The papers of Rochester, New York-based furniture designer, sculptor, and educator Wendell Castle measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1965 to 1975. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with galleries, museums, universities, clients, friends, and colleagues. Also found is a small amount of other material such as resumes, financial records, price lists, notes, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Rochester, New York-based furniture designer, sculptor, and educator Wendell Castle measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1965 to 1975. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with galleries, museums, universities, clients, friends, and colleagues. Also found is a small amount of other material such as resumes, financial records, price lists, notes, and printed material.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of the collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Wendell Castle (1932-2018) was a furniture designer, sculptor, and educator based in Rochester, New York. He was born in Emporia, Kansas and received both his bachelor's in industrial design and master's in sculpture from the University of Kansas. He taught at the School for American Craftsmen and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Wendell Castle conducted by Robert F. Brown on June 3-December 12, 1981; and an oral history interview with Wendell Castle conducted by Jeannine Falino on February 22-24, 2012.
Provenance:
The Wendell Castle papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1982 by Wendell Castle.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning 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:
Furniture designers -- New York (State) Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- Rochester Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- Rochester Search this
The Robert Scull papers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1950 to circa 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1965 to 1970. Throughout the 1960s, Robert Scull was a wealthy and prominent art collector of Abstract, Pop, and Minimalist art whose collection included works by Michael Heizer, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol, among others. His papers include fourteen annotated appointment books, correspondence, financial and legal records, printed material, and photographs. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes black and white photographs (and 1 color photograph), snapshots, negatives and negative strips of family, friends artwork and artists; correspondence; and loan forms for works of art.
Scope and Contents:
The Robert Scull papers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1950 to circa 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1965 to 1970. Throughout the 1960s, Robert Scull was a wealthy and prominent art collector of Abstract, Pop, and Minimalist art whose collection included works by Michael Heizer, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol, among others. His papers include fourteen annotated appointment books, correspondence, financial and legal records, printed material, and photographs. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes black and white photographs (and 1 color photograph), snapshots, negatives and negative strips of family, friends artwork and artists; correspondence; and loan forms for works of art.
Fourteen appointment books include business dates, notes, and occasional sketches. Notes are on various subjects such as prices for paintings, appointments with art dealers, and visits with artists Mark di Suvero, Michael Heizer, Lucas Samaras, and others. There are sometimes items, i.e., business cards and receipts, interleaved between the pages of the books.
The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters to Robert Scull from various artists, such as Walter De Maria and Michael Heizer. There is limited correspondence with museums and galleries.
Financial and legal records mostly consist of invoices from art dealers to Robert Scull for his purchases of John Tweddle's artwork. Also included are art loan forms and charts tracking payments for various paintings and drawings. There are scattered legal papers on a settlement regarding payments for a group of paintings by Tweddle.
There is one exhibition catalog, Street Painters: Feelism (circa 1982), of printed material.
Photographs are of Robert Scull, friends, art dealers, artists, and art. Notable artists depicted include Alexander Calder, Gary Kuehn, Claes Oldenberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and many others. There are also images of sculptures, paintings, and other artwork by various artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Appointment Books, 1955-1973 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-circa 1984 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 3: Financial and Legal Records, 1969-1980 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1982 (1 folder; Box 3)
Series 5: Photographs, 1960-circa 1980 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Series 6: Unprocessed Addition, 1950-1984 (0.2 linear feet); Box 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Scull (1917-1986) was a prominent New York City and Connecticut collector of contemporary American art primarily during the 1960s.
Robert Scull was born in Manhattan's Lower East Side. He dropped out of high school during the Depression and did various jobs while also taking art courses. He later became a freelance illustrator and industrial designer. When his wife Ethel's father died, the couple inherited a successful taxi business which Scull expanded into the Super Operating Corporation with a fleet of 130 cabs.
Throughout the 1960s, Robert and Ethel Scull were avid art collectors who acquired contemporary American art works through dealers Richard Bellamy and Leo Castelli. Robert Scull's patronage also helped fund art dealer Richard Bellamy's Green Gallery in New York City for five years. Initially the Sculls focused on collecting American Abstract Expressionists and owned works by Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and others. In 1965, the couple held their first auction and part of the profits helped establish the Robert and Ethel Scull Foundation, dedicated to financially assisting upcoming artists. The foundation commissioned environmental works from Michael Heizer and Walter de Maria and gave the artists stipends and even bought them food and supplies.
Around the mid-1960s, the Sculls also began collecting Pop Art and acquired the works of Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol. In 1973, the couple sold 50 works from their personal collection of Pop Art through a Sotheby's auction that yielded $2.2 million - record-breaking for sales of contemporary American art. The Sculls were criticized of social-climbing and profiteering by various people in the media and art world, including the artist Robert Rauschenberg.
In 1975, Robert Scull divorced Ethel and in 1978 he founded the Robert C. Scull Foundation which again assisted younger artists and arts organizations with a focus on contemporary art. Scull remarried and sold his taxi business sometime in the early 1980s, and moved to Warren, Connecticut. He died in 1986.
In 2010, the exhibition Robert and Ethel Scull: Portrait of a Collection was held at Acquavella Galleries in Manhattan.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has an oral history interview with Robert Scull conducted by Paul Cummings in 1972.
Provenance:
The 14 appointment books in the collection were donated in 1999 by Amy Newman, a writer, who received them from her friend, artist Chuck Close. Close received them from his brother-in-law, who found them in the trash, turned them over to Close, who, in turn, gave them to Newman. Additional papers were donated in 1993 and 2020 by Robert Scull's widow, Stephanie.
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.
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.
Robert Scull papers, 1955-circa 1984, bulk dates 1965-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Leo Castelli Gallery records, circa 1880-2000, bulk 1957-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the partial digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
The papers of painter, photographer, lithographer and industrial designer Charles Sheeler measure 4.9 linear feet and date from circa 1840s to 1966, with the bulk of the material dating from 1923-1965. The collection documents Sheeler's family, personal life and career through financial and medical records, awards, correspondence, writings, an autobiography, journal and notebooks, scrapbooks, exhibition catalogs and announcements, printed materials, photographs, funeral records and artwork by Sheeler and others. The collection is particularly rich in Sheeler's writings, and also includes Sheeler's industrial designs and manufactured artwork. Notable photographs include Sheeler with Edward Weston, Edward Steichen, and John Marin.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, photographer, lithographer and industrial designer Charles Sheeler measure 4.9 linear feet and date from circa 1840s to 1966, with the bulk of the material dating from 1923-1965. The collection documents Sheeler's family, personal life and career through financial and medical records, awards, correspondence, writings, an autobiography, journal and notebooks, scrapbooks, exhibition catalogs and announcements, printed materials, photographs, funeral records and artwork by Sheeler and others. The collection is particularly rich in Sheeler's writings, and also includes Sheeler's industrial designs and manufactured artwork. There are photographs of Sheeler with Edward Weston, Edward Steichen, and John Marin.
Biographical materials date from 1875, and 1928-1965, and include funeral records, medical records, insurance, tax, and scattered financial records. There is one folder of records relating to artwork and exhibitions, as well as Sheeler's numerous certificates, prizes and awards, and the condolence book used at his funeral.
Correspondence consists of Sheeler's personal and professional correspondence dating from 1937-1966 with friends, artists, dealers, collectors, photographers, and curators. Notable correspondents include Ansel Adams, Walter and Louise Arensberg, William Lane, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, George Waters, William Carlos Williams, and Edward Weston. The series also includes correspondence with the Archives of American Art, Sheeler's biographer Constance Rourke, and with publishers, editors, children, and the general public. Lastly, there are condolence letters written to Musya Sheeler following Sheeler's death in May 1965.
Writings include Sheeler's journal dating from the 1950s-1963 and two notebooks containing notes, addresses, recipes, etc. Also found are Sheeler's writings on artists, drafts for articles, and a manuscript and notes for an autobiography that Sheeler wrote for Harcourt Brace. The autobiography became the basis for Constance Rourke's biography Charles Sheeler: Artist in the American Tradition published in 1938. The writing series also includes a short story by Musya Sheeler, and an illustrated short story by friend Dorothy Eidlitz.
The scrapbook series contains two oversize scrapbooks dating from 1930s-1960s that include newspaper and magazine clippings about Sheeler and his artwork, exhibition announcements and brochures, a poem, and a thank you letter from Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.
Additional printed materials date from 1923-1966 and document Sheeler's numerous exhibitions, notably his partnership with Edith Halpert and the Downtown Gallery. Found here are clippings, copies of magazines, exhibition announcements and catalogs, museum bulletings, books, and miscellaneous items.
Photographs date from circa 1840s-1963 and include photographs of Sheeler's family, of Sheeler, and of Sheeler with friends and colleagues. There is one daguerreotype, two ambrotypes, and two tintypes of Sheeler's family and of Sheeler as a child. There are copyprints of these originals. Additional photographs are of Sheeler's mother and father (or possibly Sheeler's grandparent), of Sheeler, of Sheeler with his wife Musya, Sheeler with William Lane, Sheeler with Edward Weston, and Sheeler with Edward Steichen and John Marin. The series also includes photographs of Sheeler's collection of Shaker furniture, and photographs of exhibitions.
Artwork by Sheeler dates from circa 1930s-1960s and includes artifacts of manufactured pieces based on his industrial designs. Found are a glass tumbler, salt and pepper shakers, a tea spoon, fabrics designed by Sheeler, and sketches. The series also includes a drawing by Peggy Bacon and a photograph by Minor White.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series. Materials are arranged by material type and chronologically or alphabetically thereafter:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1875, 1928-1965 (Boxes 1, 5, OV10; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1937-1966 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1930s-1965 (Boxes 1-2 ; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Scrapbooks, 1930s-1960s (Boxes 2, 6; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1923-1966 (Boxes 2-4, 7; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1840s-1963 (Box 4, OV11; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1930s-1960s (Boxes 4-5, 8-9, OV12-OV14; 1.1 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Painter, photographer, lithographer and designer, Charles Rettew Sheeler Jr. was born on July 16, 1883 to Mary Cunningham Sheeler and Charles Rettew Sheeler in Philadelphia. He attended the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia from 1900-1903 and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied under William Merritt Chase. He found early success as a painter and exhibited at the Macbeth Gallery in 1908.
Around 1910 Sheeler took up photography, and by 1912 financially supported himself photographing buildings for local Philadelphia architects. The following year, Sheeler exhibited six paintings at the 1913 Armory Show in New York. In the mid 1910s, Sheeler began to collect American antiques, and by the 1920s was actively acquiring Shaker crafts and furniture.
