Search Results

Creator:

Smithsonian American Art Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-11-02T17:06:37.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

See more by:

americanartmuseum

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

YouTube Channel:

americanartmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_FPoHYgZ6UpI

Collection Creator:

Vonnoh, Bessie Potter, 1872-1955  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 6

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1909-1928

Collection Restrictions:

This bulk of the collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Thi 2022 addition to this collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing. Contact Reference 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:

Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers, circa 1860-1991. 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.

See more items in:

Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers

Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93d9143d4-9d25-434b-8a47-167ef6b4f213

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-vonnbess-ref21

Collection Creator:

Vonnoh, Bessie Potter, 1872-1955  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 9

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1946-1953

Collection Restrictions:

This bulk of the collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Thi 2022 addition to this collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing. Contact Reference 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:

Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers, circa 1860-1991. 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.

See more items in:

Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers

Bessie Potter Vonnoh papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91adc6ec7-1fa4-4826-bbb5-4bc2711ebfb6

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-vonnbess-ref24

Creator:

Lewis & Valentine  Search this

Collection Creator:

Lewis & Valentine Company  Search this

Collection Donor:

Lewis, Hewlett Withington  Search this

Extent:

1 Slide (black-and-white.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides

Place:

Unidentified Garden (United States)

Date:

[1930?]

General:

Same home as in LV003010. "Brooks" written on the verso (may be the name of the property owner).

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:

Lawns  Search this

Hedges  Search this

Trees  Search this

Pine  Search this

Garages  Search this

Chairs -- wicker  Search this

Wicker furniture  Search this

Houses  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Lewis & Valentine Company Records.

Identifier:

AAG.LVC, Item LV003011

See more items in:

Lewis & Valentine company records

Lewis & Valentine company records / Garden Images / United States of America / Unidentified Location / LV003: Unidentified -- Unidentified Gardens in Unknown Locations (LV003)

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6a97c6c22-d14d-444a-9a9f-ef3c3a0b066b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-lvc-ref1003

Creator:

Lewis & Valentine  Search this

Collection Creator:

Lewis & Valentine Company  Search this

Collection Donor:

Lewis, Hewlett Withington  Search this

Extent:

1 Slide (black-and-white.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides

Place:

Unidentified Garden (United States)

United States of America -- Unknown

Date:

[1930?]

General:

Lewis & Valentine, Ardmore, Pennsylvania, cited as Landscape Contractors on the photograph.

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:

Spring  Search this

Sidewalks  Search this

Streets  Search this

Retaining walls  Search this

Hedges  Search this

Garages  Search this

Ivy  Search this

Trees  Search this

Awnings  Search this

Balconies  Search this

Shrubs  Search this

Houses  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Lewis & Valentine Company Records.

Identifier:

AAG.LVC, Item LV003015

See more items in:

Lewis & Valentine company records

Lewis & Valentine company records / Garden Images / United States of America / Unidentified Location / LV003: Unidentified -- Unidentified Gardens in Unknown Locations (LV003)

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb69392a3dd-5117-46f2-b549-c70e76744058

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-lvc-ref888

Creator:

Lewis & Valentine  Search this

Collection Creator:

Lewis & Valentine Company  Search this

Collection Donor:

Lewis, Hewlett Withington  Search this

Extent:

1 Slide (black-and-white.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides

Place:

Unidentified Garden (United States)

United States of America

Date:

[1930?]

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:

Winter  Search this

Tree planting  Search this

Tree moving  Search this

Garages  Search this

Houses  Search this

Men  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Lewis & Valentine Company Records.

Identifier:

AAG.LVC, Item LV009049

See more items in:

Lewis & Valentine company records

Lewis & Valentine company records / Garden Images / United States of America / Unidentified Location / LV009: Unidentified -- Tree Moving

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6d42dc97e-7015-436a-8f84-1b2917f5e372

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-lvc-ref971

Creator:

Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970  Search this

Names:

Montross Gallery  Search this

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture  Search this

Benton, William, 1900-1973  Search this

Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this

Billing, Jules  Search this

Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967  Search this

Caniff, Milton Arthur, 1907-1988  Search this

Ciardi, John, 1916-  Search this

Czebotar, Theodore  Search this

Deming, MacDonald  Search this

Dickson, Harold E., 1900-  Search this

Dorn, Marion, 1896-1964  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Esherick, Wharton  Search this

Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this

Garrett, Alice Warder  Search this

Houseman, John, 1902-1988  Search this

Marston, Muktuk  Search this

Meredith, Burgess, 1907-1997  Search this

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this

Padro, Isabel  Search this

Poor, Anne, 1918-  Search this

Poor, Bessie Breuer  Search this

Poor, Eva  Search this

Poor, Josephine Graham  Search this

Poor, Josephine Lydia  Search this

Poor, Peter  Search this

Sargent, Elizabeth S.  Search this

Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this

Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968  Search this

Watson, Ernest William, 1884-1969  Search this

Extent:

12.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Diaries

Drawings

Sketchbooks

Date:

1873-2001

bulk 1904-1970

Summary:

The papers of Henry Varnum Poor measure 12.9 linear feet and date from 1873-2001, with the bulk from the period 1904-1970. Correspondence, writings, artwork, printed material and photographs document Poor's work as a painter, muralist, ceramic artist and potter, architect, designer, writer, war artist, educator and a co-founder of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Also found is extensive information about the design and construction of Crow House, his home in New City, New York, commissions for other architectural projects, and his personal life.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of Henry Varnum Poor measure 12.9 linear feet and date from 1873-2001, with the bulk from the period 1904-1970. Correspondence, writings, artwork, printed material and photographs document Poor's work as a painter, muralist, ceramic artist and potter, architect, designer, writer, war artist, educator and a co-founder of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Also found is extensive information about the design and construction of Crow House, his home in New City, New York, commissions for other architectural projects, and his personal life.

Henry Varnum Poor's correspondence documents his personal, family, and professional life. Correspondents include family and friends, among them George Biddle, Charles Burchfield, John Ciardi, Marion V. Dorn (who became his second wife), Philip Evergood, Lewis Mumford, John Steinbeck, David Smith, and Mrs. John Work (Alice) Garrett. Among other correspondents are galleries, museums, schools, organizations, fans, former students, and acquaintances from his military service and travels. Family correspondence consists of Henry's letters to his parents, letters to his parents written by his wife, and letters among other family members.

Among the writings by Henry Varnum Poor are manuscripts of his two published books, An Artist Sees Alaska and A Book of Pottery: From Mud to Immortality. as well as the text of "Painting is Being Talked to Death," published in the first issue of Reality: A Journal of Artists' Opinions, April 1953, and manuscripts of other articles. There are also film scripts, two journals, notes and notebooks, lists, speeches, and writings by others, including M. R. ("Muktuk") Marston's account of Poor rescuing an Eskimo, and Bessie Breuer Poor's recollections of The Montross Gallery.

Subject files include those on the Advisory Committee on Art, American Designers' Gallery, Inc., William Benton, Harold Dickson, Reality: A Journal of Artists' Opinions Sales, and War Posters. There are numerous administrative files for the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

Artwork by Henry Varnum Poor consists mainly of loose drawings and sketches and 45 sketchbooks of studies for paintings, murals, and pottery. There is work done in France, 1918-1919, and while working as a war correspondent in Alaska in 1943. There are commissioned illustrations and some intended for his monograph, A Book of Pottery: From Mud to Immortality. Also found are a small number of watercolors and prints. Work by other artists consist of Anne Poor's drawings of her father's hands used for the Lincoln figure in The Land Grant Frescoes and interior views of Crow House by Ernest Watson.

Documentation of Poor's architectural projects consists of drawings and prints relating to houses designed and built for Jules Billing, MacDonald Deming, John Houseman, Burgess Meredith, Isabel Padro, and Elizabeth S. Sargent. Also found is similar material for the new studio Poor built in 1957 on the grounds of Crow House.

Miscellaneous records include family memorabilia and two motion picture films, Painting a True Fresco, and The Land Grant Murals at Pennsylvania State College.

Printed material includes articles about or mentioning Poor, some of his pottery reference books, family history, a catalog of kilns, and the program of a 1949 Pennsylvania State College theater production titled Poor Mr. Varnum. Exhibition catalogs and announcements survive for some of Poor's shows; catalogs of other artists' shows include one for Theodore Czebotar containing an introductory statement by Henry Varnum Poor. Also found is a copy of The Army at War: A Graphic Record by American Artists, for which Poor served as an advisor. There are reproductions of illustrations for An Artist Sees Alaska and Ethan Frome, and two Associated American Artists greeting cards reproducing work by Poor.

