The records of Detroit art gallery Arwin Galleries measure 8.7 linear feet and date from 1948 to 1981. The collection comprises administrative records including sales, a financial ledger of artists' account consignment and loan records; personal and professional correspondence; artist files for Chuang Chi, Richard Kozlow, Ben and Bernarda Bryson Shahn, Jo Snyder, Russel Thayer, Adja Yunkers, and others; printed materials documenting the 1963 fire at the gallery, exhibitions, and other activities related to the gallery; artwork by Frederick Simper, Donald Snydor, and a few others; and photographic materials and moving images including photos of the Arwins, gallery artists, and exhibitions, and two film reels relating to the gallery fire.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Detroit art gallery Arwin Galleries measure 8.7 linear feet and date from 1948 to 1981. The collection comprises administrative records containing sales records, consignment and loan records, appraisals, framing and graphics orders, a financial ledger of artists' accounts, and other administrative documents; personal and professional correspondence; artist's files for Chuang Chi, Richard Kozlow, Ben and Bernarda Bryson Shahn, Jo Snyder, Russel Thayer, Adja Yunkers, and others; printed materials documenting the 1963 fire at the gallery, exhibitions, and other articles related to the gallery; artwork by Frederick Simper, Donald Snydor, and a few others; and photographic materials and moving images include portraits and candid shots of the Arwins, gallery installations and openings, artists, works of art, and two film reels relating to the fire at the gallery.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1959-1981 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 13, OV 11)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1958-1981 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 3: Artist's Files, 1948-1981 (4.0 linear feet; Boxes 3-7, 13, OV 11)
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1956-1981 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 7-8, OV 11)
Series 5: Artwork, circa 1970s (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 6: Photographic Materials and Moving Images, circa 1950-1981 (0.8 linear feet; Box 3, FC 12)
Biographical / Historical:
The Arwin Galleries (est. 1963-1981) was founded by Lester and Kathleen (Kitty) Arwin in Detroit, Michigan.
Although intending to move to Chicago in the 1930s, Lester Arwin found himself remaining in Detroit due to lack of funds. There he spent time observing Diego Rivera painting the murals at the Detroit Institute of Art. He also visited Rivera's studio and purchased his first piece of artwork, thus beginning his career as an art collector and dealer. Arwin served as director of Grinnell Art Galleries prior to opening his own business.
In 1963, Lester and his wife Kitty opened the Arwin Galleries, specializing in contemporary art, in Robinsons Furniture Store on Washington Boulevard. A fire at the gallery in 1963 destroyed approximately $300,000 worth of artwork, including works by Picasso with an estimated value of $150,000. The Arwin Galleries reopened at W. Grand River in 1965. The Arwins worked closely with many renowned artists such as Richard Kozlow, Ben Shahn, and numerous others.
Lester and Kitty Arwin died in 1981.
Provenance:
The Arwin Galleries records were donated in 1981, 1984 and 2021 by Melanie Arwin, the daughter of Lester and Kathleen Arwin.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Arwin Galleries records, 1948-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for processing the bulk of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee. A small portion of the collection was processed with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Biographical files cover the period from 1938-1989 and include resumes, clippings, correspondence, certificates, awards, speeches, brochures for exhibitions, and artwork.
The project files cover the period from 1934-1961 and contain clippings, catalogs, brochures, and scrapbooks. This material documents Bach's work as an industrial designer, architect, and painter from 1934-1992.
The files on the Ridgeway Center mall are particularly extensive. Photographs cover the period from 1937-1961 and document Bach's design projects, particularly the Ridgeway Center, his house in Stamford, and the Miami and New York offices of Callaway Mills. Portraits of Bach and his family are included as well.
Glass lantern slides document Bach's interior and exterior design projects. Also included are several signed and numbered prints of Bach's watercolor scenes of the Riviera.