In 1916, Sheeler was hired by Marius de Zayas of the Modern Gallery in New York to photograph objects and artwork. From 1917-1924, he worked as the staff photographer for the Modern Gallery and moved to New York in 1918. In 1920, Sheeler was hired as a still photographer for The Arts Magazine.
In 1926, Sheeler was hired by Edward Steichen to work as a fashion and celebrity photographer for Conde Nast Publications. His photographs were regularly featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair, but Sheeler also worked as a still life photographer for numerous advertising agencies. The following year, he was commissioned by the advertising firm N.W. Ayer and Son to photograph Ford Motor Company's new plant at River Rouge.
While working as a photographer, Sheeler continued to paint and used the subjects and composition of his photographs as a basis for his painting. His paintings Skyscrapers, 1922; Upper Deck, 1929; and American Landscape, 1930 are examples of Sheeler's technique of merging photographic imagery with painting and his overall precisionist style.
In 1931, upon the advice and guidance of Edith Halpert of the Downtown Gallery, Sheeler began to paint more often and to photograph less. Halpert became Sheeler's primarily dealer, and from 1931-1966 regularly exhibited his paintings and drawings. With Halpert's support, Sheeler produced Classic Landscape, 1931; American Interior, 1934; Silo, 1938; Amoskeag Canal, 1948; and Convolutions, 1952. In addition to Sheeler's partnership with Halpert, his work was exhibited by other galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad.
In 1939, Sheeler married his second wife, Musya Metas Sokolova (1908-1981) and, in 1942, the couple moved to Irvington-on-Hudson, New York. Sheeler continued to paint and photograph until he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1959. After 1959, Sheeler remained active exhibiting his artwork until his death on May 7, 1965 in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds several collections that are related to Charles Sheeler.
There are two oral history interviews with Sheeler conducted by Mary Bartlett Cowdrey in December 1958, and by Martin Friedman in June 1959. The Archives also has the records of the Macbeth Gallery, which include a substantial amount of correspondence with Sheeler from 1907-1921, and the Downtown Gallery records, which also include correspondence with Sheeler, photographs of Sheeler and his artwork, exhibition publications, clippings, press releases, and audio visual materials dating from 1904-1972.
Also found in the the Archives is a loan of Charles Sheeler letters filmed on reel NY/59-5 containing letters written by Sheeler to his psychologist and art collector, Dr. Helen Boigon, art student George Craven, and friend William Carlos Williams, all dating from 1939-1958. There is a collection of six letters of Sheeler letters addressed to Doris Royce, possibly an art critic, dating from 1949-1957. Miscellaneous manuscript collections include one letter written by Sheeler to E.P. Richardson in 1958, and another letter written to Frank Crowninshield in September, 1939.
Separated Material:
Portions of Sheeler's papers that were originally loaned for microfilming were not included in the later gifts and are available only on microfilm reel NSH-1. A watercolor study microfilmed on reel 1811 was later transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. These materials are not described in the container list of this finding aid.
Provenance:
Charles Sheeler's wife Musya initially loaned the papers to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1958, 1965, and 1966. In June, 1966, she donated most of the earlier loaned materials. In 1964, Sheeler's friend Howard Lipman donated three photographs of Sheeler with Edward Steichen and John Marin. The third accrual was transferred to the Archives by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Library in June 1979.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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.
Project files containmagazine and newspaper clippings, reviews, correspondence, renderings, floor plans, perspective drawings, site plans, sketches, preliminary drawings, patents, stationery, labels, and technical reports. There is an extensive collection of photographs and slides of many of Deskey's packaging designs, interiors, furnishings, and exhibition installations. The files of Donald Deskey Associates include organizational charts, client files, proposals, and financial records. Some of Deskey's personal correspondence, speeches, articles, and family photographs are included. Materials cover the period from 1927-1975.
Arrangement note:
Arranged into six records groups: 1) architecture/interiors projects; 2)Donald Deskey Associates; 3) industrial design projects; 4) reference; 5) Donald Deskey's personal papers; and 6) photographs. A special collection of more than one thousand slides of Deskey's work are boxed separately.
Biographical/Historical note:
Industrial, interior, and packaging designer. Born Blue Earth, Minnesota, November 23, 1894. By 1943, he had established Donald Deskey Associates in New York. Along with Dreyfuss, Bel Geddes, and Loewy, Deskey was one of the great industrial design pioneers in the 1930s.
He is best known for his designs for the furnishings and interiors of Radio City Music Hall in 1932, and for his work for companies such as: Widdicomb Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; W & J Sloane, New York; and Estey Manufacturing Company, Owosso, Michigan. Deskey is also known for his familiar packaging designs for Procter & Gamble products, such as Crest toothpaste, Prell shampoo, and Tide detergent.
Donald Deskey Associates also was responsible for lamppost #10, the streetlight still in use today in New York City. Materials from this archival collection were featured in Cooper-Hewitt's 1994 exhibition and accompanying book, "Packaging the New: Design and the American Consumer, 1925- 1975."
Location of Other Archival Materials Note:
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department. Approximately 3,000 drawings for furniture and textile designs.
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Applied Arts Department. Two tables, handles, and a glass bottle and box designed by Deskey.
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Textiles Department. One textile designed by Deskey.
Other sources of archival information on Deskey include, the Procter & Gamble Archive, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Deskey Associates, New York City.
Provenance:
The Deskey collection was donated to the museum in three installments.
In 1975, Deskey deposited at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum,, hundreds of drawings, 3 four-drawer file cabinets of material, and several oversized packages comprising the bulk of his papers covering the period from 1927-1965. These items were officially donated to the museum in 1988.
In 1992, Deskey Associates of New York made an additional gift consisting of, approximately 1,000 35mm slides that documented projects from the 1960s through 1980s, and focused primarily on designs for packaging.
In 1994, Donald Deskey's nephew, Robert Deskey presented the Museum with, 120 postcards, letters, and family photographs.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use onsite by appointment. Permission of staff required to photograph materials.
The papers of New York sculptor, painter, educator, and video artist, Benedict Tatti (1917-1993) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1936-2011, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-1993. Papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, project files, subject files, exhibition files, writings, notes, and lists, printed materials, and photographs. Exhibition files and printed material, such as catalogues and checklists provide an overview of Tatti's activities as a sculptor and video artist. Also, photographs of artwork are a rich source of provenance-related information on Tatti's sculptures.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of New York sculptor, painter, educator, and video artist, Benedict Tatti (1917-1993) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1936-2011, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-1993. Papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, project files, subject files, exhibition files, writings, notes, and lists, printed materials, and photographs. Exhibition files and printed material, such as catalogues and checklists provide an overview of Tatti's activities as a sculptor and video artist. Also, photographs of artwork are a rich source of provenance-related information on Tatti's sculptures.
Biographical materials include curriculum vitae, Who's Who in American Art, memberships, and awards. Correspondence is primarily from colleagues, dealers, collectors, and representatives of museums, galleries, and arts organizations. There are a few outgoing letters from Benedict Tatti, including a handmade holiday card. Among the notable correspondents are Jane Canfield, Lloyd Goodrich, Louis Slobodkin, and William Zorach. Also found is a small portion of Adele Tatti's correspondence relating to her late husband's artwork.
Project files contain Tatti's commissions for Eutectic-Castolin Institute, Staten Island Community College, Statue of Liberty Restoration, and the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts; application proposals to Creative Artists Public Service program (CAPS); and the artist's invention of the rewind reel adapter. Subject files include Tatti's memberships and activities in professional associations, e.g., American Medallic Sculpture Association, American Numismatic Society, and Audubon Artists; Tatti's Artist-in-Residence proposals for the Television Lab, WNET 13; and his involvement in educational video presentations. Exhibition files consist of scattered materials on Tatti's shows at the Anthology Film Archives; Burr Galleries; Galerie Claude Bernard; The Kitchen, Mercer Arts Gallery; Northeast Harbor Gallery; and Roko Gallery.
Writings, notes, and lists include writings by Benedict Tatti; writings about Benedict Tatti, including a statement on the artist by Isamu Noguchi; and lists compiled by Adele Tatti relating to her late husband's work. Artwork contains Tatti's sketch of a sculpture for the Northeast Harbor Museum and sketches of medal designs. Printed material consists of announcements, brochures, invitations, exhibition catalogues and checklists, clippings, periodicals, newsletters, reproductions, other printed matter, and monographs. Photographs include black and white prints of portrait shots of Benedict Tatti, Tatti in his studio and with others, video equipment and Tatti's video art; also found are color photographs of Tatti's sculptures and design maquettes.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1936-1993 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1945-2008 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 3: Project Files, 1966-2005 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1950s-2008 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1945-1992 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 6: Writings, Notes, and Lists, circa 1940s-2009 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 7: Artwork, 1970-circa 1990s (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1937-1976 (Boxes 1-2; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs (circa 1936-1970s), circa 1964-2010 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Benedict Tatti (1917-1993) worked in New York as a sculptor, painter, educator, and video artist.
Born in New York in 1917, Tatti began his art education at Haaren High School. He continued his studies at the Roerich Museum with Louis Slobodkin, the Art Students League with William Zorach and Ossip Zadkine, and the Leonardo da Vinci School of Art under Attillio Piccirelli. Later in his career, he attended the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts. During World War II, Tatti served in the United States Army Air Force, where he spent three years assigned to variety of projects. In 1948, Benedict Tatti married Adele Rosenberg in New York City.
Throughout his career, Tatti continuously experimented with various media. From 1952-1963, Tatti executed sculptural models of architectural and consumer products for the industrial designers, Raymond Loewy Associates; later he became a color consultant for the firm. In the 1960s, influenced by the Abstract Expressionists, Tatti turned from carving directly in wood and stone to creating assemblage sculptures, using bronze metal and other industrial materials. During this period, Tatti spent summers on Monhegan Island in Maine, where he developed his water coloring techniques. In 1963, Tatti was hired to teach sculpture at the High School of Art and Design in New York, a position that he held for fifteen years.
In the 1970s, Tatti, with no previous background in video work developed technology for video imaging. He became an associate member of the Kitchen at the Mercer Arts Center exhibiting his video sculptures along with other early innovators of this new art form. In 1975, he invented a rewind reel adapter device. Despite health problems, Tatti continued to work and exhibit into the 1980s. He assisted his brother, Alexander Tatti and his nephew, Steven Tatti on the restoration of the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, which was completed in 1985.