Photographs are of Henry Varnum Poor's architectural work, artwork, people, places, and miscellaneous subjects. This series also contains negatives, slides, and transparencies. Images of architectural work include exterior and interior views of many projects; Poor's home, Crow House, predominates. Photographs of artwork by Poor are of drawings, fresco and ceramic tile murals, paintings, pottery and ceramic art. People appearing in photographs include Henry Varnum Poor, family members, friends, clients, juries, students, and various groups. Among the individuals portrayed are Milton Caniff, Marcel Duchamp, Wharton Esherick, M. R. ("Muktuk") Marston, and Burgess Meredith. Among the family members are Bessie Breuer Poor, Marion Dorn Poor, Anne Poor, Eva Poor, Josephine Graham Poor, Josephine Lydia Poor, Peter Poor, and unidentified relatives. Photographs of places include many illustrating village life in Alaska that were taken by Poor during World War II. Other places recorded are French and California landscapes, and family homes in Kansas. Miscellaneous subjects are exhibition installation views, scenes of Kentucky farms, and a photograph of Poor's notes on glazes.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1919-1987 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, OV 18)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1873-1985 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1944-1974 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1928-1975 (0.8 linear feet; Box 3, OV 23)

Series 5: Artwork, circa 1890s-circa 1961 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, 9-10, OV 19-22)

Series 6: Architectural Projects, circa 1940-1966 (0.7 linear feet; Box 6, OV 24-26, RD 14-17)

Series 7: Miscellaneous Records, 1882-1967 (Boxes 6, 11, FC 30-31; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1881-2001 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 11, OV 27-29)

Series 9: Photographs, 1893-1984 (2.3 linear feet; Boxes 7-8, 12-13)

Biographical Note:

Henry Varnum Poor (1888-1970), best known as a potter, ceramic artist, and a co-founder of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, was also an architect, painter, muralist, designer, educator, and writer who lived and worked in New City, New York.

A native of Chapman, Kansas, Henry Varnum Poor moved with his family to Kansas City when his grain merchant father became a member of the Kansas Board of Trade. From a young age he showed artistic talent and spent as much time as possible - including school hours - drawing. When a school supervisor suggested that Henry leave school to study at the Art Institute of Chicago, the family disagreed. Instead, he enrolled in the Kansas City Manual Training High School where he delighted in learning skills such as carpentry, forge work, and mechanical drawing. In 1905, he moved with his older brother and sister to Palo Alto, California and completed high school there. Because Poor was expected to join the family business, he enrolled at Stanford University as an economics major, but much to his father's disappointment and displeasure, soon left the economics department and became an art major.

Immediately after graduation in 1910, Poor and his major professor at Stanford, Arthur B. Clark, took a summer bicycling tour to look at art in London, France, Italy, and Holland. As Poor had saved enough money to remain in London after the summer was over, he enrolled in the Slade School of Art and also studied under Walter Sickert at the London County Council Night School. After seeing an exhibition of Post-Impressionism at the Grafton Galleries in London, Poor was so impressed that he went to Paris and enrolled in the Académie Julian. While in Paris, Poor met Clifford Addams, a former apprentice of Whistler; soon he was working in Addams' studio learning Whistler's palette and techniques.

In the fall of 1911, Poor returned to Stanford University's art department on a one-year teaching assignment. During that academic year, his first one-man show was held at the university's Old Studio gallery. He married Lena Wiltz and moved back to Kansas to manage the family farm and prepare for another exhibition. Their daughter, Josephine Lydia Poor, was born the following year. Poor returned to Stanford in September 1913 as assistant professor of graphic arts, remaining until the department closed three years later. During this period, Poor began to exhibit more frequently in group shows in other areas of the country, and had his first solo exhibition at a commercial gallery (Helgesen Gallery, San Francisco). In 1916, Poor joined the faculty of the San Francisco Art Association. He and his wife separated in 1917 and were divorced the following year. Poor began sharing his San Francisco studio with Marion Dorn.

During World War I, Poor was drafted into the U. S. Army, and in 1918 went to France with the 115th Regiment of Engineers. He spent his spare time drawing; soon officers were commissioning portraits, and Poor was appointed the regimental artist. He also served as an interpreter for his company. Discharged from the Army in early 1919, Poor spent the spring painting in Paris. He then returned to San Francisco and married Marion Dorn.

Once Poor realized that earning a living as a painter would be extremely difficult in California, he and his new wife moved to New York in the autumn of 1919. They were looking for a place to live when influential book and art dealer Mary Mowbray-Clarke of the Sunwise Turn Bookshop in Manhattan suggested New City in Rockland County, New York as good place for artists. In January of 1920, the Poors purchased property on South Mountain Road in New City. The skills he acquired at the Kansas City Manual Training High School were of immediate use as Poor designed and constructed "Crow House" with the assistance of a local teenager. Influenced by the farmhouses he had seen in France, it was made of local sandstone and featured steep gables, rough plaster, chestnut beams and floors, and incorporated many hand-crafted details. Poor designed and built most of their furniture, too. Before the end of the year, he and Marion were able to move into the house, though it remained a work in progress for many years. Additions were constructed. Over time, gardens were designed and planted, and outbuildings - a kiln and pottery, work room, garage, and new studio - appeared on the property.

In 1925, two years after his divorce from Marion Dorn, Poor married Bessie Freedman Breuer (1893-1975), an editor, short story writer, and novelist. Soon after, he adopted her young daughter, Anne (1918-2002), an artist who served as his assistant on many important mural commissions. Their son, Peter (b. 1926) became a television producer. Crow House remained in the family until its sale in 2006. In order to prevent its demolition, Crow House was then purchased by the neighboring town of Ramapo, New York in 2007.

Between 1935 and 1966 Poor designed and oversaw construction of a number of houses, several of them situated not far from Crow House on South Mountain Road. Poor's designs, noted for their simplicity, featured modern materials and incorporated his ceramic tiles. Among his important commissions were houses for Maxwell Anderson, Jules Billig, Milton Caniff, MacDonald Deming, and John Houseman.

Poor's first exhibition of paintings in New York City was at Kevorkian Galleries in 1920, and sales were so disappointing that he turned his attention to ceramics. His first pottery show, held at Bel Maison Gallery in Wanamaker's department store in 1921, was very successful. He quickly developed a wide reputation, participated in shows throughout the country, and won awards. He was a founder of the short-lived American Designers' Gallery, and the tile bathroom he showed at the group's first exposition was critically acclaimed. Poor was represented by Montross Gallery as both a painter and potter. When Montross Gallery closed upon its owner's death in 1932, Poor moved to the Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery.

Even though Poor's pottery and ceramic work was in the forefront, he continued to paint. His work was acquired by a number of museums, and the Limited Editions Club commissioned him to illustrate their republications of Ethan Frome, The Scarlet Letter, and The Call of the Wild.

Poor's first work in true fresco was shown in a 1932 mural exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Between 1935 and 1949 he was commissioned to produce several murals in fresco for Section of Fine Arts projects at the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior, The Land Grant Frescoes at Pennsylvania State College, and a mural for the Louisville Courier-Journal. Ceramic tile mural commissions included: the Klingenstein Pavilion, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City; Travelers Insurance Co., Boston; the Fresno Post Office, California; and Hillson Memorial Gallery, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Mass.

As a member of the War Artists' Unit, Poor was a "war correspondent" with the rank of major in World War II, and for several months in 1943 was stationed in Alaska. An Artist Sees Alaska, drawing on Poor's observations and experiences, was published in 1945. A Book of Pottery: From Mud to Immortality, his second book, was published in 1958. It remains a standard text on the subject. While on the faculty of Columbia University in the 1950s, Poor and other artists opposed to the growing influence of Abstract Expressionism formed the Reality Group with Poor the head of its editorial committee. Their magazine, Reality: A Journal of Artists' Opinions, first appeared in 1953 featuring "Painting is Being Talked to Death" by Poor as its lead article. Two more issues were published in 1954 and 1955.

Along with Willard Cummings, Sidney Simon, and Charles Cuttler, in 1946 Henry Varnum Poor helped to establish the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine. He served as its first president. Poor and his daughter, Anne, were active members of the Board of Trustees and were instructors for many years. The summer of 1961 was Henry Varnum Poor's last as a full-time teacher, though he continued to spend summers at Skowhegan.

Henry Varnum Poor exhibited widely and received many awards, among them prizes at the Carnegie Institute, Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Architectural League of New York. Poor was appointed to the United States Commission of Fine Arts by President Roosevelt in 1941 and served a five year term. He was elected a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1943. The National Academy of Design named him an Associate Artist in 1954 and an Academician in 1963. He became a trustee of the American Craftsman's Council in 1956. The work of Henry Vernum Poor is represented in the permanent collections of many American museums including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Addison Gallery of American Art, and Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts.

Henry Varnum Poor died at home in New City, New York, December 8, 1970.

Related Material:

An oral history interview with Henry Varnum Poor was conducted by Harlan Phillips for the Archives of American Art in 1964.

Provenance:

Gift of Henry Varnum Poor's son, Peter V. Poor, in 2007. A smaller portion was loaned to the Archives in 1973 by Anne Poor for microfilming and returned to the lender; this material was included in the 2007 gift.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of 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.

