posing as Léger's "Three Musicians" and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Art Institute of Chicago. There is a photograph by Peter Pollack of an elk skull used as a model by Georgia O'Keeffe.
Additional photographs of friends and colleagues include Ivan Albright, Alfred Barr, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Willem De Kooning, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Claire Falkenstein, Alberto Giacometti, poet Robert Graves with Len Lye, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Carlos Mérida, José Orozco, Hasan Ozbekhan, Pablo Picasso, Carl Sandberg, Ben Shahn, Otto Spaeth, Hedda Sterne, Adlai Stevenson, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, and composer Victor Young.
Photographs of artwork include totem poles in Alaska; work by various artists including Claire Falkenstein, Paul Klee, and Hedda Sterne; and work donated to the Guggenheim Museum.
Four audio recordings on cassette are of Katharine Kuh's lectures, including one about assembling corporate collections, and of Daniel Catton Rich reading his own poetry. There is also a recording of the Second Annual Dialogue between Broadcasters and Museum Educators.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series. Undated correspondence, artwork, and photographs of individual artists are arranged alphabetically. Otherwise, each series is arranged chronologically.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945-1992 (Box 1; 16 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1908-1994 (Boxes 1-5, 13-14, OV 15; 4.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1941-1989 (Box 5; 19 folders)
Series 4: Artwork, 1931-1986 (Boxes 5, 13-14, OVs 15-23; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1914-1994 (Boxes 5-7; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1935-1953 (Box 7; 8 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1916-1992 (Boxes 7-10, 13, OV 22; 3.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1875-1993 (Boxes 10-13; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 9: Audio Recordings, 1977 (Box 12; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) worked primarily in the Chicago area as an modern art historian, dealer, critic, curator, writer, and consultant. She operated the Katharine Kuh Gallery from 1935-1943 and was the first woman curator of European and Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Katharine Kuh (née Woolf) was born on July 15, 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the three daughters of Olga Weiner and Morris Woolf, a silk importer. In 1909, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. While traveling with her family in Europe in 1914, Katharine contracted polio, causing her to spend the next decade in a body brace. During this time of restricted movement, she developed an interest in art history through the collecting of old master prints.
After her recovery, Katharine Woolf attended Vassar College where one of her professors, Alfred Barr, encouraged her to study modern art. She graduated from Vassar in 1925 and received a master's degree in art history from the University of Chicago in 1929. Later that year, she moved to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in Renaissance and medieval art at New York University.
In 1930, Katharine Woolf returned to Chicago and married businessman George Kuh and began to teach art history courses in the suburbs of Chicago. After divorcing George Kuh in 1935, she opened the Katharine Kuh Gallery, the first gallery devoted to avant-garde art in Chicago. It was also the first gallery to exhibit photography and typographical design as art forms, and featured the work of Ansel Adams, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Fernand Léger, and Man Ray, among others. From 1938 to1940, Kuh was the Visiting Professor of Art at the University School of Fine Arts, San Miguel, Mexico.
After the Katharine Kuh Gallery closed in 1943, Kuh was hired by museum director Daniel Catton Rich to fill a position in public relations at the Art Institute of Chicago. During the following years, Kuh edited the museum's Quarterly publication, took charge of the museum's Gallery of Interpretive Art, and began a long term relationship with Rich. In 1946, Kuh was sent on a special mission for the U. S. Office of Indian Affairs to make a detailed study of Native American totemic carvings in Alaska.
In 1949, Kuh persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Walter Arensberg of Los Angeles to exhibit their collection of modern art, creating the first post-war exhibition of modern art in Chicago. She published her first book Art Has Many Faces in 1951, and in the following year, she began writing art criticism for The Saturday Review. In 1954, Kuh was appointed the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute. She assembled the American contribution for the Venice Biennale in 1956 and during these years, Kuh helped acquire many of the works of modern art currently in the museum's collection.
A year following Daniel Catton Rich's 1958 resignation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Kuh also resigned and pursued a career in New York as an art collection advisor, most notably for the First National Bank of Chicago. In 1959, Kuh was made art critic for The Saturday Review, and she continued to publish books, including The Artist's Voice in 1962, Break-Up: The Core of Modern Art in 1965, and The Open Eye: In Pursuit of Art in 1971.
Katharine Kuh died on January 10, 1994 in New York City.
Provenance:
The Katharine Kuh papers were donated in several installments from 1971 to 1989 by Katharine Kuh and in 1994 by her estate. Artwork was donated in 1995 by Kuh's former employer, the Art Institute of Chicago.
Restrictions:
Authorization to quote, publish or reproduce requires written permission until 2019. Contact the Archives of American Art Reference Services department for additional 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.
Portriats, Fri- includes photographs, news releases, and press clippings related to: Friedan, Betty; Friedmann, Herbert (Dr.); Friedlaender, Immanuel (Dr.); Frison, Theodore Henry (Dr.); Fries, Elias Magnus; Fritts, Charles Edgar; Friedburg, Henry L. (...
Container:
Box 8 of 69
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 90-105, Science Service, Records
Access to student records (consisting of graded materials and student recommendation letters), grant proposals sent to Harris for review by grant agencies, and part of his faculty recruitment files are restricted until 2081. Series 10. Computer Files are also restricted due to preservation concerns.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Marvin Harris papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