Benedict Tatti received solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in the United States and abroad, including the Burr Gallery, Claude Bernard Galleries, Metropolitan Museum of Art, under the Artists for Victory Program, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, Northeast Gallery, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Roko Gallery. Also, Tatti's work was regularly featured in annual exhibitions of several arts organizations: American Society of Contemporary Artists, Annual Avant Garde Festival, Audubon Artists, Brooklyn Society of Artists, and Painters and Sculptors Society of New Jersey. His awards included the National Soldier Art Competition at the National Gallery of Art (1945); Artist-in-Residence, National Center of Experiments TV, San Francisco, California, (1969); and the Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS), (1972). Tatti's artwork is in the permanent collections of the American Numismatic Society, Art Students League, Dumbarton Oaks, Monhegan Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.
Benedict Tatti died on July 30, 1993.
Provenance:
The Benedict Tatti papers were donated by Adele Tatti, widow of Benedict Tatti, in 2010.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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:
Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Notes
Awards
Lists
Christmas cards
Photographs
Designs
Sketches
Citation:
Benedict Tatti, 1936-2011, bulk 1945-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This series consists of personal and work-related correspondence (primarily incoming correspondence) between Cahill and various friends and colleagues. While a large portion of the series documents Cahill's position as Director of the FAP, it also extends beyond those years and illuminates other aspects of Cahill's career including his interest in folk and Asian art, and his work as an art critic.
There is significant correspondence with the artist Stanton MacDonald Wright between 1936 and 1950, and with the artist Irene Pereira between 1950 and 1953. The series also documents research which Cahill conducted in the late 1940s on the development of the Index of American Design for his introduction to a book on the Index by the National Gallery of Art, published by the Macmillan Company. Correspondence from 1949 provides another angle on the historical details of the FAP through lengthy correspondence documenting Cahill's criticism of William Francis McDonald's book Federal Relief Administration and the Arts (Ohio State University Press, 1969).
There is a large amount of correspondence from July 1960 comprising sympathy letters to Dorothy C. Miller following Cahill's death. Correspondence from 1977 encloses a catalog of an exhibition organized by New York WPA Artists, Inc., at the Parsons School of Design in November 1977. The exhibition, New York City WPA Art, was dedicated to the memory of Holger Cahill.
See Appendix for a list of correspondents (with the exception of those microfilmed on reel 1105) in Series 2
Appendix: Correspondents in Series 2:
Abbott, Berenice: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
Abbott, John: [1946]
Abell, Walter ( -- Canadian Art): -- 1943-1944 (2 letters)
Adams, Charles C.: 1940
Alcopley, Mr.: [1952] (including typescript "Pictures of Alcopley" by Saburo Hasegawa); 1953-1960 (4 letters)
Alsberg, Henry G. (Director, Federal Writers' Projects): 1936 (4 letters)
American Council of Learned Societies: 1949
American Federation of Arts: 1949-1952 (3 letters)
American Folk Art Gallery: 1941
American Heritage: 1954
American Swedish Historical Foundation: 1949
Andrews, Robert Armstrong and Eleanor: [1960], undated
Art in America: 1953
Artists For Victory: [1942]
Artists League of America: 1945
Artists Union of Massachusetts: 1936 (telegram to President Roosevelt)
Arts Council of Japanese Americans for Democracy: 1944
Ashton, Dore: [1960]
Bach, Richard F. (Metropolitan Museum): 1924 and 1950
Bailey, Herbert: 1972 (letter from Naomi Bliven)
Baker, Donald: [1936]
Baker, Jacob (WPA): 1935-1960, undated (10 letters)
Barach, Frederica (Writers' War Board): 1944
Barker, Virgil and Ida: 1945-1960 (4 letters)
Barnard College: 1951 (2 letters)
Barr, Alfred H., Jr. (Museum of Modern Art): 1935-1960 (16 letters)
Barr, Tony: 1960
Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc.: 1950
Baur, John (Brooklyn Museum): 1946-1960 (6 letters)
Winchester, Alice ( -- Antiques -- Magazine): 1950-1951 (6 letters)
Winser, Beatrice: 1924-1944 (6 letters)
Winter, Anna K. (antiques dealer): 1935
Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin: 1939
Woodstock Artists Association: 1960
Woodward, Ellen S.: 1936-1938 (3 letters)
Worcester, Wakefield (architect): 1936
Wright, Russell (industrial designer): [1960]
Wyn: A. A. Wyn, Inc.: 1951
Youngerman, Jack: 1960
Zegri, Armando (Galeria Sudamericana): 1960
Zimmerman, Fred and Dorothy: [1960]
Zorach, William: 1936-1960 (3 letters)
Collection Restrictions:
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
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:
Holger Cahill papers, 1910-1993, bulk 1910-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by Jane Blumenfeld.
Sweet, Frederick A. (Frederick Arnold), 1903-1984 Search this
Extent:
2 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 6 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Date:
1928-1981
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, printed material, photographs, sketches, writings, financial material and interviews.
REEL N69-54: Scrapbooks; exhibition catalogs, articles and clippings from the London Eagle; biographical data; and writings, including THE ARTS AND THE UNIVERSITY: A SYMPOSIUM.
REEL N69-66: Correspondence, Christmas cards and telegrams; exhibition catalogs and publications; photographs of art work and projects; and references to Roszak in Whitney Museum publications.
REEL N69-81: Correspondence; talks and taped interviews; notes; press releases and statements.
REEL 2134-2136: Correspondence with museums, art organizations and Alfred Barr, Lloyd Goodrich, Pierre Matisse, Eero and Aline Saarinen, David Smith and Frederick Sweet; subject files containing correspondence, printed material, sketches, blueprints (not microfilmed) and financial material for the U.S. Embassy in London and the J. F. Kennedy memorial grave; biographical material; writings, speeches and interviews; exhibition catalogs, announcements and clippings; and photographs of Roszak and his sculpture.
UNMICROFILMED: An exhibition catalog of Roszak's drawings, 1981; 16 photographs and negatives of works by Alexander Calder, Julio Gonzalez, Richard Lippold, Ezio Martinelli, and David Smith; and a negative of David Smith's studio.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, painter, designer, decorator, lithographer, teacher, craftsperson; New York City. Born in Poland. Died in 1981. Studied at the National Academy of Design. Member of American Artists Congress. Teacher at Laboratory School of Industrial Design, N.Y.
Provenance:
Material on reels N69-54, N69-66 & N69-81 lent for microfilming by Theodore Roszak, 1969. Material on reels 2134-2136 donated by Roszak, 1980. Unmicrofilmed material donated by Sara Jane Roszak, Theodore's daughter, 1983.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
5.3 Linear feet (Boxes 1-6, OV 47; Reels 5708-5717)
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1923-1986
Scope and Contents note:
Correspondents in this series include a wide range of international architects, designers, and artists who interacted with Breuer. The letters discuss his training and the execution of his hundreds of architectural projects and designs for furnishings. Researchers will find the letters between Breuer and his Bauhaus colleagues, including Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, Walter Gropius, and László Moholy-Nagy, of particular interest.
Appendix A: List of Notable Correspondents from Series 2: Correspondence
Arrangement note:
The files are arranged chronologically, with the undated letters arranged alphabetically according to the correspondents' surnames.
Appendix A: List of Notable Correspondents from Series 2: Correspondence:
Missing Title
Aalto, Alvar, 1964 (1 invitation): to reception honoring Aalto
Abercrombie, Stan (architect), 1964-1977 (8 letters)
Abramovitz, Max (Harrison & Abramovitz, Architects), 1947 (3 letters) and 1963 invitation from Brandeis University in honor of Abramovitz
Agel, Jerome B. (Agel & Friend), 1959 (1 letter): includes press release
Agostini, Edward (Becker and Becker Associates), 1969 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Airflow Refrigeration, 1954: (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1947 (1 letter)
Albers, Josef ("Juppy") and Anni (Black Mountain College), 1933-1958 (11 letters): a 1956 letter includes miscellaneous typescripts by Albers and clippings; a 1965 letter to the Phoenix Art Museum from William A. Leonard of the Contemporary Arts Center concerns an Albers exhibition and includes a list of works; a 1967 letter from Breuer to National Institute of Arts and Letters includes a typescript concerning Albers
Alexander, H. J. W. (Architectural Association), 1957-1958 (4 letters)
Alpern, Robert, 1964 (letter from Breuer)
B. Altman & Company, 1951 (1 letter)
Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), 1946-1964 (2 letters)
Aluminum Import Corporation, 1946 (2 letters)
Alvarez, Raúl J., 1968 (1 letter)
American Academy in Rome, 1947-1961 (4 letters): request recommendations for Frederic S. Coolidge, Arthur Myhrum, and Thomas B. Simmons
American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1965-1978 (10 letters): a letter 1967 is a nomination by Walter Gropius for Sigfried Giedion's honorary membership in American Academy of Arts and Letters and National Institute of Arts and Letters; see National Institute of Arts and Letters
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1977 (1 letter)
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1946 (1 letter)
American Arbitration Association, 1960-1968 (52 letters)
American Church in Paris, 1966 (1 letter): from Robert F. Gatje
American Council for Emigres in the Professions, Inc., undated: letter introduces Viola Kondor
American Craftsmen's Council (Mrs. Vanderbilt Webb), 1967 (1 letter)
American Designer's Institute, 1947 (convention schedule)
American Export and Isbrandtsen Lines, 1963 (1 letter)
American Federation of Arts, 1958-1967 (8 letters)
American Field Service, 1956 (1 ): letter from Breuer on behalf of Danielle Eyquem
American Fork & Hoe Company, 1944 (1 letter)
American Hungarian Studies Foundation (August J. Molnár), 1964-1968 (10 letters): a 1967 invitation is to George Washington Awards Dinner in honor of Breuer, Watson Kirkconnel, and Hans Selye
American Institute of Architects, College of Fellows, 1976 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Institute of Architects, Jury of Fellows, 1960 (3 letters): from Breuer
American Institute of Architects, Library Buildings Award Program, 1967 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter, 1945-1963 (16 letters)
American Institute of Decorators (Richard F. Bach), 1956 (1 letter)
American Institute of Interior Design in Switzerland (Charles D. Gandy and Susan Zimmermann), 1977-1978 (2 letters)
American-Jewish Congress: see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI)
American Library Association, 1951-1968 (2 letters)
American Planning and Civic Association, undated: membership notice
American Press Institute, 1974-1975 (5 letters): from Breuer