Arrangement:
The Collection i s arranged into three series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials and Project Files, 1934-1989
Series 2: Photographs, 1942-1961
Series 3: Lantern slides (glass), undated
Biographical / Historical:
Industrial designer, architect, and painter. Born in Germany, 1904. Bach studied film directing and design in Europe. He turned to industrial design upon immigrating to the United States in 1926. His design work from 1932-1953 include a Philco radio, furniture for Heywood-Wakefield, carpets for Bigelow-Sanford, and appliances for General Electric. Bach designed and built his own home in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1938.
In the late 1940s, he developed a plan for one of the first shopping malls in America, the Ridgeway Center in Stamford, Connecticut. He remodeled the interior and exterior of Sach's furniture store, 1948-1949, and redesigned the Seneca Textile Building on 34th Street in Manhattan in 1952. Bach moved to Florida in 1959, where he designed the Palm Trail Plaza, a marina apartment complex in Delray Beach, completed in 1961. In addition, Bach was also a noted painter. His watercolors were featured in numerous exhibitions in the United States and Europe.
Related Archival Materials:
Materials at the Smithsonian
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department holds 431 drawings of designs for furniture, textiles, lamps, pianos, clocks, appliances, and retail, office, and home interiors
Provenance:
Collection donated by Alfons Bach in 1993.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
An interview of Val Laigo conducted 1989 July 12, by Alan Lau and Kazuko Nakane, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project, in Laigo's home, Seattle, Wash.
Laigo speaks of learning how to paint at age eleven with watercolors; growing up with a heart condition known as Eisenmenger's Complex; teaching at Highline High School and creating a wolverine as the school's mascot; the inclusion of his life story in a Filipino oral history project; singing for an orchestra called the Gentlemen of Rhythm, at the Filipino Catholic Youth Activities events and other venues; Doug Bennett as an influence in composition and design; being a student at Seattle University and joining Art Equity in approximately 1951; remembering his painting, "Madonna" being shown at the Seattle Art Museum; his first show at the People's Furniture Store and later with Fay Chong at the Hathaway House; Zoe Dusanne became his agent; his introduction to the MacPaint software program and his first piece of computer art; his desire to study Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo and becoming at student at Mexico City College; his life in Mexico with the woman who would become his wife; the strong influence of Nick Damascus on his painting; how his palette changed to brighter colors after living in Mexico; his health crisis there that lead him to abandon his work towards a master's degree and return to Seattle in 1959; having to start over from the beginning at the University of Washington; Tommy Kwazume hiring him at Boing as an artist in 1960; Lee Nordness and the RCA Victor album cover; his negative experience with Margaret Reed while showing at the Panaca Gallery; his exhibit at the Frye Art Museum in 1969 and criticism by Clark Voorhees; his Mexican experience having influenced his vigor and scale; the Lost Generation series; his comment about Picasso not being able to paint; encouragement from his family to pursue art training; the murder of his father in 1936; his mother's success as a new painter; and his work, "Dilemma of the Atom" featured on the cover of an RCA Victor record album. Laigo also recalls Perry Acker, Foster White Gallery, David Mendoza, Fred Mendoza, Tom Tooley, Ray Sadirius, Quincy Jones, Oscar Holden's Orchestra, Fred Cordova, Mits Katayama, Rudy Bundis, Kal Chin, Paul Horiuchi, James Washington, Dick Kirsten, Frank Okada, John Matsudaira, Walter Froelich, Bill Ritchie, John Counts, Don Fenton, Kenneth Callahan, Fred Run, Barry Ferrell, Ken Harms, Andrew Chin, Ben Dar, Ruth Mora, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Val Laigo (1930-1992) was a Filipino American painter based in Seattle, Washington. Val Laigo was born in Naguilian, La Union, in the Phillipines. His family moved to the United States in 1931 and to Seattle in 1941. Laigo's full name Valeriano Emerenciano Montante Laigo.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 48 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
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:
Leo Castelli Gallery records, circa 1880-2000, bulk 1957-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the partial digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.