National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Lynda Lanker and a museum purchase made possible with generous support from Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker, Agnes Gund, Kate Kelly and George Schweitzer, Lyndon J. Barrois Sr. and Janine Sherman Barrois, and Mark and Cindy Aron
The papers of Swedish-born painter and collagist Siri Berg measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1966 to 1998. The bulk of the collection consists of studies for artwork, and may include paint color choices and samples, sketches, plans, and notes. Also found are scattered correspondence, photographs, printed material, and a video recording of Berg in her SoHo studio.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Swedish-born painter and collagist Siri Berg measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1966 to 1998. The bulk of the collection consists of studies for artwork, and may include paint color choices and samples, sketches, plans, and notes. Also found are scattered correspondence, photographs, printed material, and a video recording of Berg in her SoHo studio.
Studies for artworks include Berg's The Black Series, Cosmic Veil, Kabala Series, La Ronde, and Tops of Kites. Photographs depict Berg, exhibitions, and works of art.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Siri Berg (1921-2020) was a collagist, abstract painter, and educator active in New York City, who was known for making collages of geometric shapes on paper she printed herself.
Berg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and studied art in Brussels, Belgium, before immigrating to the United States in 1940. Berg began her career working in window design for the New York City fashion industry. Later, in the 1970s, Berg began to focus on commissioned work and moved to a studio in SoHo. She exhibited her works throughout New York City and Philadelphia and was an active member of the American Abstract Artists group. Berg was also an educator who taught color theory at Parsons School of Design for over 25 years.
Berg died in New York City in 2020.
Provenance:
Siri Berg donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1998.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Siri Berg papers, 1966-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of this collection received federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program
The papers of collage artist Ilse Getz measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1928 through 1999, with the bulk of the papers dating from circa 1947-circa 1990. Her personal life is reflected through biographical material including a genealogy of the Bechhold family; marriage and death certificates; and writings that include journals, artist statement, poems and notes. The collection contains letters from friends, artists, collectors, and museum and art gallery representatives; exhibition files; and printed material relating to Getz's exhibitions. Also found are photographs, slides and transparencies of artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of collage artist Ilse Getz measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1928 through 1999, with the bulk of the papers dating from circa 1947-circa 1990. Her personal life is reflected through biographical material including a genealogy of the Bechhold family; marriage and death certificates; and writings that include journals, artist statement, poems and notes. The collection contains letters from friends, artists, collectors, and museum and art gallery representatives; exhibition files; and printed material relating to Getz's exhibitions. Also found are photographs, slides and transparencies of artwork.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized into 6 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1934-1996 (Box 1, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Letters, circa 1950-1999 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, circa 1944-1990 (Box 1, 2, 4; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1928-1987 (Box 2, 4; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1956-1990 (Box 2, 3, 4, OV 5; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1940-1985 (Box 3; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Ilse Getz (1917-1992) was born in Nuremberg, Germany and immigrated to the U.S. in 1933. She studied at the Art Students League with George Grosz and Morris Kantor and at the Ozenfant School. Getz was a collage and construction artist active from the 1950s through the 1980. She exhibited at several galleries in New York City including the Bertha Schaefer Gallery and Rosenberg Gallery.
During her childhood, Ilse Getz (nee Bechhold) had been uprooted both from home and country. She was first displaced in 1929, when she was sent to Hamburg to live with her sister after her father died by suicide. In 1933, Ilse and her sister left Nazi Germany, and traveled to Italy, Spain, Cuba, and Mexico. Ilse joined immediate family in New York. In 1937, Ilse married lawyer David Getz and settled in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Three years later she had a child and became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
In 1942, while visiting her sister in Mexico, Getz created her first oil painting. Upon returning to New York, Ilse continued her artistic exploration and studied with George Grosz and Morris Kantor at the Art Students League. By 1945, Getz had already held her first solo exhibition at the Norlyst Gallery in New York.
Getz traveled extensively throughout her life, incorporating the experiences in her work. During 1947-1948, she traveled and worked in Europe, visiting Switzerland, France, Spain and Portugal among other countries before retiring for four months in Guaruja, Brazil. She destroyed most of the artwork created during that period and returned to New York City.
During the summer of 1956, Getz taught and exhibited at the Positano Art Workshop in Italy along with Piero Dorazio. She repeated the experience two years later. In 1958, Getz married her second husband, artist Manoucher Yektai. The following year, Getz and Yektai went to Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, New York after having received fellowships to the artists' community.
In 1960, Getz was commissioned by Richard Barr to create the set for Eugene Ionesco's play, The Killer. The venue was the Seven Arts Theater in New York City and she completed the set in five days. Getz spent the next two years in Paris where she was represented by the Iris Clert Gallery; she exhibited in France, Germany and England. In 1962, Getz returned to New York City and maintained a studio on the Upper East Side. Getz married for the third time in 1964 to Gibson Danes who was then the Dean of Yale School of Art and Architecture. The couple lived in New York and Connecticut, and eventually settled in Newtown, Connecticut.
Getz participated in national and international exhibitions and in solo and group shows. Her collages and constructions incorporate items such as dolls, toys, birds, eggs, playing cards, and game boards. In 1978, retrospective exhibitions of Getz's work were held at the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, New York and in her native city at the Kunsthalle Nürnberg. Retrospective exhibitions were also held in 1980 at the Goethe House and Alex Rosenberg Gallery.
Later in life, Getz suffered from advanced Alzheimer's disease. In 1992, Gibson Danes, fearful that he would no longer be able to properly care for his wife, took both his life and that of Ilse Getz. They were found dead in their garage from acute carbon monoxide toxicity after breathing the fumes of their idling car.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 2001 by Patricia Getz-Gentle, the daughter of Ilse Getz.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
