Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ruth Gikow, 1968 Oct. 24-28. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ben-Zion interview, 1982 August 3-September 21. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Mischa Richter, 1994 September 27-28. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Karen Karnes, 2005 August 9-10. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The scattered papers of sculptor Hana Geber measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1962 to 1981. Found are artworks, biographical material, correspondence, three diaries, photographs and slides, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of sculptor Hana Geber measure 0.3 linear feet and date from 1962 to 1981. Found are artworks, biographical material, correspondence, three diaries, photographs and slides, and printed material.
Arrangement:
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2022.
Biographical / Historical:
Hana Geber (1910-1990) was a sculptor and educator in New York City, New York. Born in Eastern Europe, Geber exhibited her bronze scultpure around the United States and Israel. She was known for Jewish ceremonial art.
Provenance:
Donated 1981 by Hana Geber.
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
The scattered papers of painter and collector Betty Esman measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1979. Found are artworks, artist files, biographical material, correspondence, photographs of Esman and others, printed material, and a mixed media scrapbook. Of note are files on Ray Johnson which include mail art addressed to and collected by Esman.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of painter and art collector Betty Esman measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1979. Found are artworks, artist files, biographical material, correspondence, photographs of Esman and others, printed material, and a mixed media scrapbook. Of note are files on Ray Johnson which include mail art addressed to and collected by Esman.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Betty Esman (1904-1996) was a painter, collector, and art patron in New York City, New York. Esman studied at the Syracuse University College of Fine Arts and the Art Students League. In the 1950s, Esman taught painting at Ball State College. She maintained personal and professional relationships with artists Ray Johnson, Rufino Tamayo, Jacques Lipchitz and others.
Provenance:
Betty Esman donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in several installments between 1986 to 1994.
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:
Art patrons -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Collectors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Ruth Gikow conducted by Harlan Phillips in 1964 for the Archives of American Art.
Gikow speaks of being born in Russia; mural painting at the Bronx Hospital for the Federal Art Project; interest in graphics; the Artists Congress; the Index of American Design; and her thoughts on contemporary painting. She recalls John Stuart Curry and Gene Morey.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, printmaker; New York, N.Y.
General:
Unrelated interviews of Ad Reinhardt and Ralph and Bena Mayer conducted by H. Phillips are also on this tape.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Serigraphers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of sculptor Berta Margoulies measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1934 to 1990. Primarily, the collection consists of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs documenting Margoulies's participation in various exhibitions in New York and New Jersey. Also found are biographical materials including photographs and scattered professional correspondence.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor Berta Margoulies measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1934 to 1990. Primarily, the collection consists of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs documenting Margoulies's participation in various exhibitions in New York and New Jersey. Also found are biographical materials including photographs and scattered professional correspondence.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Berta Margoulies (1907-1996) was a sculptor in New York City, New York, who co-founded the Sculptors Guild. Born in Poland, Margoulies studied at Hunter College and during the Great Depression participated in the Federal Art Project.
Provenance:
Donated 1990 by Berta Margoulies.
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.
The papers of painter, printmaker, and sculptor Peter Krasnow (1886-1979) and his wife, writer Rose Krasnow (1885-1984), measures 6.9 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1984. Papers include biographical materials, a sound recording, correspondence, essays, poetry, short stories, notes, transcripts of lectures and radio talks, five diaries of Peter Krasnow, personal business records, exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, magazines, five sketchbooks, sketches and drawings in multiple media, prints, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, printmaker, and sculptor Peter Krasnow (1886-1979) and his wife, writer Rose Krasnow (1885-1984), measures 6.9 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1984. Papers include biographical materials, a sound recording, correspondence, essays, poetry, short stories, notes, transcripts of lectures and radio talks, five diaries of Peter Krasnow, personal business records, exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, magazines, five sketchbooks, sketches and drawings in multiple media, prints, and photographs.
Biographical materials include documentation of Rose Krasnow's service as a member of the Army Air Forces Ground Observer Corps, programs and other materials from various memorial services, a sound recording with commentary on a Peter Krasnow exhibition, and documentation of a project to publish Rose Krasnow's poetry.
Correspondence consists of Peter and Rose Krasnow's personal and professional correspondence as well as a small amount of third party correspondence. Personal correspondence with friends and family involves health, work, daily events, and other life updates. Professional correspondence with art dealers, curators, gallery and museum directors, collectors, and colleges and universities concerns exhibitions, sales, loans, and donations of artwork. Primary correspondents include Leslie Burton and Harriet Blades, Dan Budnik, Grace Clements, Conrad Crocker, Dudley Howe, Lilly Weil Jaffe, Grace L. McCann Morley, Dale and Elaine Owen, Aimée Brown Price, Ernest and Ina Raboff, Irving Stone, and Edward Weston. There are also numerous scattered letters from artists, writers, curators, critics, museums, arts associations, and Jewish organizations.
Writings and notes are by Peter Krasnow, Rose Krasnow, and others. Writings by Peter Krasnow include a draft autobiography, essays, lectures on wood sculpture, typescripts, notes, and writings on art. Writings by Rose Krasnow include essays, plays, poetry, and short stories. Writings by others consist of essays, lectures, notes, plays, poetry, short stories, and typescripts. Other writers include Grace Clements, Fidel Danieli, Robert DeLuce, Alfred S. Drake, and Philip Noer. There are also five handwritten personal diaries by Peter Krasnow.