Occupation:

War artists  Search this

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

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

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

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

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

Topic:

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

World War, 1914-1918  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Motion pictures (visual works)

Diaries

Drawings

Sketchbooks

Citation:

Henry Varnum Poor papers, 1873-2001, bulk 1904-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.poorhenr

See more items in:

Henry Varnum Poor papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96265d653-098f-4ccc-abed-0bc649c50516

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-poorhenr

Collection Creator:

Vernon, Lillian, 1927-2015  Search this

Extent:

1 Videocassettes (VHS)

Container:

Box 31, Item AC1495-OV0178

Type:

Archival materials

Moving Images

Videocassettes (vhs)

Date:

2004-04-04

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Lillian Vernon Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Lillian Vernon Collection

Lillian Vernon Collection / Series 3: Audio Visual Materials / 3.2: Videocassettes (VHS)

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8db1cb0ef-937c-423d-b766-ec576044df79

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1495-ref924

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2015-10-23T20:02:51.000Z

YouTube Category:

Film & Animation  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_LSCQo-MW5Xo

Creator:

Freelon, Philip G., 1953-2019  Search this

Names:

American Institute of Architects  Search this

Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup  Search this

Freelon Bond Architects  Search this

Freelon Group  Search this

Hampton University (Va.)  Search this

Harvard University  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. School of Architecture  Search this

National Museum of African American History and Culture  Search this

National Organization of Minority Architects (U.S.)  Search this

North Carolina Board of Architecture  Search this

NorthStar Church of the Arts  Search this

PPG Industries, Inc.  Search this

Perkins & Will  Search this

Adjaye, David, 1966-  Search this

Bond, J. Max, Jr.  Search this

Freelon, Allan Randall, 1895-1960  Search this

Extent:

5.1 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Place:

North Carolina -- United States

United States of America -- North Carolina -- Durham County -- Durham

United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Suffolk County -- Boston

United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia County -- Philadelphia

United States of America -- New York -- New York

Date:

bulk 1939-2017

Scope and Contents:

The Philip G. Freelon Architectural Archival Collection documents the life and career of architect, educator, cultural heritage preservation advocate and artist Philip G. Freelon. The collection highlights his distinguished career from its inception to his role as the "architect of record" for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Freelon was one of the leading African American architects of his generation and he created a focus designing and constructing buildings that paid reverence to African Americans and other underrepresented communities. This collection is comprised of business records, photographic materials, ephemera, correspondence, architectural drawings, and clippings.

Arrangement:

The materials in this collection have been separated into seven series. The materials have been ordered and organized based on the content and chronology. Within each series and sub-series, the folders are organized as close to the collection's original order as when it was acquired.

Biographical / Historical:

Philip Goodwin Freelon was born March 26, 1953, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Allan Freelon, Jr. and Elizabeth Neal Freelon. Freelon was greatly influenced by his grandfather, Allan Freelon Sr., a notable Harlem Renaissance visual artist, educator, and civil rights activist. His grandfather's values and artistry inspired him to create a career that focused on creating historical and cultural spaces in African American communities. Freelon attended high school at the former predominantly white elite all-boys school, Central High School located in upper North Philadelphia from 1967 to 1971. His attendance at this school during of the Civil Rights Movement afforded him the unique experience that inspired him to attend a historically Black college (HBCU). Freelon selected Hampton Institute (Hampton University) to develop his veneration of the composition and design of the buildings that held cultural and artistic treasures. Located in the Tidewater area of Virginia, Hampton was renowned among HBCUs for its architecture program. His professor and mentor at Hampton, John Spencer, pushed Freelon academically as he moved easily through the school's curriculum. After two years at Hampton, Spencer helped Freelon transition to a more challenging program at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Freelon graduated in 1975 with a bachelor's in environmental design in architecture.

Later in the fall of 1975, Freelon enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to pursue a master's in architecture. During the summers, Freelon worked with one of former his NC State professors at the architectural firm of John D. Latimer and Associates. After graduating from MIT in 1977, Freelon returned to North Carolina to take his Architecture Registration Examination (ARE), becoming the firm's youngest person to receive licensure. He also began teaching classes at his alma mater, NC State. It was there that Freelon met his future wife, Nnenna Pierce. Pierce, a Massachusetts native was attending Simmons College in Boston at the time. The connection was immediate, and the pair was married in 1979 and welcomed their first son, Deen in 1980. After a brief employment for a large Texas firm 3/D International, Freelon returned to Durham to join O'Brien Atkins Associates. He was the firm's youngest partner, eventually serving as principal and vice president of architecture. Freelon worked on a wide variety of projects throughout the state including learning centers, university buildings, churches, and parking garages. Along with Freelon's budding career, his family was expanding as well. Phil and Nnenna welcomed their daughter Maya in 1982 and their son, Pierce in 1983. During this time, Freelon was being highly recognized for his work. The American of Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded him the Honor Award for his design of Terminal 2 of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, which has since been rebuilt.

By the end of the decade, Freelon and his wife Nnenna needed a change of pace. Nnenna pursued a professional career in music while Phil took a break from his career to expand his skillset and reinforce his intellectual approach to design. In 1989, Freelon was granted the Loeb Fellowship for one year of independent study at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He also pursued a longtime hobby of furniture design, calling the practice "small architecture". He received industry awards like first prize in the PPG Industries, Inc. Furniture Design Competition as well as AIA Honor Award for conference table designs. With a year away from the field to clarify his vision, Freelon opened his own firm, simply titled, the Freelon Group in 1990. Beginning as a one-man operation, the Freelon Group grew to become one of the largest African American owned architectural firms in the country with over 50 employees, forty percent of which were women, and thirty percent were people of color. With freedom within his own firm, Freelon focused on designing learning centers, libraries and museums and vowed to never build anything that did not bring cultural and intellectual value to a community.

Over the next twenty years, Freelon would assert himself as a force in designing notable cultural institutions and community-driven projects in and around the country including the Sonja Haynes Stone Center at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC), Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture (Baltimore, MD), Museum of African Diaspora (San Francisco, CA), Harvey B. Gantt for African American Arts and Culture (Charlotte, NC), the Anacostia and Tenley-Friendship branches of the District of Columbia Public Library , National Center for Civil Rights and Human Rights (Atlanta, GA), Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (Jackson, MS) and Emancipation Park (Houston, TX). Alongside his architectural career, Freelon served as a lecturer and adjunct professor at several colleges and universities including North Carolina State University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Maryland College Park, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and the Florence, Italy program at Kent State University. Freelon was awarded a full-time appointment as professor of Professional Practice at MIT in 2008. The Professional Practice (4.222) course was a requirement for the master's in architecture and he used examples from his extensive career and personal experience to illustrate legal, ethical, and management concepts. Nnenna's music career was also thriving. She would go on to record twelve albums and be nominated for six Grammys. This fusion of education, the arts, and music inspired another generation of Freelons: their son, Pierce Freelon is a hip-hop artist, educator, and political activist; daughter Maya Freelon is a visual artist; and son Deen Freelon is a professor.

In 2001, George W. Bush established a commission to create a new museum on the National Mall. Freelon wanted to enter his firm to participate in the international design competition. Freelon would partner with famed African American New York City architect, J. Max Bond, Jr. and by 2006 the two officially formed the Freelon Bond Architects.The Freelon Bond group submitted their proposal and soon after were elected to create programming and pre-design work for the museum. When the official design competition for the museum was announced in 2008, UK-based architect David Adjaye joined the team as the lead designer, and along with the partnering firm SmithGroup, the new architectural team became Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup. The three black architects combined a variety of distinctive elements from Africa and the Americas to create the building's unique, historically significant design. The Freelon Group served as the "architect of record" and were responsible for ensuring that key design ideas were upheld. Freelon and key firm members such as Zena Howard were active as on-site project managers during the museum's construction process to certify that the building would be developed according to plan. Freelon, Adjaye, and Bond were tasked with taking the collective history of the African American experience-- generations of pain, triumph, and perseverance-- and forming it into a structure. The team looked to African sources, such as Yoruban architecture, for inspiration. They sought to connect the building's design to the geographic and cultural roots of African Americans. Their design choices also reference the contributions of enslaved and free black metalworkers made to the landscape of the American South. Their goal was to make the museum an extension of its contents, and an expression of the stories told inside. By the groundbreaking for NMAAHC in 2012, Freelon had been appointed to the U.S. Commission of the Fine Arts by President Barack Obama. In an effort to broaden his resources and expand his firm, The Freelon Group merged with Perkins & Will, a firm originating in Chicago that grew to have offices across the United States. Freelon was appointed the managing director and later lead design director at the firm's North Carolina offices in Charlotte and Durham in 2014. By the next year, Freelon understood that his work in architecture and education was a necessary voice to preserve, which he did through donation of the bulk of his personal papers to his alma mater, NC State University. The year 2016 proved to be a year of triumph for Freelon as NMAAHC opened its doors on September 24th to much jubilation and celebration. That same year, Freelon's legacy was further cemented as the Phil Freelon Fellowship Fund was established at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a fellowship designed to broaden opportunities for African Americans and other underrepresented communities in architecture and design.

Unfortunately, this triumphant year was met with difficulty as Freelon was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive disease that affects the nervous system. He would continue to work and lecture for the next two years until it became too challenging. One of those projects was the renovation and opening of The NorthStar Church of the Arts in early 2019. A passion project with his wife and son, Pierce, a former church was renovated and repurposed as an arts and cultural space for all. This space was created in an effort to support the Durham cultural community as it began to feel the effects of gentrification. When Freelon lost his battle with ALS on July 9, 2019, in his home in Durham, North Carolina, the family requested that in lieu of flowers that donations be sent to the NorthStar Church to continue the center's mission and Phil's dream to give back to the Durham community.

Historical Timeline

1953 -- Philip Goodwin Freelon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Allan Freelon Jr. and Elizabeth Neal Freelon.

1971 -- Freelon graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and entered School of Architecture, Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia as a design student.