American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation, 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
American Shakespeare Festival, 1954 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Society for Church Architecture, 1965-1966 (4 letters)
American Society for Friendship with Switzerland, 1969 (1 letter)
American Society of Interior Decorators, 1976 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA), 1945-1947 (12 letters)
Anderson, Lawrence B., 1945-1965 (2 letters): see American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA)
András, Ivánka, 1957 (1 letter)
Andrews, Robert, 1956 (1 letter)
Aoyagi, Nobuo, 1964 (1 letter)
Aoyagi, Tetsu, 1965 (1 letter)
Arbelaez, Carlos, 1952 (1 letter): from Breuer)
Architects & Engineers Institute, 1959 (1 letter)
Architects' Collaborative, 1946-1959 (3 letters): see McMillan, Louis and Peggy
Architectural Association, London, 1965-1969 (7 letters): see project file for UNESCO for correspondence with Edward J. Carter Architectural Design, 1960 (1 letter): from Ernesto Fuenmayor and Manuel Sayago of Centro Profesional del Este)
Architectural Forum, 1960 (1 letter): from Leonard J. Currie
Architectural Group, (W. D. Wilson), 1947 (1 letter)
Architectural League of New York, 1947-1975: (26 letters and minutes from 6 meetings): see Ketchum, Morris
Architectural Record, 1946-1959 (9 letters)
Architectural Students Association, 1958 (1 letter)
Architecture Formes Fonctions, 1971 (3 letters): includes a typescript "Design Research in Concrete" for July 1971 magazine
Architektur + Wohnwelt, 1975 (3 letters)
Argan, Giulio Carlo, 1955-1957 (6 letters)
Arizona, University of, 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Bevington, Mariette (stained-glass designer), 1967 (1 letter): to Herbert Beckhart
Bharadwaj, Ajaya, 1955 (2 letters)
Biasini, E. J. (French prime minister), 1972 (1 letter)
Biddle, Mrs. Francis, 1962-1968 (3 letters): includes a funeral announcement for her husband)
Biddle, George, 1965 (4 letters): 3 from Breuer
Bier, Justus (University of Louisville), 1938 (3 letters)
Bigeleisen, Jacob (University of Rochester), 1970 (1 letter) Ronald S. Biggins and Associates, 1958 (1 letter)
Bijenkorfbeheer N.V., Amsterdam, 1967-1974 (2 letters): from Breuer
Bill, Alexander H., Jr., undated (1 calling card)
Blake, Peter (architect), undated and 1950-1976 (41 letters): a 1958 letter from Breuer is illustrated with a hand-drawn map by
Blake of Easthampton property
Blanton, John A., 1951 (1 letter)
Blaustein, Morton K., 1963-1965 (2 letters)
Bliss, Douglas P. (Glasgow School of Art), 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
Bloeme, Sidney, 1963 (1 memorandum): from James S. Plaut
Blum, Kurt (photographer), 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Bode, Paul (architect), 1956 (1 letter)
Bodri, Ferenc, 1967-1975 (3 letters): 2 1975 letters from Breuer
Boehringer Ingelheim, Ltd., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Bogner, Walter, 1938-1960 (4 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Boissonnas, Eric and Sylvie, undated and 1960-1978 (20 letters)
Bollingen Foundation, 1964 (1 invitation): to reception in honor of Sigfried Giedion
Bonaparte, Mrs. Robert L., 1955 (1 letter)
Bonomi, Maria, undated and 1958 (2 letters)
Bookman, Mrs. John, 1964 (1 letter)
BorbÃró, Virgil (Hungarian architect), 1945-1956 (2 letters): includes BorbÃró's obituary
Borglum, Paul, 1950 (1 letter): see Project File for UNESCO
Born, Karl, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Borsódy, István ("Stephen"; historian; Hungarian Legation) and Zsóka, 1946-1965 (5 letters): 1951 letter includes a biographical sketch of Borsódy by Aladár Szegedy-Maszák
Bortfeldt, Hermann (Büro Willy Brandt), 1963 (1 letter)
Bosch, Robert, 1934 (2 letters)
Bosserman, Joseph Norwood, 1963-1967 (2 letters)
Bosshard, J., 1956 (1 letter)
Boston Architectural Center, 1968 (1 letter)
Boston Redevelopment Authority, 1970 (1 letter)
Boston Society of Architects, 1946 (1 letter): from Breuer to John R. Abbott
Botond, Stephen G. ("Pista"; architect), 1958-1960 (2 letters): includes wedding announcement for Botond and Patricia Potter Luce
Bouchet, Maxime, 1953 (5 letters)
Bourget, Inc., 1955 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Bower, John, 1954 (1 letter)
Bozzola, Vittorio, 1964 (2 letters)
Bradford, Carol (Mrs. Amory H. Bradford), 1951 (1 letter): from Breuer
Brandon-Jones, John, 1958 (1 letter)
Brandstätter, Elsbeth, 1936-1937 (2 letters)
Brassaï, Gyula Halász (Romanian photographer), undated (1 calling card): no signature
Peter Bratti Associates, 1974-1975 (2 letters): from Breuer
Bratti, Peter (A. Tozzini Tile Works, Inc.), 1958 (1 letter)
General Electric Appliances, Inc., 1947 (1 letter)
General Electric Company, 1943-1950 (6 letters)
General Fireproofing Company, 1943-1946 (4 letters)
Georges, Alexandre (photographer), 1974-1976 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Geraghty, Margaret, 1960 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Gerbman, Joyce, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Giedion-Welcker, Sigfried and Carola, undated and 1932-1976 (62 letters): see Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM; Chapter for Relief and Post-War Planning)
Grimball, Henry G. (Harvard University), 1950 (1 letter)
Gropius, Walter ("Pius") and Ise ("Pia"), undated and 1933-1969 (120 letters): see Harvard University, Graduate School of Design; Project File for UNESCO
Grosse Pointe Public Library, 1960 (1 letter)
Grossi, Olindo (Architectural League of New York), 1957 (4 letters): see Pratt Institute; see Project File for UNESCO
Grosswirth, M. (New York University, College of Engineering), 1958 (1 letter)
Gröte, Dr. Andreas and Laura, 1961-1967 (3 letters)
Gröte, Ludwig and Gertrud Maud, 1956-1967 (5 letters)
Groupe Espace, 1952-1954 (5 letters)
Gruber, Gerd, 1965-1967 (2 letters)
Gruber, Richard D. (Independent Oil Company of Connecticut, Inc.), 1970 (1 letter)
Gruzen, Barney Sumner, 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer
Gstrein, Kassian, 1936 (1 letter)
Guenther, Carl Frederic, 1958 (1 letter)
Guerrero, Pedro E. (photographer), 1955 (1 letter): from Breuer
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1964 (1 letter): concerns the loan from Breuer of an Alexander Calder work
Guilford Leather Company, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer
Gumbel, Robert W., 1950 (1 letter)
Gutheim, Polly (Mrs. Frederick A. Gutheim), 1946 (1 letter)
Haas, Robert (Ram Press), 1954-1957 (8 letters): from Breuer's office
Hächler, W. (architect), 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hack, Lynda, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hackett, Gabriel D. (photographer), 1963 (1 letter)
Hackley Art Museum, 1977 (3 letters)
Hagenbach, Marguerite: see Arp, Hans Jean
Hagerty, Francis (Hagerty Company), 1945 (2 letters)
Hagerty, John, 1958 (1 letter)
Haggerty, Brian (Sacred Heart Seminary), 1964 (1 letter)
Hagmann, John S. (and Robert A. M. Stern), undated (1 letter)
Hagood, M. Lindsey (Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Architectural Speakers Committee), 1952 (3 letters)
Hahn, Alexander, 1957-1958 (2 letters)
Halász, Dezso (International Union of Local Authorities), 1957-1959 (3 letters)
Halász, Ferenc, 1959 (2 letters)
Halborg, Rev. John E. (Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Advent), 1968 (1 letter)
Hall, John Hughes (Nardin & Radoczy), 1956-1957 (2 letters)
Halprin, Lawrence, 1966-1970 (2 letters)
Halverson, Marvin (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA), 1955-1956 (4 letters)
Halvorson, Roy E., 1956-1971 (4 letters)
Hambuechen, Dr. Eva-Dorothee, 1937 (1 letter)
Hamer, R. D. (Aluminium Laboratories Ltd.), 1946 (1 letter)
Hammett, Ralph W., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Hancy, L., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Hansen, Thomas L. (University of Colorado, Boulder), 1956 (1 letter)
Hanson, B. (Mrs. John Hanson), 1955-1967 (3 letters)
Haraszty, Eszter, undated and 1956 (2 letters)
Harbert, Guido, 1950 (1 letter)
Hardoy, Jorge Ferrari (architect), 1965 (1 letter)
Hendry, Charles E. ("Chick"; University of Tornoto), 1950 (2 letters): see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI) of the American Jewish Congress
Henin, Mme. S., 1956 (2 letters)
Henze, Wilfried, 1964 (1 letter)
Herbe, Paul (architect), 1963 (1 letter)
Herford, Julius G., 1945 (1 letter)
Herman, Harold M., undated (1 letter)
Hermanson, Ray T. (Trynor & Hermanson, Architects), 1957 (1 letter)
Herrera, Alberto Rodriguez (El Recreo, Centro Profesional del Este), 1960 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Herrey, Hermann (architect), 1946-1947 (3 letters)
Herter, Susan and Chris, undated (1 letter)
Hertner, W. (architect), 1939 (1 letter)
Hertzell, Tage (Meningsblad for Unge Arkitekter), 1956 (1 letter)
Hudnut, Joseph ("Vi"; Harvard University) and Claire, undated and 1946-1947 (3 letters): see American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA); Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), Chapter for Relief and Post-War Planning; Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
Hug, Hattula Moholy-Nagy (daughter of László Moholy-Nagy), 1976 (1 letter)
Hungarian Alumni Association, undated (1 letter): includes a hand-drawn map, 8 photographs of Hungarian cityscapes, 4 photographs of city views, and a drawing of the facade of a building
Hunter, Louise, 1947 (1 letter)
Hurley, Jane C., 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hurwitz, Joe, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hutchhausen, Walther, 1937 (1 letter)
Hutchins, John Jay (Law Offices of S. G. Archibald), 1963-1969 (14 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Hutton: E. F. Hutton Company, 1946-1951 (7 letters)
Huygens, W., 1957 (1 letter)
Ichban [?], Hans ("Zero"), undated and 1939 (2 letters)
Ikuta, Tsutomu, 1951 (1 letter)
Illinois, University of, Chapter of AIA, 1959 (2 letters)
Illinois, University of, Urbana, 1957-1964 (4 letters)
Ilmanen, J. William, 1955-1956 (2 letters)
Immanuel, M., 1946 (2 letters)
India, ambassador from, 1965 (1 invitation): to Nehru
N.V. Induventa, 1935 (1 letter)
Ingrand, Max, undated (2 letters)
Institute der Schwestern, Baldegg, Switzerland, 1970-1975 (5 letters): 4 from Breuer
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, 1970 (1 letter)
Institute of Contemporary Art, 1954-1956 (3 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Institute of Contemporary Art, Department of Design in Industry, 1951 (3 notices of meetings)
Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1953-1959 (6 letters)
Institute of International Education, 1960-1961 (4 letters)
Instituto Internazionale di Arte Liturgica, 1970 (1 letter)
Interiors Incorporated, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Interiors International, 1963 (4 letters)
Interiors magazine, 1950 (1 letter)
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), 1963-1974 (4 letters): 2 from Breuer
International Business Machines (IBM) Deutschland, 1970 (1 letter)
International Congress for Engineering Education, 1947 (2 letters)
International Congress for Modern Architecture: see Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM)
International Contract Furnishings, Inc., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
International Design Conference, Aspen, Colorado, 1953-1955 (4 letters)
International Lighting Review, 1961 (1 letter)
International Rescue Committee, Inc., undated (1 letter)
Iowa State College, 1960 (1 letter): see Myers, John S.