1973 -- Freelon transferred to College of Design at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

1975 -- Graduated with a Bachelor's in Environmental Design in Architecture from NC State University. He received the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Book Award for Outstanding Work in Architectural Design. In the fall, he began his master's program in architecture at MIT.

1976 -- Began working as aide for architectural firm, John D. Latimer and Associates.

1977 -- Graduated with a Master's in Architecture and Design from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT.)

1978 -- Freelon became youngest architect to pass the North Carolina Architecture Registration Exam. Freelon started teaching at North Carolina State University.

1979 -- Married Chinyere "Nnenna" Pierce. Freelon began working for, 3/D International in Houston, Texas.

1980 -- Son Deen Freelon was born.

1981 -- Freelon returned to Durham, NC to join O'Brien Atkins Associates as the firm's youngest partner.

1982 -- Daughter Maya Freelon was born.

1983 -- Son Pierce Freelon was born.

1989-1990 -- Received Loeb Fellowship for independent study at Harvard University. Freelon received AIA Honor Award for American Airlines Terminal 2 at Raleigh-Durham Airport, NC (RDU).

1990 -- Freelon left O'Brien Atkins Associates to open his own firm The Freelon Group.

1991 -- Won first prize in the PPG Furniture Design Competition.

1992 -- Won the AIA Honor Award for Conference Table Designs.

2001 -- Won the AIA Firm Award for The Freelon Group and the AIA Design Award for Parking Structure, RDU Airport. Began attending meetings of President George W. Bush's commission on new National Mall museum dedicated to African American history and culture.

2003 -- Freelon merged his firm with New York architect Max Bond to create Freelon Bond Architects.

2004 -- Sonja Haynes Stone Center at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC) was completed.

2005 -- Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture (Baltimore, MD) and Museum of African Diaspora (San Francisco, CA) were both completed.

2008 -- UK-based architect David Adjaye and Washington, DC based architecture firm, Smithgroup joined the team, creating the Freelon Adjaye Bond Group/SmithGroup Freelon began teaching at MIT's school of Architecture and Design.

2009 -- Freelon Adjaye Bond/Smithgroup won the official design for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Harvey B. Gantt for African American Arts and Culture (Charlotte, NC) was completed.

2010 -- Anacostia branch of the District of Columbia Public Library (Washington, DC) was completed.

2011 -- Tenley-Friendship branch of the District of Columbia Public Library (Washington, DC) was completed.

2012 -- Construction began on NMAAHC.

2014 -- The Freelon Group merged with Perkins & Will, a much larger architectural firm. Freelon became managing director and lead design director of the North Carolina branches in Durham and Charlotte. National Center for Civil Rights and Human Rights (Atlanta, GA) was completed.

2016 -- Freelon was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

2017 -- Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (Jackson, MS) and Emancipation Park (Houston, TX) were completed.

2019 -- Freelon died in his home in Durham, North Carolina at age 66 on July 9.

Related Materials:

Phil Freelon Papers, 1975-2019 at North Carolina State University Libraries.

Provenance:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Philip G. Freelon.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.

Rights:

The NMAAHC Archives can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.

Topic:

Architecture  Search this

Business  Search this

Construction  Search this

Entrepreneurship  Search this

Local and Regional  Search this

Design  Search this

Education  Search this

Photographs  Search this

Museums  Search this

Genre/Form:

Correspondence

Citation:

Philip G. Freelon Archival Collection, 1939-2017. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAAHC.A2017.51

See more items in:

Philip G. Freelon Architectural Archive

Archival Repository:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/io3ba3ca2a2-5495-45cf-801c-f3d66a7002fd

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmaahc-a2017-51

Collection Creator:

Knoll, Florence, 1917-2019  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1935-1936, 1999

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.

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:

Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

See more items in:

Florence Knoll Bassett papers

Florence Knoll Bassett papers / Series 5: Subject Files

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9959ca5a7-3a15-4042-bd3d-eedc015814a4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-knolflor-ref31

Collection Creator:

Knoll, Florence, 1917-2019  Search this

Container:

Box 4, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936-1947, 1999

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.

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:

Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

See more items in:

Florence Knoll Bassett papers

Florence Knoll Bassett papers / Series 6: Letters

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw966429b35-6ebf-4169-bde7-3bb1c64fd835

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-knolflor-ref57

Creator:

Foundation Company (The).  Search this

Names:

Chase Manhattan Bank  Search this

Ohio Edison Company.  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

Extent:

9 Cubic feet (17 boxes, 28 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Photograph albums

Blueprints

Sketches

Reports

Contracts

Drawings

Date:

1887-1969

Scope and Contents note:

These records include sketches, drawings, blueprints, contracts, and reports relating to highway and railroad bridges, tunnels, subways, mine shafts, canals and waterways, dams, concrete buildings, concrete construction, derricks and derrick barges, cranes, caissons and caisson construction, air locks, pumps, jacks, engines, and turbines; also photographs, photograph albums, and newspaper clippings concerning projects for office building and power plant foundations, docks, dry docks, and piers, and work for the Ohio Edison Company, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Boston Common Underground Garage.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1: Photographs

Series 2: Drawings

Biographical/Historical note:

The Foundation Company was a New York subaqueous concrete construction firm founded in 1902. It was created to pool the knowledge of engineers who specialized in the construction of bridge piers and building foundations. The compnay was a leader in the development of the pneumatic caisson method for the construction of foundations. This method made possible the skyscrapers of New York City. Additonally, the company also worked on power houses/stations, shipyards, and docks.

Provenance:

Donated to the National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) in 1966.

Rights:

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

Topic:

Pumping machinery  Search this

Mine shafts  Search this

Lifting-jacks  Search this

Hydraulic engineering  Search this

Air locks (Chambers)  Search this

Subways  Search this

Roads -- Design and construction  Search this

Railroads  Search this

Railroad bridges  Search this

Concrete construction  Search this

Dams  Search this

Derricks  Search this

Bridges -- Design and construction  Search this

Caissons  Search this

Canals  Search this

Concrete  Search this

Turbines  Search this

Underwater tunnels  Search this

Waterways  Search this

Engineers  Search this

Engines  Search this

Tunnels  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 20th century

Photograph albums -- 20th century

Blueprints

Sketches

Reports

Contracts

Drawings

Citation:

The Foundation Company Records, circa 1887-1962, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0974

See more items in:

The Foundation Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep802d7a43d-8b93-4f6b-89ac-b933b13cfd13

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0974

Creator:

Granatelli, Andy, 1923-2013  Search this

Grancor Automotive Specialists  Search this

Hurricane Hot Rod Association  Search this

Studebaker Corporation  Search this

Donor:

Granatelli, Vincent  Search this

Names:

Indianapolis Speedway Race  Search this

Soldier Field (Chicago)  Search this

Studebaker Corporation. STP Division  Search this

Afrons, Arthur Eugene "Art", 1926-2007  Search this

Afrons, Walter Charles "Walt", 1916-2013  Search this

Agajanian, Joshua C. James , 1913-1984  Search this

Agnew, Spiro T., 1918-1996  Search this

Andretti, Mario, 1940-  Search this

Banks, Henry, 1913-1994  Search this

Bishop, Joey  Search this

Bridges, Lloyd  Search this

Carson, Johnny, 1925-2005  Search this

Carter, Jimmy, 1924-  Search this

Chapman, Anthony Colin Bruce , 1928-1982  Search this

Clark, Jim, 1936-1968  Search this

Cole, Hal, 1912-1970  Search this

Cooper, Earl, 1886-1965  Search this

Cooper, Leroy Gordan, 1927-2004  Search this

DePaolo, Peter, 1898-1980  Search this

Derr, Ernest Virgil "Ernie" , 1921-  Search this

Egbert, Sherwood, 1920-1965  Search this

Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006  Search this

Foyt, A. J., 1935-  Search this

Gable, Clark, 1901-1960  Search this

Garagiola, Joe  Search this

Grissom, Virgil I.  Search this

Guerrero, Roberto, 1958-  Search this

Hartke, Vance, 1919-2003  Search this

Hill, Graham, 1929-1975  Search this

Holland, Willard, 1907-1984  Search this

Hurtubise, Jim, 1932-1989  Search this

Kennedy, Edward Moore, 1932-2009  Search this

Kladis, Danny, 1917-2009  Search this

LaMotta, Jake  Search this

Lasorda, Tommy  Search this

Leno, Jay (comedian)  Search this

Leonard, Joe, 1932-2017  Search this

Lorenzen, Fred, 1934-  Search this

Luyendyk, Arie  Search this

Malone, Art, 1936-2013  Search this

Marcenac, Jean  Search this

Marciano, Rocky  Search this

Mays, Rex Houston, 1913-1949  Search this

McCain, John  Search this

McElreath, Jimmy, 1928-2017  Search this

Miller, Chet, 1902-1953  Search this

Murphy, Paula, 1928-  Search this

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994  Search this

Palin, Sarah, 1964-  Search this

Parsons, Johnnie, 1918-1984  Search this

Petty, Richard, 1937-  Search this

Pickens, T. Boone (Thomas Boone)  Search this

Pollard, Artle Lee, 1927-1973  Search this

Quayle, Dan, 1947-  Search this

Rathman, Royal Richard "Jim", 1928-2011  Search this

Reagan, Ronald  Search this

Robbins, Marty  Search this

Russo, Paul, 1914-1976  Search this

Tremulis, Alex S.  Search this

Unser, Bobby  Search this

Weld, Greg, 1944-2008  Search this

Williams, Carl, 1930-1973  Search this

Actor:

Anderson, Eddie "Rochester", 1905-1977  Search this

DeVito, Danny  Search this

Douglas, Kirk, 1916-2020  Search this

Goulet, Robert, 1933-2007  Search this

Extent:

66 Cubic feet (108 boxes, 16 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertisements

Business records

Clippings

Correspondence

Design drawings

Drawings

Financial records

Legal records

Minutes

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Speeches

Date:

1932-2008

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents Granatelli's lifelong involvement with automobiles, from his youth through his career as an auto industry executive, and as a racing car owner, designer and promoter. The collection consists primarily of files, photographs, scrapbooks, and drawings. Some of the earliest files relate to Grancor, a company founded by Granatelli and his two brothers in 1945, which customized cars for clients. Other things contained in the files include meeting minutes, articles of association, business and financial records, legal records and profit and loss statements. Also included are papers relating to an organization he started called the Hurricane Hot Rod Association.