Iran, empress of, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Irving & Casson/A. H. Davenport Company, 1945 (1 letter): see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI)
Irving, Michael H. (Irving and Jacob), undated and 1968-1971 (4 letters)
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 1961-1963 (3 letters): from the White House
Kennedy, Robert Woods (first architect in Gropius-Breuer office, Cambridge, Massachusetts), undated and 1950 (3 letters): see American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA)
Kennerly, Albert (Kennerly Construction Company, Inc.), 1947 (1 letter)
Keogh, Eugene J. (Halpin, Keogh & St. John), 1970 (1 letter)
Kepes, György (architect) and Juliet, undated and 1924-1978 (29 letters)
Minnesota, State of, Board of Registration, 1954 (2 letters)
Minnesota, University of, 1953 (1 letter)
Miró, Joan, 1959-1963 (2 letters): 1 from Breuer
Mitchell and Ritchey, 1947 (2 letters)
Mitchell, Mary, 1954 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Miya & Company, 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Modern Industry, 1947 (1 letter)
Modern Master Tapestries, Inc., 1974-1975 (4 letters): from Breuer's office
Moffett, Toby, 1974 (1 letter)
Moholy, Lucia, 1957-1958 (5 letters)
Moholy-Nagy, László ("Lakci") and Sibyl, 1934-1955 (40 letters): includes a 1946 exhibition catalog for a Walter Gropius exhibition at the School of Design, Chicago; see also Hug, Hattula Moholy-Nagy
Moldcast Products, Inc., 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Molitor, Joseph W. (photographer), 1955-1975 (5 letters): 4 from Breuer
Molnár, Farkas (Hungarian architect), undated and 1933-1940 (25 letters)
Mongan, Agnes, 1938 (1 letter)
Montague, Harvey, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Montgomery, Elizabeth (Mrs. Wilmot), 1950 (1 letter)
Moore, Henry, 1946-1962 (13 letters): 6 from Breuer
Moore, Joe A., 1945 (2 letters)
Moore, Paul S. (architect), 1966-1967 (3 letters)
Morassutti, Mangiarotti, 1961 (1 letter)
Moretti, Bruno, 1936 (1 letter)
Morgan, Alice, 1939 (1 letter)
Morgan, Sherley W. (Princeton University), 1952 (3 letters)
Móricz, Miklós, 1947 (1 letter)
Morrell, Mrs. Ben, 1965 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Sydney Morrell & Company, Inc., 1973-1976 (4 letters)
Morris, Walter (Fuller & Smith & Ross, Inc.), 1950 (1 letter)
Morrow, Margot, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Napier, Frieda (Mrs. Ian Napier), undated and 1937 (7 letters)
Nathan, Carl H. (Suncraft), 1945 (1 letter)
National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, undated (1 letter)
National Citizens for Johnson and Humphrey, 1964 (1 letter)
National Committee of Arts, Letters and Sciences for John F. Kennedy for President, 1960 (2 letters)
National Concrete Masonry Association, 1958-1959 (7 letters)
National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Architects' Committee, 1944-1945 (13 letters)
National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Building Industry Committee, 1946 (6 letters)
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, 1946-1959 (5 letters): request recommendations for Jean Bodman Fletcher, I. M. Pei, and Richard G. Stein
National Council of Churches, 1955 (1 letter)
National Council on Schoolhouse Construction, 1951 (1 letter)
National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1965-1968 (47 letters): 1967 letter from Breuer includes typescripts concerning Josef Albers and Constantino Nivola; 1968 encloses a letter from Philip Johnson; see American Academy of Arts and Letters National Society of Interior Designers, Inc., 1958 (1 letter) National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association, 1955 (1 letter from Murray S. Emslie)
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1975 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Pack, Nancy (Mrs. Howard Meade Pack), undated and 1953 (2 letters)
Paine Furniture Company, 1946 (1 letter)
Pajor, Zoltán, 1938-1947 (7 letters)
Palestrant, Stephen, 1963 (1 letter)
Palmer Physical Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, 1945 (1 letter)
Papachristou, Tician and Judy, undated and 1967-1974 (6 letters)
Papadaki, Stamo, 1945-1951 (14 letters): see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI) of the American-Jewish Congress; Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), Chapter for Relief and Post-War Planning
Praeger, Frederick A. (Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.), 1959-1969 (19 letters): includes a 1959 transcript of Praeger's conversation with Breuer concerning the publication of a book on Breuer's life work
von Segesser, Beat and Francisca, 1968-1975 (1 letter, plus 4 from Breuer)
Wachsmann, Konrad (architect/designer, General Panel Corporation), 1945-1965 (8 letters): see National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Architects' Committee
Wadsworth, Suzanne G., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Wagner, Martin (Harvard University), 1946 (2 letters)
Senator Wagner Memorial Dinner, 1965 (1 invitation): from mayor of New York
Walker and Company, 1966-1967 (2 letters): includes a typescript about Breuer; see also Heyer, Paul O.
Walker Art Center, Center Arts Council, 1959-1962 (12 letters)
Walker, H. E. L. (Universal Moulded Products Company, Ltd.), 1943 (1 letter)
Walker, Ralph (AIA), 1951 (1 letter): from Walter Gropius
Walker, Vicki, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Ward, Ernest and Priscilla (Sprague Electric Company), 1946 (2 letters)
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Watson, Arthur K. (U.S. Embassy, Paris), 1970-1972 (2 letters)
Watson, Thomas, 1970 (1 letter)
Wattjes, Professor J. G., 1935 (1 letter)
Webb & Knapp (Canada), Ltd., 1963 (3 letters)
Weidler, Charlotte (Bauhaus Ausstellung), 1968 (1 letter)
Weidlinger, Paul, 1946: see Project File for UNESCO
Weidlinger Associates, 1983-1984 (2 letters)
Weiner, Paul L., 1950-1966 (2 letters)
Weinstein, Jerry, 1945 (1 letter)
William H. Weintraub & Company, Inc., 1943-1947 (3 letters)
Weiz [?], Tiberio, 1939 (1 letter)
Weizenblatt, Sprinza, 1946-1963 (20 letters)
Wenzler, William P. (architect), 1965-1968 (4 letters)
Weren, Edward C., 1946 (1 letter)
Werner, Ingrid, 1963 (3 letters)
Wertz, Mr. (Der Finanzminister des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer
West China Development Corporation, 1947 (1 letter)
West Coast Stained Shingle Company, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer
Westcott and Mapes, Inc. (architects and engineers), 1970 (1 letter)
Western Arts Association, 1959 (4 letters)
Western Reserve University, 1958 (5 letters)
Westport Public Library, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Zahedi, H. E. Ardeshir (ambassador of Iran), 1974-1975 (4 letters): from Breuer
Zanuso, Marco (architect; Olivetti), 1957 (1 letter): from Breuer
Zechlin, Hans Josef, 1950 (1 letter)
Ziegler, Barbara, 1947 (1 letter)
Ziegler, Frank, 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer
Ziegler, Richard, undated (1 letter)
Zwick, Virgil J., 1959 (1 letter)
Collection Restrictions:
The microfilm for this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
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:
Marcel Breuer papers, 1920-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the microfilming of this collection was provided by the Gerta Charitable Trust. Funding for the digitization of the microfilm was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The papers of architect and designer Florence Knoll Bassett, measure approximately 2 linear feet dating from 1932 to 2000. Through correspondence, sketches, drawings, designs, subject files, photographs, and printed material, the collection selectively documents Knoll Bassett's education, her work with Knoll Associates from the 1940s until her resignation in 1965, and projects undertaken since her retirement. It is an important source of information on the development of interior architecture and design from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of architect, and interior designer and planner Florence Knoll Bassett, measure approximately 2 linear feet dating from 1932 to 2000. The collection selectively documents Knoll Bassett's education and her career at Knoll Associates, Inc. from the 1940s until her resignation in 1965, in addition to personal design projects and other activities after leaving the company. It is an important source of information on the development of interior architecture and design from the 1940s to the 1970s, chronicling the Knoll mission to synthesize space, furniture, and design by creating interiors based on practical use, comfort, and aesthetics.
The collection documents the growth of Knoll's international reputation for its modern furnishings and interiors and the impact of a business philosophy that encompassed design excellence, technological innovation, and mass production. The material includes a chronology of Knoll Bassett's career; a portfolio of sketches, drawings and designs; photographs of Knoll Bassett and others; subject files containing sketches and photographic material; letters from friends, colleagues, clients and others; awards received by Knoll Bassett throughout her career; and printed material.
Much of the material is annotated with historical and biographical notes written by Knoll Bassett which provide invaluable contextual information for the materials found therein. The notes are dated 1999 in the Container Listing, under the assumption that they were written by Florence Knoll Bassett as she was arranging her archival papers.
Arrangement:
Before donating her papers to the Archives of American Art, Knoll Bassett organized the material in portfolios and color-coded files and designed four containers for them. Because the method of arrangement in itself provides insight into Knoll Bassett's style and creativity the collection has been minimally processed with the addition of acid-free materials for preservation reasons and the transcription of labels which may, over time, become detached. The original order of the collection has been retained throughout.
The collection was organized into what Bassett termed "storage units," the first container being divided into three units and the collection as a whole being divided into six units. Knoll Bassett supplied a detailed inventory of the contents of each container and the subjects represented in each porfolio or folder. Subject headings from this inventory have been used in the Series Description/Container Listing. Knoll Bassett also supplied a vita summarizing her career and copies of this, and her original container inventory are enclosed with the collection and can be consulted at AAA's research center in Washington D.C.
The collection is arranged as seven series. These series represent the categories into which Knoll Bassett organized the material, with the exception that Letters and Awards are presented as two series in the finding aid. Most of the items in Series 1 to 4 are presented as portfolios in spiral-bound notebooks and the remainder of the collection is organized in folders.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1932-1999 (Box 1; 1 portfolio)
Series 2: Selected Publications, 1946-1990, 1999 (Box 1; 1 portfolio)
Series 3: Drawings, Sketches, and Designs, 1932-1984, 1999 (Boxes 1-2; 2 portfolios)
Series 4: Photographs and Printed Material, 1956-1997, 1999 (Box 2; 1 portfolio)
Series 5: Subject Files, circa 1930s-1999 (Box 3; 1.0 linear ft.)
Series 6: Letters, circa 1930s-2000 (Box 4; 7 folders)
Series 7: Awards, 1954-1999 (Box 4; 6 folders)
Biographical Note:
Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019) was born Florence Schust and was affectionately known as Shu by her colleagues and friends. She was orphaned at age 12 and then cared for by Emile Tessin, a friend of the family whom her mother had appointed as Florence's legal guardian in the event of her death. When arrangements were being made for Florence to attend boarding school she was given the opportunity to make the selection. Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, held a strong aesthetic appeal for her and she "made an immediate decision that it was the right place for me," beginning her architectural studies under the school's art director, Rachel de Wolfe Raseman.
At Kingswood Knoll Bassett met the Saarinen family, studying under Eliel Saarinen and developing her interest in texture and color through her friendship with Loja Saarinen who supervised the school's weaving studio. Following Florence's graduation from Kingswood in 1934, Eliel Saarinen encouraged her to spend some time at Cranbrook Academy of Art before attending an accredited architecture school. She spent the next two years at Cranbrook working closely with advanced students and artists such as the Saarinens and Carl Milles, and gaining experience in all aspects of design.
Knoll Bassett then studied for two years at the Architectural Association in London, spending summers with the Saarinens in Europe. She completed her formal training at the Illinois Institute of Technology where she studied under Mies van der Rohe, whom she credits with having "a profound effect on my design approach and the clarification of design."
After graduation Knoll Bassett worked for architecture firms in Boston and New York where she met Hans Knoll who was then in the process of establishing a furniture business. In 1943 she began working for him in her spare time as an interior space planner and designer. In 1946 the two were married and formed Knoll Associates, Inc.
As director of the Knoll Planning Unit, Knoll Bassett established herself as one of the most important and influential interior planners and designers of the second half of the twentieth century. Believing that intelligent design "strikes at the root of living requirements and changing habits," she established the practice of working closely with the corporate sector to determine the needs of the people who would actually use the spaces that her company designed. Her connections with leading contemporary architects and designers, and the company's commitment to crediting designers by name and paying them royalties, laid the foundations for the strong working relationships upon which the commercial success of Knoll Associates was built. Drawing on a pool of top architects and designers, many of whom were personal friends, Knoll Bassett directed the company's Bauhaus approach, incorporating design excellence, technological innovation, and mass production in a seamless package of "total design."
While Knoll Bassett oversaw the creative process of the Planning Unit's operations in its entirety, she was also directly responsible for many of the individual elements used in the Unit's projects. During the war years, she worked with her designers to overcome the scarcity of materials, establishing Knoll Textiles in response to the dearth of available fabrics and textile colors, and developing the company's hallmark style of spare clean lines and vibrant colors in a functional, comfortable, and aesthetically appealing space. Finding that much of the "fill-in" furniture, primarily cabinetry, that she envisaged in many of her plans was not available, Knoll Bassett designed the pieces herself. She used the Knoll showrooms as "experimental laboratories" to convince clients to use modern ideas and materials, showcasing and putting into production the classic designs of people such as Eero Saarinen, Mies van der Rohe, Jens Risom, Harry Bertoia, Isamu Noguchi, and Marcel Breuer.
After the war Knoll Associates expanded to Europe through a series of government contracts which resulted ultimately in the formation of Knoll International. When Hans Knoll died suddenly in an automobile accident in 1955 Florence became president of the company. She married Harry Hood Bassett in 1958 and began to divide her time between New York and Florida. In 1959 she sold her interest in Knoll Associates to Art Metal and retired as President of the company the following year, while continuing to work as a consultant and serving as Design Director. In 1961 she became the first woman to be awarded the Gold Medal for Industrial Design by the American Institute of Architects, one of many awards received over the course of her career. In 1965 she resigned from Knoll Associates entirely after completing the interior design for the CBS headquarters in New York.
Following her retirement Knoll Bassett devoted more time to private commissions and other interests such as her campaign against billboards in Miami in the mid 1980s. She spent summers in Vermont and winters in Florida with her husband, until his death in 1991. In July 2001, Metropolis magazine published a rare interview with Knoll Bassett in which she reflects upon the life she so skillfully documented in the extraordinary gift of her archival papers to the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Florence Knoll Bassett in 2000.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Architects -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Furniture designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
United States. Work Projects Administration Search this
Davis, Charles H. (Charles Harold), 1856-1933 Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet ((on 11 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1930-1972
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; writings and notes; scrapbooks; business material; biographical data; photographs; inventories; exhibition catalogs; and printed material.
REELS D222-D223: Manuscripts; notebooks entitled "Concepts of Substance" containing notes, essays, quotations, a diary, and reviews; scrapbooks; and publications.
REELS 1296-1302 & 1322(photos): Personal and business correspondence; notes and manuscripts of her many philosophical writings on light, space, and the infinite; poems by Pereira and by others; sales and loan receipts for her paintings; inventories of her paintings; paint formulas and technical data; biographical data; notes for the Design Laboratory of the WPA-Fine Arts Project; statements by her about her art and about the alleged suppression of her art by the Museum of Modern Art; exhibition catalogs; clippings; and photographs of her works and personal photos.
REEL 2395: Course outlines, an activity report, and printed material pertaining to the Design Laboratory school of industrial design in New York City. Also included are outlines, writings, and printed material pertaining to Pereira's lectures at Columbia University, the Brooklyn Museum, Smith College, the Artists League, the University of Michigan, and for the United American Artists.
REEL 3470: A letter to Juliet Gordon, New York City, October 15, 1969, protesting the denigration of women by -"a whole battalion of these American super artists," and condemning the Museum of Modern Art for devoutedly supporting their art. She writes, "Only when a society is expiring do such aberrations and betrayal of the female become the cultural mode."
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, writer, educator; New York, N.Y. Died 1971.
Provenance:
Material on reels D222-D223 lent for microfilming 1965 and material on reel 2395 donated 1965 by Irene Rice Pereira; material on reels 1296-1302, 1322 lent for microfilming, 1977 and reel 3470 donated 1978 by Djelloul Marbrook, nephew of Pereira.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Niels Diffrient conducted 2010 July 28 and August 31, by Matilda McQuaid, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Diffrient's home and studio, in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Diffrient speaks of growing up in Detroit while spending his summers with his mother's family in Mississippi; the value of growing up on a farm; attending Cass Technical High School in Detroit; realizing that he did not want to work in a factory; learning about crafts at Cranbrook Academy; travelling to Italy on a Fulbright Grant; working with Italian versus American designers; designing office chairs; the state of education in America. Diffrient's wife, Helena Hernmarck, contributes to the discussion of craft, weaving, and textiles. Diffrient also recalls Hans and Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen, Eliel Saarinen, Chuck Bassett, David Rowland, Henry Dreyfuss, Bob King, Carl Magnusson, Raymond Loewy, Henry Wolf, Elizabeth Whelan, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Niels Diffrient (1928-2013) is an industrial designer in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Matilda McQuaid (1958-) is deputy curatorial director, Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 58 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Industrial designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
An interview of Ted Muehling conducted 2007 November 17-18, by Jane Milosch, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Muehling's studio, in New York, New York.
Muehling speaks of visiting New York City as a child; attending Pratt for industrial design; working with molds; working in Germany; winning the Coty fashion award for his jewelry; learning to blow glass; working at Corning; visiting museums as a child and projects in his father's basement workshop; drawing inspiration out of his materials; the rich art history of Europe; working with plastic and wood; working with assistants; the impact of travel on his work; various gallery exhibitions; working with well-known designers; creating functional and inspiring pieces; the American craft market; drawing inspiration from dreams; the humor in his art; the strengths and limitations of various mediums. Muehling also recalls Gerry Gulotta, Eva Zeisel, Ingrid Harding, Kiki Smith, Deborah Czeresko, Gabriella Kiss, Gerda Buxbaum, Jade Hobson, Ingo Mauer, Vija Celmins, Louis Sullivan, Konstantin Grcic, Robert Lee Morris, Helen Drutt, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Muehling (1953- ) is a designer of jewelry and decorative objects in New York, New York. Jane Milosch (1964- ) is a curator from Silver Spring, Maryland.
General:
Originally recorded as 5 digital sound files. Duration is 4 hr., 38 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
ACCESS RESTRICTED: Use requires written permission.
An interview of Boris Bally conducted 2009 May 26-27, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Bally's home and studio, in Providence, Rhode Island.