A large portion of the files relate to Granatelli's term as President of STP, a division of the Studebaker Corporation, from 1961-1974. These files detail the internal workings of the company during this period, and include papers relating to such things as strategic planning, sales, marketing, advertising and competitors' products. Additionally, this portion contains STP's Board of Directors' minutes, documents on policies and procedures, papers documenting advertising campaigns, comparative sales figures, sales manuals, and Granatelli's business correspondence. The largest part of the files relate to the Indianapolis 500 race. There are detailed files on the drivers and race teams he assembled for the annual race, but these files also include design drawings, specifications, test data, lap logs, performance statistics, and reports documenting the implementation of design changes. The scrapbooks in the collection contain clippings, biographical materials, and other documents relating to auto racing in America and especially the Indianapolis 500. Finally, the collection contains a large number of photographs covering all aspects of Granatelli's career.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1946-2006

Series 2: Granatelli Corporation, 1943-1975

Series 3: Studebaker Corporation, 1935-1991

Series 4: United States Auto Club (USAC)

Series 5: Novi Engine, 1949-1971

Series 6: Product Literature, 1949-1972

Series 7: Racing Programs, Publications, and Ephermera, 1940s-2007

Series 8: Photographs, 1932-2008

Series 9: Audiovisual Materials, 1960-2001

Biographical / Historical:

Andy Granatelli (1923-2013) was an automobile racing promoter, a race car engine designer and an automotive innovator. Two of his cars, a 1967 turbine engine race car and the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner, are in National Museum of American History's Division of Work & Industry collection. More than any other racing figure, Granatelli bridged the realms of garage tinkerers and professional motorsports, and he stimulated public interest in auto racing on a national level. His STP Corporation became a high-profile sponsor of Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR race cars, with Granatelli appearing in ads and commercials. His larger-than-life personality and flair for the dramatic made him an American cultural phenomenon. His career is well summed up in the profile written for his 2003 induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Racer, entrepreneur, engineer, promoter, business executive. This is how one begins to describe the career of Andy Granatelli. But the title Mister 500 is the one that befits him most, for it describes a lifelong dream to conquer the famous 500-mile race in Indianapolis.

It was a preposterous dream for the scrappy kid growing up in the slums of Chicago, whose mother had died when he was twelve, and two years later, at the age of fourteen, dropped out of school to help his father feed the family. Andy Granatelli began his quest for Indy 500 fame at the age of 20 in 1943, when he and his brother pooled their meager, hard-earned money and purchased a Texaco gas station on the north side of Chicago, which he called Andy's Super Service. Andy, always the promoter, needed a gimmick to set himself apart from other service stations. His gimmick? Granatelli initiated the first pit stop service station, utilizing four or five mechanics to work on a car at one time.

Customers appreciated the true super service experience and would often wait in line for this unique treatment. With this unique service and Andy's P.T. Barnum style it was no wonder that the station was prosperous, and just two years later, in 1945, he formed the Granatelli Corporation, known as Grancor Automotive Specialists. As the head of Grancor, Andy Granatelli pioneered the concept of mass merchandising performance products and power and speed equipment to a generation of Americans who were discovering the joys of hot rodding.

Andy quickly learned that if you give the customer what he needs, you can make a living; give him what he wants, and you can make a fortune! Granatelli's racing career began in 1946, when he built the first rocket-powered car to race on an oval track. That same year, he took his first car to the Indianapolis 500--a pre-war Harry Miller--designed Ford.

When Andy Granatelli wasn't burning up tracks, he was tearing up the business world. In 1958, Andy and his brother Joe purchased Paxton Products, a failing engineering firm that made superchargers. With Andy at the helm, Paxton Products became profitable in seven months. In 1961, Andy sold Paxton Products to Studebaker Corporation and stayed on as Paxton's CEO. Two years later, Studebaker management wanted Granatelli to work his magic on an under-performing division called Chemical Compounds Corporation. Chemical Compounds had only one, little known product . . . STP Oil Treatment. With virtually no advertising budget, Andy created a four-pronged approach to turn the company around: a recognizable corporate logo (the STP oval), a product (oil treatment), a product spokesman (himself) and a reason for existence (racing). The STP logo became one of the best recognized in history. STP could be found in virtually every venue of speed: on land, on the water or in the air. Andy Granatelli once said that in the 1960s, virtually every kid in America had an STP sticker on his bedroom door, his notebook or his lunchbox, and he was probably right!

Back at Indianapolis, Granatelli entered a revolutionary race car of his own design - one with a turbine engine in 1967 and 1968. Even though the car failed to finish both years due to mechanical failure, the cars demonstrated superior speed and performance. At the end of the 1968 season, the U.S. Auto Club revised engine specifications, effectively outlawing Granatelli's turbine car. Undeterred, Granatelli returned to Indy the following year with a conventional car and proceeded to win his first Indianapolis 500 with Mario Andretti at the wheel. Four years later, in 1973, Andy won his second and last Indy 500 with a car driven by Gordon Johncock. Andy Granatelli's childhood dream of conquering Indy was fulfilled, not once, but twice.

Source

Andy Granatelli Biography, Automotive Hall of Fame (last accessed January 29, 2020 https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/andy-granatelli/)

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business American, Series: Automobile Industry (NMAH.AC.0060)

Winton-Anderson Scrapbook Collection (NMAH.AC.0122)

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 1: Transportation (NMAH.AC.0300)

Evan Rangeloff Collection of Punchboards and Liggett & Myers Tobacco Sales Materials (NMAH.AC.0716)

Materials at the National Museum of American History, Division of Work and Industry

The Divison holds artifacts related to STP and the STP-Paxton Turbo Car. Included are key chains, trophies, STP stickers, TuneUp Masters stickers, belt buckle, and patch. See accession 2017.3043.

STP-Paxton Turbocar, 1967. See accession 1978.0418.

Materials at the National Museum of American History, Division of Cultural and Community Life

Division holds artifacts related to Andy Grantelli's racing career such as helmets, goggles, trophies, and coveralls and vests with the STP logo. See accession 2017.0092.

Provenance:

Collection donated by Vincent J. Granatelli, 2017.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Viewing film and audio portion of collection requires special appointment. See repository for details.

Rights:

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

Topic:

Automobile driving  Search this

Automobile industry and trade  Search this

Automobile industry executives  Search this

Automobiles  Search this

Automobiles -- Design and construction  Search this

Automobiles, Racing  Search this

Engines, automobile  Search this

Hot rods  Search this

Publications  Search this

Slides  Search this

Genre/Form:

Advertisements -- 20th century

Business records -- 20th century

Clippings -- 20th century

Correspondence -- 20th century

Design drawings -- 20th century

Drawings

Financial records -- 20th century

Legal records -- 20th century

Minutes -- 20th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Scrapbooks

Speeches

Citation:

Andy Granatelli Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1403

See more items in:

Andy Granatelli Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b8ed345f-7459-4956-9875-900f8585af74

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1403

Collection Creator:

Davidovich, Jaime, 1936-2016  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 45

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1977

Collection Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

Jaime Davidovich papers, 1949-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.

See more items in:

Jaime Davidovich papers

Jaime Davidovich papers / Series 5: Project and Source Files

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cfab9c0d-39e5-4999-a107-1ab10694ec08

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-davijaim-ref44

Creator:

Ochoa, Elizabeth V.  Search this

Ochoa, Victor Leaton  Search this

International Airship Co.  Search this

Extent:

0.5 Cubic feet (2 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Patents

Correspondence

Photographs

Clippings

Drawings

Place:

El Paso (Texas)

Texas -- 20th century

Mexico -- 20th century

Date:

circa 1894-1945

Summary:

The papers document Victor L. Ochoa, Mexican American inventor of the Ochoaplane, orinthopter (an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings), a windmill, magnetic brakes, a wrench and a reversible motor. The papers include correspondence, photographs, patents, both U.S. and foreign, drawings and typescripts for a short story, "The Making of an American," and a novel The Cycle of Life or Professor Mimo Abas: The Wise Man of the Land of Moctezuma.

Scope and Contents:

The papers document Victor Leaton Ochoa, Mexican American inventor of the Ochoaplane, orinthopter (an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings), a windmill, magnetic brakes, a wrench and a reversible motor. The papers include correspondence, photographs, patents, both United States and foreign, drawings and typescripts for a short story and a novel.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1895-1945

Series 2: Financial materials, 1911, 1912, undated

Series 3: Patent Materials, 1901-1925

Subseries 3.1: Patent Papers, 1922; 1925

Subseries 3.2: Drawings, undated

Subseries 3.3: Foreign Patents, 1901-1922

Subseries 3.4: United States Patents, 1903-1922

Series 4: Writings, undated

Series 5: Photographs, 1933, undated

Series 6: Newspaper Clippings, circa 1894-1912

Series 7: Miscellaneous Printing Blocks, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Victor Leaton Ochoa (1850-1945?) was born in Ojinaga, Mexico. Ochoa later moved to Presidio del Norte, Texas, (Presidio is on the Rio Grande River) and became a United States citizen in 1889. Ochoa was the son of Juan Ochoa, a customs collector in Presidio.

Victor Ochoa was a journalist/writer, founding (El Hispano-American andEl Correo del Bravo) ; a politician (running unsuccessfully in El Paso); a union leader founding (La Union Occidental Mexicana to help Mexicans in the United States preserve their language); a revolutionary (opposing the Mexican government of President Porfirio Díaz, the President of Mexico from 1876 to 1880 and from 1884 to 1911); a prisoner, corporate president of the International Airship Company and the Ochoa Tool and Machine Company; miner and inventor. Ochoa was bitterly opposed to the dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz. He became involved in the fight by Mexican rebels in the early 1890s to overthrow Diaz. Some consider Ochoa to be the originator of the revolt, and Díaz ultimately issued a $50,000 reward for Ochoa, "dead or alive." Ochoa's participation in Mexican revolutionary activities led to his arrest in 1894 for supplying and hiring Mexican dissidents in El Paso, Texas, thus violating United States neutrality laws. As a result of his illegal actions, a federal warrant was issued for Ochoa's arrest. The Texas Rangers as well as the U.S. Marshal Service sought Ochoa. In October of 1894, Pecos County Sheriff A. J. Royal and Texas Ranger James W. Fulgham arrested Victor Ochoa while rounding up suspected horse thieves. Ochoa was put in the Pecos County Jail and promptly escaped. He was eventually found and returned to El Paso. Ochoa was ultimately sentenced to two years in federal prison at Kings County Penitentiary in Brooklyn. Ochoa was stripped of his United States citizenship, but it was ultimately restored by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.

Ochoa was as committed to inventing as he was to his revolutionary ideals. He was known to reside in the New York City and the Patterson, New Jersey area in the late 1890s. Ochoa's issued patents list him at New York, New Jersey, and Texas addresses. He also worked with Watson E. Coleman, a solicitor of patents in Washington, D.C. Coleman helped Ochoa file for and obtain patents in other countries such as Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. Ochoa's patents include: a magnetic brake (US Patent No. 867,147); a reversible motor (US Patent No. 718,508); a rail magnetic brake (US Patent No. 873,587); a windmill (US Patent No. 1,319,174); and a wrench (US Patent No. 1,417,196 and 1,454,333).

Ochoa had a strong interest in aviation. He created the "Ochoaplane," circa 1908-1911. He designed it with an automobile in mind, and it included collapsible wings so that it could be housed in a garage or barn. He also incorporated the International Airship Company in Patterson, New Jersey, presumably to manufacture his "airships." Ochoa was imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas on February 18, 1917 and was released on May 1, 1918 upon completion of his sentence. In a September 17, 1917, letter written from Leavenworth, Ochoa asks the Naval Consulting Board to consider the use of metal wings constructed in such a manner that they fold back and over the body of the airship. Ochoa called this his fluttering wing machine. Ochoa's letter is deliberate, and he writes, "There was no desire on my part of abandoning this and three other patents that at this time went to issue. At that time I was taken sick with consumption and my struggle for life then became my sole purpose and then there arose other circumstances, over which I had no control, to prevent my taking them out."

Ochoa married Amanda Cole, granddaughter of Thomas Cole, the American painter, whose most famous painting isThe Last of the Mohicans . They had one son, Stephen Ochoa. Victor Ochoa returned to Sinaloa, Mexico, in 1936, and it is believed he died there in 1945.

Source Romo, David Dorado. Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez: 1893-1923. El Paso, Texas: Cinco Puntos Press, 2005.

Related Materials:

Record Group 129, Records of the Bureau of Prisons held by the National Archives, Central Plains Division, Kansas City, Missouri (http://www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city/), contains a 54 page file on Victor L. Ochoa's imprisonment.

Provenance:

This collection was donated by Elizabeth Victoria Ochoa on May 17, 1997.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.

Topic:

Airplanes  Search this

Inventors -- 1890-1960  Search this

Inventions -- 20th century  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Patents

Correspondence -- 1930-1950

Photographs -- 20th century

Clippings

Drawings

Citation:

Victor L. Ochoa Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0590

See more items in:

Victor L. Ochoa Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep821026f6e-2248-4c72-842f-abdcba59aea1

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0590

Creator:

Gray, Cleve  Search this

Names:

Berry-Hill Galleries  Search this

Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this

Connecticut. Commission on Arts, Tourism, Culture, History and Film  Search this

Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this

Neuberger Museum of Art  Search this

Pratt Institute  Search this

Princeton University  Search this

Rhode Island School of Design  Search this

Barzun, Jacques, 1907-  Search this

Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this

Davis, Jim, 1901-1974  Search this

Dillenberger, Jane  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Ernst, Jimmy, 1920-1984  Search this

Gabo, Naum, 1890-1977  Search this

Grace, Louise N.  Search this

Gray, Francine du Plessix  Search this

Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973  Search this

Marin, John, 1870-1953  Search this

Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956  Search this

Richter, Hans, 1888-1976  Search this

Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this

Villon, Jacques, 1875-1963  Search this

Weber, Nicholas Fox, 1947-  Search this

Extent:

9.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Poems

Articles

Photographs

Reviews (documents)

Notes

Illustrations

Notebooks

Sketches

Drafts (documents)

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Interviews

Manuscripts

Paintings

Prints

Watercolors

Drawings

Lectures

Date:

1933-2005

Summary:

The Cleve Gray papers, 1933-2005, measure 9.2 linear feet. Papers include biographical material, alphabetical files, writings, artwork, audio/visual records, artifacts, printed material, and photographs. Extensive alphabetical files contain personal and professional correspondence as well as subject files relating to projects and interests. Especially well-documented are: Gray's involvement with the Vietnam protest movement; and Threnody, his best-known work composed of fourteen large panels lamenting the dead of both sides sides in Vietnam, commissioned by the Neuberger Museum of Art.

Scope and Content Note:

The Cleve Gray papers, 1933-2005, measure 9.2 linear feet. Papers include biographical material, alphabetical files, writings, artwork, audio/visual records, artifacts, printed material, and photographs. Extensive alphabetical files contain personal and professional correspondence as well as subject files relating to projects and interests. Especially well-documented are: Gray's involvement with the Vietnam movement; and Threnody, his best-known work composed of fourteen large panels lamenting the dead of both sides sides in Vietnam, commissioned by the Neuberger Museum of Art.

Among the biographical material are award and membership certificates, biographical notes, and personal documentation.

The alphabetical files contain Cleve Gray's personal and professional correspondence, as well as subject files relating to projects and interests. Correspondence is with friends and family, colleagues, publishers, museum curators and directors, art dealers, collectors, and fans. Among the correspondents of note are: Jacques Barzun, James E. Davis, Naum Gabo, Louise N. Grace, Hans and Fridel Richter, and Jacques and Gaby Villon. Other substantial correspondence includes: Berry-Hill Galleries, Betty Parsons Gallery, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Jacques Seligmann and Co., Neuberger Museum of Art, Pratt Institute, Princeton University, and Rhode Island School of Design. Subject files mostly consist of correspondence, but include printed material and some photographs. Among the subject files are: Art Collection of Cleve and Francine Gray, Artist-Dealer Consignments and Visual Artists' Rights Act of 1989, Artists' Tax Equity Act of 1979, Promised Gifts to Museums, Threnody, Vestments, and Vietnam Protest. Of particular interest are files relating to the Estate of Hans Richter (Cleve Gray, executor), and Gray's research correspondence and illustrations for his Cosmopolitan article "Women-Leaders of Modern Art."

Writings are manuscripts and drafts, research materials, notes, and miscellaneous writings by Cleve Gray and other authors. Those by Gray include articles and catalog introductions on a wide range of art-related topics, as well as book and exhibition reviews. Also found are a book proposal, texts and notes for lectures and talks, miscellaneous notes, poems, political statements, and student papers. Of particular interest are autobiographical notes in the form of a chronology that his biographer, Nicholas Fox Weber, cited as an "autochronology."

Among the writings by other authors are pieces about Cleve Gray including Nicholas Fox Weber's manuscript Cleve Gray. A significant amount of material relates to three books edited by Gray: David Smith by David Smith: Sculpture and Writings, Hans Richter, and John Marin. Research material survives for an unpublished volume, Naum Gabo. Also included are notes relating to his translation of A l'Infinitif by Marcel Duchamp. Jane Daggett Dillenberger is represented by a lecture, "The Resurrection in Art." The remaining items by other authors are unsigned; of particular interest is a small notebook of reminiscences and notes about Jackson Pollock.