The artists speaks of his current studio in Providence, Rhode Island; working without a studio assistant; the benefits of working with studio assistants without an art-school background; apprenticing with Swiss metalsmith Alexander Schaffner when Bally was 19; his own de facto apprenticeship program with his studio assistants; his parents as role models; his vision at age 19 for his career plan; his early interest in CAD; growing up with Swiss-born parents, both with art/design backgrounds; visiting Switzerland as a child; his father's studies with Buckminster Fuller in the late 1950s; his mother's class with L. Brent Kington, whom Bally later studied with; growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; his first home metal shop at nine years old; his first formal metal class at about 14 years old; making and selling jewelry throughout his teens; informal apprenticeship with Jeff Whisner; his father's design firm, launched in his last year of high school; summer studying at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts; year-long apprenticeship in Switzerland; watching Schaffner make and sell a wide variety of objects, which later informed Bally's own perspective; his continuing relationship with Schaffner; undergraduate studies at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; studying with Daniella Kerner and Vickie Sedman at Tyler; transferring to Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to study with Carol Kumata; making a "happiness machine"; transition from jewelry to larger sculptures; using found and scavenged materials; meeting Rosemary Gialamas (Roy) and their eventual elopement; moving to the Boston area; work as an industrial design model-maker; the New York art scene of the 1980s; representation with Archetype Gallery, New York, New York; slow but steady artistic recognition and commercial success of his functional objects; Sliding Perfections, flatware; teaching Gialamas metalsmithing and collaborative works by the two; early teaching experience in adult education classes in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then at Massachusetts College of Art, Boston; return to Pittsburgh in 1989, where Bally took a teaching position at Carnegie Mellon in the design department; studio on Bigelow Boulevard; difficulties in his marriage; a commission from the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts, and the beginnings of his traffic sign pieces in a collaborative piece with Gialamas; starting his platters series; the dissolution of his marriage to Gialamas in 1993; meeting Lynn, whom he later married; his love of teaching and his teaching philosophy; teaching at Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina; move to Providence, Rhode Island, to devote his time to studio work; the pros and cons of craft and arts schools versus university settings; the intersection of art, design, and industry: his Humanufactured line of products; functional work in the late '80s, and the influence of a trip to Haiti in the 1980s; bottle cork pieces; Trirod vessels; "More than One: Contemporary Studio Production" exhibition, American Craft Museum, New York, New York, 1992-94; philosophy of making; working in series form; truss pieces; perforation pieces and Vessel with a Silver Heart (1993); armform series; "Jewelries, Epiphanies" exhibition, Artists Foundation Gallery at Cityplace, Boston, Massachusetts, 1990; inclusion in One of a Kind: American Art Jewelry Today, by Susan Grant Lewin. (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1994); series Dig Wear and Eat Wear bracelets; Calimbo vessel and the Fortunoff prize; gold Tread Wear brooches in the mid-1990s; creating his first chair; moving from hand-made solo work to furniture and a design and production focus; starting to patent his designs in the mid-1990s; further exploration of design and technique in his chairs; "GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry," Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York, 2009; Pistol Chalice and work with the Pittsburgh gun buyback program; traveling exhibition for the project; Gun Totem; Brave necklace; BroadWay armchair; Subway chair; new techniques for graphics on the furniture; his relationship with former scrapyard Paul Warhola, brother to Andy Warhol; commission work, and the importance of commerce in his career and worldview; commission for Comedy Central television network; the changing craft market and the boom times of the 1980s; work with galleries, including: Patina, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, California; Snyderman-Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Nancy Sachs Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri; the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts; seeing one of his pieces used on a set for a daytime television soap opera and in the movie Sex and the City ; the recent "green" (environmentally conscious) trend; blurring boundaries of design and art and craft; growing acceptance of artist-made and -designed multiples; pros and cons of computer technology in art and craft; the pros and cons of the DIY (do-it-yourself) craft movement; influential writers, including Rosanne Raab, Marjorie Simon, Steven Skov Holt and Mara Holt Skov, Bruce Metcalf, Toni Greenbaum, Matthew Kangas, Gail Brown; his involvement in the Society of North American Goldsmiths; making metal benches for his children. He also recalls Heather Guidero, Julian Jetten, Pam Moloughney, Dennis Kowal, Ursula Ilse-Neuman, Bob Ebendorf, Jason Spencer, Rob Brandegee and Ava DeMarco, Stefan Gougherty, Flo Delgado, L. Brent Kington, Curtis Aric, Ralph Düby, Steve Korpa, Joe Wood, Joe Ballay, Yves Thomann, Andy Caderas, James Thurman, Nicholas (Nico) Bally, Elena Gialamas, James Gialamas, Elvira Peake, Ronald McNeish, Johanna Dahm, Jerry Bennet, Kathleen Mulcahy, Nelson Maniscalco, Tom Mann, Otto Künzli, Stanley Lechtzin, Christopher Shellhammer, David Tisdale, Dean Powell, Daniel Carner, Donald Brecker, Robert Schroeder Phil Carrizzi, Lucy Stewart, Elisabeth Agro, Rachel Layton, Sarah Nichols, Peter Nassoit, Dan Niebels, Mary Carothers, Ward Wallau, Ivan Barnett and Alison Buchsbaum, Jonathan Bonner, Raymond and Patsy Nasher, Beth Gerstein, George Summers Jr., Pavel Opocensky, Buddy Cianci, David Cicilline.
Biographical / Historical:
Boris Bally (1961- ) is a metalsmith and designer who lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island. Bally was educated at Carnegie Mellon University and Tyler School of Art.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 56 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Series includes an account book, personal and business related accounting correspondence, balance sheets, statements of income and profit and loss, year-end statements for Dorothy Liebes Textiles, Inc., some financial summaries for Liebes's personal expenses, statements summarizing Liebes's investments, personal and business inventories and insurance records, and federal, state, and city tax records.
Of note is a file documenting Liebes's appeal to the New York State Tax Commission to be recognized as a professional industrial designer, with supporting statements written by colleagues such as Alfred Auerbach, Henry Dreyfuss, Samuel Marx, Edward J. Wormley, and Walter Teague, and two folders of records relating to legal action taken by Liebes against a company (Matson vs. Liebes) for use of a design.
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.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of the Dorothy Liebes papers was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the digitization of the collection was provided by the Coby Foundation.
The papers of sculptor and educator Richard Lippold measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1940s to 1977. The collection provides documentation on Lippold's career through correspondence, writing files, project files, printed materials, and several motion picture films.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor and educator Richard Lippold measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1940s to 1977. The collection documents Lippold's career through correspondence, writing files, project files, printed materials, and several motion picture films.
Correspondence includes letters to and from museums and galleries, architects, clients, friends, teaching colleagues, and other artists discussing various professional and non-professional topics. Writing files include drafts and transcripts of speeches on art, society, and sculpture given by Lippold; personal writings and notes; statements on his own art and the art of other artists; and teaching materials such as drafts of syllabi, course schedules, and lectures. Project files mostly relate to public commissions and contain correspondence, status reports, work schedules, financial information, sketches and preliminary drawings, agreements, as well as some writings. Printed materials include newspaper clippings; seven issues of the publication, "Dance Observer," for which Lippold served among its editors and contributors; and some exhibition material. Film footage includes the dedication of Lippold's "Orpheus and Apollo" at the Lincoln Center in 1962; a documentary made about Lippold's sculpture, "The Sun," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and scenes of Lippold's "World Tree" at Harvard University.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1945-1977 (Box 1; .5 linear feet)
Series 2: Writing Files, 1940s-1970s (Box 1; 10 folders)
Series 3: Project Files, 1950-1972 (Box 1-2; .5 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1943-1973 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 5: Motion Picture Film, circa 1960s (FC 2-4; .3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Lippold (1915-2002) was a sculptor and educator in New York, NY. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he studied at the University of Chicago and received training in industrial design at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also studied dance and piano. After graduating, Lippold started his own industrial design studio, but soon ended this endeavor to teach design and engineer drawing and mechanics at the University of Michigan in 1941. After moving to New York in 1944, Lippold began his career as a professional artist, exhibiting his work and creating public art installations. His art was known for metal, gold, and silver wire, rods, and bars used to create geometric sculptures that often incorporated a component of suspension. His installations can be found in museums, building lobbies, and universities across America including Flight found in the Pan Am (now the Met Life) Building, The Sun in the Museum of Modern Art, Baldacchino in St. Mary's Cathedral, California, and Ad Astra in front of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Notable group exhibitions featuring Lippold's work include Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America (1951) and Fifteen Americans(1952) both at the Museum of Modern Art, Venice Biennale (1988), and Sculpture: American Directions, 1945-75 (1975) at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Marquette University's Haggerty Museum of Art held a retrospective exhibition for Lippold in 1990. His work is found in collections at the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and more. In addition to the University of Michigan, Lippold also taught at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, Trenton Junior College in New Jersey, and Hunter College in New York where he taught for over a decade.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm (reel N69-24) of material loaned for microfilming including correspondence; catalogs; clippings; writings; and papers relating to the Conference on Government Participation in the Arts and Humanities. Loaned materials were returned to the donor after microfilming and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in several installments by Richard Lippold between 1968-1977. Materials found on reel N69-24 were lent for microfilming 1968-1969.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Richard Lippold papers, 1940s-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
This series consists of the business and personal correspondence of Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery. For the most part, this series is general business correspondence concerning routine activities of the Downtown Gallery, including the American Folk Art Gallery and the Daylight Gallery, both operated by the Downtown Gallery on the same premises. Included are correspondence with clients, employees, other galleries, and colleagues concerning sales, loans, purchases, appraisals, and so forth; arrangements for shipping, framing, photography, reproduction permissions, and insurance; and gallery housekeeping and improvements, ordering of supplies, and other administrative concerns.
Also included is personal correspondence of Edith Gregor Halpert. There are letters and greeting cards from nieces, nephews, and other relatives; correspondence with longtime friends, including some who were art collectors, museum curators, or museum directors; and correspondence concerning upkeep and improvement of her Newtown, Connecticut, country home and entertaining there.
See Appendix A for a list of selected correspondents from Series 1
Arrangement note:
Letters (with enclosures) are arranged chronologically, with those of the same date alphabetized by name of correspondent; undated material is arranged alphabetically, followed by unidentified correspondents and letters bearing illegible signatures.
Box numbers provided in the Container Listing are approximate.
Appendix A: List of Selected Correspondents in Series 1:
Names and titles indicated in this list are those that appear on the letters. Where appropriate, terms have been standardized and cross-referencing provided. Because filing is not always consistent, researchers are advised to check both the name of an individual and the institution that he or she represented.