Artwork by Cleve Gray consists mostly drawings and sketches, and a small number of paintings, prints, and watercolors. Works by other artists consist are an unsigned mobile of paper cut-outs, possibly by Alexander Calder, and a pencil drawing signed Dick (probably Richard Avedon).

Audio recordings are a radio broadcast featuring Cleve Gray, several lectures by Gray on John Marin, and a lecture titled "Meaning in the Visual Arts." Other recordings are of Hans Richter and an interview with Jimmy Ernst conducted by Francine du Plessix Gray. Also found is a videocassette of "Glenville School Students at SUNY (Lincoln Center Activity)."

Artifacts are a Chinese scroll representative of those that hung in Cleve Gray's studio, two of his paintbrushes, Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association blue ribbon, and Neuberger Museum of Art Lifetime Achievement Award.

The vast majority of printed material - articles, clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, reproductions of art work, etc. - are about or by Cleve Gray. Miscellaneous items and publications mentioning Gray consist of annual reports, brochures, calendars, newsletters, programs, etc. Clippings about Vietnam and Vietnam protest memorabilia reflect his passionate involvement in the anti-war movement; a small number of these items mention Gray or were written by him.

Photographs are of artwork, events, people, places, and miscellaneous subjects. Most of the art work appearing in the photographs is by Cleve Gray and includes images of destroyed paintings. Also found is an original print of Photo Abstraction by Gray, circa 1934. Of particular note are photographs of Threnody, among them preparatory drawings and views of the work in progress. Photographs of artwork by other artists include Louise N. Grace, Jacques Lipchitz, John Marin, Hans Richter, and Jacques Villon.

Photographs of people are mainly portraits of Gray, and views of him with his wife and sons. Other individuals appearing in photographs are Hans Richter and some of Richter's descendants. Pictures of places consist of Gray's studio.

Events are an unidentified exhibition opening. Miscellaneous subjects are mostly exhibition installations. Illustrations consist of photographs published in David Smith by David Smith: Sculpture and Writings. Also found are small number of negatives and color transparencies.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1943-circa 2001 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 2: Alphabetical Files, 1936-2005 (Boxes 1-5, 9; 4.3 linear ft.)

Series 3: Writings, 1935-2000 (Boxes 5-6; 0.85 linear ft.)

Series 4: Artwork, circa 1933-1987 (Boxes 6, 9, OV 12; 0.45 linear ft.)

Series 5: Audio/Visual Records, 1971-1989 (Box 6; 0.25 linear ft.)

Series 6: Artifacts, 1957-1999 (Box 6, RD 11; 0.45 linear ft.)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1933-2005 (Boxes 7-8; 1.25 linear ft.)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1934-2002 (Boxes 8-10; 1.15 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Abstract Expressionist painter, sculptor, and writer Cleve Gray (1918-2004) lived and worked in Connecticut where he was politically active in the Vietnam protest movement and other liberal causes.

Born Cleve Ginsberg in New York City (the family changed its name to Gray in 1936), he attended the Ethical Culture School and at a young age developed a fascination with color and paint. At the urging of friends, Cleve's parents allowed him to accompany a school friend for lessons with George Bellows' student Antonia Nell. She encouraged and inspired the young artist, and a still life he painted in her class was shown at the National Academy of Design's 1932 annual exhibition. Miss Nell also introduced him to Louise N. Grace, an artist who became a good friend and had a lasting influence on him. While a student at Phillips Academy, Cleve studied painting with Bartlett Hayes and aspired to paint in France. Upon his graduation in 1936, he was awarded the Samuel F. B. Morse Prize for most promising art student.

Gray's mother was always supportive of his career choice. His businessman father, who didn't understand his son's desire to be an artist, insisted on a college education. Cleve chose Princeton, where he majored in art and archaeology, and studied painting with James E. Davis. His senior thesis was on Chinese landscape painting; both Eastern philosophy and art were long-term influences on Gray's work and outlook. He graduated summa cum laude in 1940, and then spent several months painting while living at the farm of a family friend in Mendham, New Jersey.

When a doctor suggeted that a dry climate might relieve sinus and asthma problems, Gray moved to Tucson, Arizona. Once settled in the desert, he contacted Louise N. Grace, whom he had met as a young teenager through his art instructor. Miss Grace, an artist and daughter of the founder of W. R. Grace and Co., was a highly cultured and independent woman older than his parents. The summer before Gray entered Phillips Academy, she had hired him to brush ground color onto canvases for murals she was painting for "Eleven Arches," her home in Tuscon then under construction. Miss Grace invited Gray to visit "Eleven Arches" to see the completed murals, and despite the substantial age difference, their friendship deepened; Gray found in her intellectual and spiritual guidance that was lacking in his own family. He remained in Tucson until enlisting in the U. S. Army in 1942, and they corresponded frequently during the the war. When a stroke in 1948 prevented Miss Grace from participating in the extensive tour of Europe she was arranging for a small group of friends, including Gray, she provided sufficient funds and insisted he make the trip on his own. Another stroke, suffered while Gray was traveling, left her in a coma; he was not permitted to see her again. Upon her death in 1954, Gray inherited "Eleven Arches."

Between 1943 and 1946, Gray was stationed in England, France, and Germany, serving in Army Signal Intelligence. Most of his work was performed at night, and he spent his free time drawing. While in London, Gray produced many colored pencil drawings of buildings that had been bombed. In France, a Red Cross volunteered to introduce him to Jacques Villon; although unfamiliar with the artist, Gray knew of Villon's brother, Marcel Duchamp, and accepted the invitation. Jacques and Gaby Villon lived near Gray's billet and he became a frequent visitor. Their friendship was important to his development as an artist. After being discharged from the Army in 1946, Gray remained in France to work with Villon who introduced him to the study of color and the concept of intellectual quality in painting. Gray also studied informally with André Lhote, Villon's former teacher. "American Painters in Paris," an exhibition presented in 1946 at Galerie Durand-Ruel, included work by Cleve Gray.

He returned to New York City in 1946. In the tight post-war rental market Gray managed to find a small room upstairs from a grocery store on East 106th Street for use as a studio. He commenced painting the London Ruins series based on drawings he had made during the war, and began thinking about exhibiting in New York. Gray secured introductions to Pierre Matisse, Curt Valentin, and Dorothy Miller. They encouraged him, but no opportunities came his way until Germain Seligmann, whose gallery was expanding its scope to include contemporary art, followed the advice of Curt Valentin and looked at Gray's work. Gary's first solo exhibition, held at Jacques Seligmann and Co., included selections from the London Ruins series, paintings done in Maine and Arizona, and a few portraits. The New York Times called it "an auspicious first," and one of the London Ruins series was selected by Edward Alden Jewell for the "Critic's Exhibition" at Grand Central Gallery.

Gray found New York City too frenetic. In 1949 he bought a large, old house in Warren, Connecticut, and lived and worked at "Graystones" for the remainder of his life. Half of a 6-car garage was converted to a studio; many years later, his studio moved to a barn, its renovation and design planned by sculptor and architect Tony Smith.

He married Francine du Plessix in 1957. Always interested in literature and philosophy, in the 1960s Francine du Plessix Gray began contributing articles to The New Yorker and is still affiliated with the magazine. Her reviews and articles appeared in prominent publications, and she wrote several award-winning novels and biographies. Their sons, Thaddeus and Luke (now a painter), were born in 1959 and 1961. Francine's mother, Tatiana du Plessix (the hat designer Tatiana of Saks), and step-father, the sculptor Alexander Liberman (also former art director of Vogue and later editorial director of Condé Nast publications) became Cleve Gray's closest friends.

The paintings and drawings of Cleve Gray - first consisting of figures and portraits, and then abstract compositions - were often produced in series. The earliest series, London Ruins, grew from the colored pencil drawings made while stationed in London during World War II. Travels to France, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Hawaii, Spain, Egypt, Japan, and Czechoslovakia, inspired many series, among them: Etruscan, Augury, Ceres, Demeter Landscape, Hera, Morocco, Hawaii, Ramses, Perne, Hatshepsut, Roman Walls, Zen, and Prague. His hometown, the Holocaust, and musicians inspired other series: Warren, Sleepers Awake!, Bela Bartok, and Four Heads of Anton Bruckner. Some series were works on paper, others were collage canvases, and a few series later spawned prints. Gray began using acrylics in the 1940s. Although the medium offered many benefits, he did not always like its appearance and frequently returned to oils. Around 1966 Gray was painting almost exclusively with acrylic, and eventually developed a technique of thinning the paint and applying successive layers of color (sometimes by pouring or with a sponge) on cotton duck rather than traditional canvas.

Gray was attracted to sculpture, too, working in that medium at different points in his career. His first sculpture, in plaster, was completed in 1959. In the early 1960s he visited a commercial sand-casting foundry and became excited about learning to cast in bronze. He made about a dozen sculptures to cast in sand, but due to too much undercutting, their casting became too difficult a problem. Lava flows seen while in Hawaii during 1970 and 1971 inspired a return to sculpture. This time, he used wood, papier maché, and metal. Gray then decided these pieces should be cast in bronze, and he was determined to do it himself. Friends taught him the lost wax process and he began working at the Tallix Foundry in Peekskill, New York where, over the next year, he cast about forty bronzes.

Gray's best known work is Threnody, a lament for the dead of both sides in Vietnam. In 1972, Gray received a commission to fill a very large gallery of the soon-to-open Neuberger Museum of Art (State University of New York, College at Purchase) designed by Philip Johnson. Friends of the Neuberger Museum paid his expenses and Gray, who was enormously excited about the project he considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, donated his time. Developing plans for the execution of Threnody consumed most of his time during 1972 and 1973. Composed of a series of fourteen panels, each approximately twenty feet square, the piece presented a number of technical challenges. It was constructed and painted in situ during the summer and early fall of 1973. Since then, Threnody has been reinstalled at the Neuberger Museum of Art on several occasions.

Gray was commissioned to design liturgical vestments for two Episcopal churches in Connecticut in the 1970s. A chasuble, stoles, and a mitre were commissioned by the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in 1984.

He won the "Outdoor Art at the Station Competition," for Union Station, Hartford, Connecticut. His very large porcelain enamel tile mural, Movement in Space, was installed on the façade of the transportation center in 1988.

Gray began writing occasional articles and exhibition reviews in the late 1940s. His concern with rational structure in art led him to question Abstract Expressionism and write "Narcissus in Chaos." This article, published in 1959 by The American Scholar, drew considerable attention. In 1960, Cosmopolitan published "Women - Leaders of Modern Art" that featured Nell Blaine, Joan Brown, Elaine de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gretchoff, Grace Hartigan, Ethel Magafan, Louise Nevelson, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Between 1960 and 1970, Gray was a contributing editor of Art In America, producing numerous articles (a few co-authored with Francine) and reviews for the periodical. He edited three books, David Smith by David Smith: Scupture and Writings, Hans Richter, and John Marin, all published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, and translated Marcel Duchamp's A l'Infinitif.

During the early 1960s, Gray became intensely focused on the situation in Vietnam. His first artistic response came in 1963 with Reverend Quan Duc, painted to commemorate a Buddhist monk who had immolated himself. Francine, too, felt strongly about the issue and over time the couple became increasingly active in the anti-war movement. They joined a number of organizations and helped to found a local chapter of Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The years 1968 and 1969 were an especially intense and active period for the Grays. They protested, wrote and spoke out against the war, raised funds to support anti-war political candidates, and on a few occasions were arrested and jailed. Writing for Art in America, editing the book series, and anti-war activities left little time for his art. In 1970 Gray refocused his attention on painting.

Beginning in 1947, Gray was always represented by a New York Gallery: Jacques Seligmann and Co. (1947-1959), Staempfli Gallery (1960-1965), Saidenberg Gallery (1965-1968), Betty Parsons Gallery (1968-1983), Armstrong Gallery (1984-1987), and Berry-Hill Galleries (1988-2003). He was represented by galleries in other cities, as well, but not as consistently or for such long periods.

He exhibited extensively in group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. In addition to numerous solo exhibitions presented by the dealers who represented Gray, there were retrospective exhibitions at: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Brooklyn Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, Krannert Art Museum (University of Illinois, Champaign), Princeton University Art Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, and Wadsworth Atheneum.

Many museums' permanent collections include the work of Cleve Gray, among them: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Butler Institute of American Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Neuberger Museum of Art (SUNY, College at Purchase), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Newark Museum, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Phillips Collection, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Smithsonian Institution, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Yale University Art Gallery.

Cleve Gray served as artist-in-residence at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 1963 and at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1970, both sponsored by Ford Foundation programs. In 1980, he was appointed an artist-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome, where Francine concurrently served as a writer-in-residence; they returned for shorter periods during each of the subsequent seven years. Cleve Gray was presented the Connecticut Arts Award in 1987, and the Neuberger Museum of Art Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Hartford in 1992, and was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1998. In addition, he was a trustee of the Neuberger Museum of Art, New York Studio School, Rhode Island School of Design, and Wadsworth Atheneum.

Cleve Gray hit his head and suffered a massive subdural hematoma after falling on ice outside of his home. He died the following day, December 8, 2004.

Separated Material:

Exhibition catalogs and announcements and two scrapbooks donated to the Archives in 1967 and 1968 were microfilmed on reels D314-D315. Items on reel D315, transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum Library in 1975, are not described in this finding aid.

Provenance:

The Cleve Gray papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Mr. Gray in 1967 and 1968. The bulk of the collection was given by his widow, Francine du Plessix Gray, in 2007 and 2008.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordigs 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.

Occupation:

Sculptors -- Connecticut  Search this

Painters -- Connecticut  Search this

Topic:

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

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest Movements -- United States  Search this

Designers  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Poems

Articles

Photographs

Reviews (documents)

Notes

Illustrations

Notebooks

Sketches

Drafts (documents)

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Interviews

Manuscripts

Paintings

Prints

Watercolors

Drawings

Lectures

Citation:

Cleve Gray papers, 1933-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.grayclev

See more items in:

Cleve Gray papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92d3d47d0-baa3-4085-80f2-9b5d1730c052

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-grayclev

Names:

Guiberson Diesel Engine Company  Search this

Extent:

0.26 Cubic feet ((2 containers))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Drawings

Publications

Date:

bulk 1924-1953

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of .26 cubic feet of articles, drawings, and images chronicling Fred A. Thaheld's aeronautical engineering career, including his work with the following aircraft diesel engines: Guiberson Diesel A-918, Guiberson Diesel A-980 and Guiberson Diesel T-1020. There is also information regarding the aircraft designed by Thaheld, including the Tremaine Humming Bird "The Spirit of John Rodgers," and images of Fred Thaheld, Allen Guiberson, W.D. Shaffer, Sir Hubert Wilkins, and Art Goebel, who was a test pilot for Guiberson Diesel engines. There are also a few images of diesel aircraft engines that were repurposed as wind machines to protect orchards from frost, and the manual, "Guiberson Radial Diesel Engine Instruction Manual for Model T-1020 Series 5."

Biographical / Historical:

Fred A. Thaheld (1902-1981) was a self-taught engineer born in Austria, who first became acquainted with engines due to his involvement with German motorcycle racing after World War I. Thaheld worked his way as a seaman on merchant ships to South America, and then on to Southern California in 1921. He settled in Brea, California, and began building a low-wing monoplane in the garage of William Tremaine, pilot and co-founder of the Brea Air Club; that aircraft was flown in air meets in Southern California in 1924-1925. Thaheld then built for Tremaine the Tremaine Humming Bird "Spirit of John Rodgers" for his planned non-stop flight to Japan. Instead, the "Spirit of John Rodgers" was used by Naval Lieutenants George Covell and Richard Waggener for their entry in the Dole Air Race. Unfortunately, they crashed the aircraft at Point Loma, California, on the way to the start of the race in Oakland, California. The loss of "The Spirit of John Rodger," ended Thaheld's aeronautical engineering with Tremaine, and Thaheld began his work of designing and building diesel aircraft engines. In 1929, Thaheld was the Chief Engineer of the Guiberson Diesel Engine Company where he directed aircraft diesel engines development, and built the following engines for aircraft: Guiberson Diesel A-980 185-hp 9-Cylinder Radial; Guiberson Diesel A-918 240-hp & A-980 185-hp Radials; and Guiberson Diesel T-1020 9-Cylinder Radial Tank Engine. While the engines were installed and successfully flown in aircraft, they were not a commercial success and Guiberson and Thaheld instead sold their various diesel engines to the US Army for tanks. Thaheld then became the principal in Diesel Power Inc., a division of Shaffer Tool Works of Brea, California, and during the mid-1940s, designed a 90 horsepower diesel engine for light aircraft which he used in his Stinson 10-A. Thaheld held over 30 patents in engine design and become a naturalized US citizen in 1943.

Provenance:

Fred Thaheld, Gift, 2016

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access.

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Topic:

Aeronautics  Search this

Airplanes -- Motors  Search this

Tremaine Humming Bird "The Spirit of John Rodgers"  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Drawings

Publications

Citation:

Fred A. Thaheld Collection, Accession 2016-0042, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2016.0042

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2f0187aa5-04cf-46b9-9215-734e0a775bbb

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2016-0042

Collection Creator:

Sanford, Marion  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 6-7

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1937-1948

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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:

Marion Sanford and Cornelia Chapin papers, 1929-1988. 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. Funding for the preservation of the Cornelia Chapin Home Movies was provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation.

See more items in:

Marion Sanford and Cornelia Chapin papers

Marion Sanford and Cornelia Chapin papers / Series 4: Scrapbooks

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9200e5be4-a56e-4247-afe3-2a6cb7385f14

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-sanfmari-ref45

Collection Creator:

Sanford, Marion  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 8

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1932-1939

Scope and Contents:

Oversized material housed in Box 5.

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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:

Marion Sanford and Cornelia Chapin papers, 1929-1988. 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. Funding for the preservation of the Cornelia Chapin Home Movies was provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation.

See more items in:

Marion Sanford and Cornelia Chapin papers

Marion Sanford and Cornelia Chapin papers / Series 4: Scrapbooks

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a9794a3d-db3e-4c9e-b70b-1816b29b3f0b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-sanfmari-ref46