Abate Associates, Inc., 1956
Abbot and Land, 1965
Abbot, B. Vincent, 1944
Abbot, Bernice, 1957
Abbot, John E., 1945, 1948
Abbot Laboratories, 1950, 1952
ABC Employment Agency, 1951
Richard Abel and Co., Inc., 1968
Abendroth, Robert W., 1966-1967
Abercrombie and Fitch Co., 1962
Abilene Museum of Fine Arts, undated, 1949, 1954
Abingdon Square Painters, 1965
Abraham and Straus, 1930, 1960, 1965-1966, 1968
Abraham, Mae C., 1965
Abrahamsen, Mrs. David, 1962
Abramowitz, M., 1958
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1958-1960, 1965-1966, 1968-1969
"HemisFair '68," 1968 (see also: "International Exposition, HemisFair '68")
Hemmenway, Catherine C., 1961
Hemmingsen, R. V., 1963
Hemmingson, Victoria, 1965
Henderson, Hanford, 1960
Henderson, Priscilla A. B. (Mrs. A. I.), 1934-1955
Henderson, Ray, 1956
Hendrick, Mrs. James Pomeroy, 1961
Heninger, Helen, undated, 1963, 1969
Henquet, Roger, 1948, 1965
Henri, Robert, 1926-1927
Henry, David T., 1964
Henry, Helen (Mrs. Charles), undated, 1949
Henry, James F., 1958
Henry Street Settlement, 1958, 1962-1963
Hentschel, R. A. A., 1951-1954
Hepburn, Katharine, 1952
Herbert, Elmer, 1962
Herbert, James D., 1962
Herider, Ed. L., 1961
Heritage Gallery, 1960, 1964
Herman, Stanley, 1964
Herman, Vic, 1968
Herring, Audrey L., 1964
Herrington, Nell Ray (Mrs. A. W. S.), 1962, 1965
John Herron Art Institute, undated, 1934, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1957-1958, 1962-1964, 1967 (see also: Art Association of Indianapolis; Art School of the John Herron Art Institute)
Hertslet, G. Gordon, 1962, 1966
Hertz, Richard C., 1965
Hertzberg, Stuart E., 1967-1968
Heschel, Mrs. Abraham, 1961
Hess, Elaine Marie, 1965
Hess, Mrs. Thomas B., 1954
Hetzel, Margaret deL. (Mrs. Joseph L.), 1948
Hewitt, Ada M., 1953
Edwin Hewitt Gallery, 1953
Heydenryk, Henry, 1954, 1960, 1964
Heynick, Carla Marian, 1965
Hickok, M., 1958
Hiddens, Mrs. Earl, 1952
Hiersoux, Arne, 1966
Hi Fi/Stereo Review, 1960
High Museum of Art, 1950, 1955, 1961-1962, 1965-1968 (see also: Atlanta Art Association; Atlanta Art Association and High Museum of Art)
Highway Antique Shop, 1954
R. Hill and Son, Ltd., 1960
Hill, Ralph Nading, 1952, 1962
Hille, Elise B., undated
Hille and Curran, 1954
Hilleman, Alex L., 1956
Hiller, Paula, 1962
Hilles, Mrs. Frederick W., 1956
Hillman, Mrs. Joel, II., 1960
Hillside Hospital Clinic, 1949, 1953
Hillstrom, Richard L., 1958, 1962, 1964-1965
Hilltop Theatre, Incorporated, 1952
Hilsenrath, Yakov R., 1965
Hilson, Catherine [Katy] and/or John S., undated, 1958-1959, 1961-1966
Himel, Irving, 1963
Himmelsfarb, Samuel, 1955
Hines, Felrath, 1961
Hinkhouse, Inc., 1960, 1964
Hirsch, B., 1961
Hirsch, E. W., 1954
Hirschberg, J. Cotter, 1956
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., 1958, 1960, 1963-1965, 1968
Hirschland, Dr. and/or Mrs. F. H., undated, 1959
Hirschland, Paul Michael, 1945
Hirschburg, Mrs. Roy, undated
S. A. Hirsh Manufacturing Co., 1966
Hirshberg, Henrietta, 1961
Hirshhorn, Mrs. Arthur, 1960
Hirshhorn, Joseph H., 1946, 1948, 1951-1954, 1956, 1960, 1963, 1965
Joseph H. Hirshhorn Collection, 1959-1960, 1962-1963, 1965-1966
[incomplete; without signature], undated, 1953, 1961, 1967, 1968
Collection Restrictions:
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
Collection Rights:
The Downtown Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Prior to publishing information regarding sales transactions, researchers are responsible for obtaining written permission from both artist and purchaser involved. If it cannot be established after a reasonable search whether an artist or purchaser is living, it can be assumed that the information may be published sixty years after the date of sale.
Collection Citation:
Downtown Gallery records, 1824-1974, bulk 1926-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing, microfilming and digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
The collected papers of Everett Shinn measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1877 to 1958. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with friends and colleagues; personal business records; art work, including two sketchbooks of designs for Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre; notes and writings; eight scrapbooks; printed material; and numerous photographs of Shinn, his colleagues, and his work.
Scope and Contents note:
The collected papers of Everett Shinn measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1877 to 1958. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with friends and colleagues; personal business records; art work, including two sketchbooks of designs for Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre; notes and writings; eight scrapbooks; printed material; and numerous photographs of Shinn, his colleagues, and his work.
Biographical material includes miscellaneous biographical accounts and a membership certificate from the American Watercolor Society.
Correspondence consists of letters from Shinn's friends and colleagues, primarily from author Poultney Bigelow. There are also letters from decorator Elsie De Wolfe, dramatist Clyde Fitch, and artists Charles Dana Gibson, William Glackens, and George Luks, whose letters are illustrated. There are scattered letters from A. Stirling Calder, Theodore Dreiser, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, Julia Marlowe, Claude Rains, Ruth Warrick, Alexander Woollcott, and Mahonri Young.
Personal business records consist of two account books recording art work used in publications and loaned for exhibitions, and miscellaneous invoices.
Artwork consists of two sketchbooks of designs for the Stuyvesant Theatre murals and miscellaneous drawings by Shinn. Artwork by others, including H. B. Eddy, James Ben Ali Haggin, Colonel Hegan, Oliver Henfold, George Luks, and Philip Nolan, consist primarily of caricatures.
Notes and writings include a handwritten draft of Shinn's play Hazel Weston or More Sinned Against Than Usual, notes for a book on art, poems, and typescripts by Shinn including "Plush and Cut Glass," a book about George Luks.
Eight scrapbooks primarily contain clippings. Scrapbook 2 contains clippings, exhibition catalogs, a note from Stuart Benson, an illustrated postcard from Ed, and scattered photographs.
Additional printed material is primarily comprised of clippings, but there are also exhibition announcements and catalogs for Shinn, reproductions of art work, booklets, and miscellaneous printed material. Rare programs for plays written by Shinn list cast members, including Wilfred Buckland, Edith Glackens, William J. Glackens, James Ben Ali Haggin, Robert Henri, J. E. Laub, Thomas Newell Metcalf, James M. Preston, Florence Scovel Shinn, and John Sloan.
Numerous photographs are found within the collection and depict Shinn as a boy, in various Philadelphia newspaper offices, in costume for stage performances, at the easel, and with colleagues, including Robert Henri and John Sloan. Photographs of colleagues also include author Poultney Bigelow, decorator Elsie De Wolfe, portrait painter James Ben Ali Haggin, actress Julia Marlowe, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts classmates William Glackens and Florence Scovel. There are also photographs of Shinn's residences, exhibition installations, set designs and stagings of plays, murals, and other art work.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical material, 1953 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1899-1952 (Box 1, 4; 61 folders)
Series 3: Personal business records, 1898-1928 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 4: Artwork, 1893-1928 (Box 1, 4, OV 6; 10 folders)
Series 5: Notes and writings, 1922-1951 (Box 1; 9 folders)
Series 7: Printed material, 1894-1958 (Box 2, 4; 21 folders)
Series 8: Photographs, 1877-1950 (Box 2-4, OV 7; 1.3 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Everett Shinn (1876-1953) was a painter, muralist, illustrator, and theatrical scene designer who worked primarily in New York City. Shinn was a member of "The Eight," a group of painters known for their realistic portrayal of American urban life.
Everett Shinn was born on November 6, 1876 in Woodstown, New Jersey, the son of Isaiah and Josephine Ransley Shinn. He attended Quaker schools until 1890 when he went to the Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia, studying engineering and industrial design until 1893.
Shinn enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts between 1893 and 1897. During this time he was hired as an artist-reporter for the Philadelphia Press, the Inquirer, and the Ledger. He also forged his friendships with painters George Luks, John Sloan, William J. Glackens, and Robert Henri, all future members of "The Eight."
Shinn moved to New York City in 1897 and quickly found employment as an illustrator for the newspaper The World. In 1898, he married Florence Scovel, the first of his four wives. In 1900, he traveled to England and France, and was later employed by Harper's Weekly. Shinn befriended decorator Elsie De Wolf and architect Stanford White, and designed and executed murals for the homes of their clients. Shinn created eighteen mural panels for David Belasco's Stuyvesant Theatre that opened in 1907, and murals for the Council Room of the Trenton, New Jersey City Hall in 1911. His most notable murals were created for the Oak Room of New York's Plaza Hotel in the 1940s.
In 1908, Shinn participated in the seminal group exhibition of "The Eight" at Macbeth Gallery. In 1911, he was included in the Exhibition of Independent Artists, and was invited to send works to the International Exhibition of Modern Art, better known as the Armory Show, in 1913, but for an unknown reason, declined. Shinn exhibited regularly and his works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Delaware Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.
Throughout his career Shinn was fascinated by the theater and the act of performance, which he made the subject of many of his works. He also wrote, directed, and performed in his own plays. Between 1917 and 1920, Shinn worked as an art director for Sam Goldwin at Goldwyn Pictures. He also worked for Inspiration Pictures from 1920 to 1923, and for William Randolph Hearst at Cosmopolitan Pictures in 1923. He divorced Florence Scovel in 1912, and married Corinne Baldwin in 1913, with whom he had two children, Janet and Davidson. He divorced again in 1921, married Gertrude Chase in 1924, and divorced again in 1932. In 1933, Shinn married his fourth wife, Paula Downing; they divorced in 1942.
From 1935 to 1939, he covered a murder trial for the Boston Traveler, exhibited his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and won a prize for watercolor at an exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute. In the 1940s Shinn participated in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and at the American-British Art Center. In 1949, Shinn was made an Academician of the National Academy of Design, and in 1951, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Everett Shinn died on May 1, 1953 in New York City.
Related Archival Materials note:
Additional Everett Shinn papers are available at the Helen Farr Sloan Library, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware.
Provenance:
The bulk of the Everett Shinn collection was acquired via purchase from art dealer Thurston Thatcher between 1958-1964. Art collector Howard Lipman donated additional material in 1962. Five negatives of Shinn's work were donated in 1969 by Dr. Milton Luria, an acquaintance of Shinn's son, Davidson. The photograph of Everett Shinn, John Sloan, and Robert Henri was donated on an unknown date by an unidentified donor. The handwritten draft of Shinn's play Hazel Weston or More Sinned Against Than Usual was acquired via auction purchase in 2011.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
An interview of Arthur J. Pulos conducted by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art.
Pulos speaks of his childhood as the son of Greek immigrants in Pennsylvania, his education in design at the Carnegie Institute, his World War II experience in aircraft design and metal fabrication, and his development as a silversmith at the University of Oregon. He discusses his chairmanship of the Design Department, Syracuse University, 1955-1982; his industrial design firm in Syracuse, New York; and his involvement in American and international design and crafts organizations.
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur J. Pulos (1917-1997) was a silversmith, industrial designer, and educator of Syracuse, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels and 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 10 hr., 16 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Richard Lippold conducted 1971 Dec. 1, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Lippold speaks of his family background and early life in Milwaukee; his early interests in art and music; early teachers; the impact of the Chicago World's Fair; studying industrial design at the Chicago Art Institute; designing machinery for an engineering firm; his travels in Mexico, Germany, and France; teaching at various institutions; his early sculptures; the development of his stylle; materials he uses; architectural commissions. He recalls Emiel Zettler, William R. Valentiner, John Cage, Jean Arp, Josef Albers, Ray Johnson, and Naum Gabo.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Lippold (1915-2002) was a sculptor from Locust Valley, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 7 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