Personal business records include Rose Krasnow's bank book from 1980, Peter Krasnow's naturalization certificate and passport, an inventory of paintings on index cards, tax applications for the Peter Krasnow Arts Foundation, materials relating to Peter Krasnow's estate and the purchase of his artwork, and various receipts.
Printed materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, bound books, magazines and journals, a Chicago Society of Artists block print calendar, and two printed posters from Peter Krasnow's exhibit at the Galerie Pierre in 1934.
Artwork is mostly by Peter Krasnow, and includes five sketchbooks, sketches and drawings, watercolors, preliminary studies in oil, and prints.
Photographs include personal photographs, photographs of major sculpture projects in progress, and artwork. Personal photographs are of Peter and Rose, family members, and friends, as well as a few scattered images of landscapes and architecture, possibly travel photographs. There are also photographs of Edward and Flora Weston. There are three photograph albums, one contains images of Krasnow's relief sculptures for the Sinai Temple's Kohn Chapel. Two photograph albums were compliled by Susan Ehrlich for Peter and Rose Krasnow. Also found are photographs of works of art. Some of the photographs in the papers were taken by Dan Budnik.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1942-1983 (Boxes 1, 6; 7 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930-1984 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1916-1980 (Boxes 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries, circa 1955-1968 (Box 2-3; 5 folders)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1914-1982 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1922-1981 (Boxes 3-4 and OV 9; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1918-1980 (Boxes 4-6 and OV 7-8, 10; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1918-1973 (Box 5; 5 folders)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1914-1981 (Boxes 5-6; 0.6 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Peter Krasnow (1886-1979) was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker who lived and worked primarily in Southern California. His wife, Rose Krasnow (1885-1984), was a prolific writer of poems, short stories, and plays.
Peter Krasnow was born on August 20, 1886 in the Ukraine, Russia to Jewish parents. His father's work as an interior designer inspired Krasnow's interest in art.
In 1907, Krasnow emigrated to the United States, first living in Boston. He moved to Chicago in 1908 to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, where he met his future wife, Rose Bloom. To support himself during his studies, Krasnow worked as a security officer and performed other manual jobs. He graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916 and married Rose that same year.
The Krasnows moved to New York in 1919. In New York, Krasnow experienced some artistic success, participating in group and solo exhibitions at the Whitney Studio Club. During this time period, Krasnow often painted city scenes using a dark color palette.
In 1922, the Krasnows moved to Los Angeles, California. Krasnow built a studio near Glendale in 1923, on land purchased from photographer and friend Edward Weston. The studio also served as the Krasnows' main residence for the rest of their lives. In 1923 in Los Angeles, Krasnow exhibited with the Group of Independent Artists, which included Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Boris Deutsch, Nick Brigante, Ben Berlin, and other noteworthy artists. During his first years in California, Krasnow mostly created watercolor paintings, including a series of landscapes, using a lighter color palette than his earlier works. In the 1920s, Krasnow also accepted commissions for carved wood reliefs at the Temple Emmanu-El in San Francisco and the Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.
Krasnow received a grant in 1931, and he and Rose temporarily relocated to the Dordogne region of France, where they lived until 1934. During this time, Krasnow painted a series of watercolors and paintings of the French landscape. Before returning to the United States, Krasnow exhibited these landscapes at the Galerie Pierre.
After returning to California, Krasnow began creating carved wood sculptures, which he named 'demountables,' often using wood from trees on his property. Krasnow created these sculptures to celebrate the organic shapes inherent in wood.
In 1934, Krasnow returned to painting, this time creating bright, colorful, geometric designs which often incorporated symbolism from his Jewish heritage. Krasnow focused on these paintings through the remaining years of his life. In 1977, Krasnow received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Peter Krasnow died on October 30, 1979 in Los Angeles. Rose Krasnow died five years later, in 1984.
Provenance:
The Peter and Rose Krasnow papers were donated in several increments between 1976 and 1998 by Peter Krasnow, the Estate of Peter Krasnow, and the Peter and Rose Krasnow Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of New York City sculptor and teacher Chaim Gross measure 21.1 linear feet and date from 1920-2004. The collection provides comprehensive documentation of Gross's career through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence with family, artists, writers, galleries, museums, educational institutions, and religious and philanthropic organizations, writings, personal business records, extensive printed and published material including motion picture film and video recordings of four documentaries, one hundred and fifteen sketchbooks spanning the bulk of Gross's career, and photographs of Gross, his family, many friends and colleagues from the art world, his studio, personal art collection, and works of art. An unprocessed addition of three sketchbooks was donated in 2020.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York City sculptor and teacher Chaim Gross measure 21.1 linear feet and date from 1920-2004. The collection provides comprehensive documentation of Gross's career through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence with family, artists, writers, galleries, museums, educational institutions, and religious and philanthropic organizations, writings, personal business records, extensive printed and published material including motion picture film and video recordings of four documentaries, one hundred and fifteen sketchbooks spanning the bulk of Gross's career, and photographs of Gross, his family, many friends and colleagues from the art world, his studio, personal art collection, and works of art.
Biographical material includes records collated to document awards and honors given to Gross documenting the recognition he received for his lifelong achievements in the last two decades of his career, including from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design. The series also includes Gross's birth certificate printed in 1920, some biographical notes and resumes prior to the 1970s, documentation of Gross's business and personal contacts through addresses and business cards, and a motion picture film of a documentary about Gross, Art and the Model, made in 1976 by Thea Bay and edited by Bob Worth.
Personal and professional correspondence constitutes the largest series in the collection and documents all aspects of Gross's prolific career including: personal letters from friends and family such as daughter Mimi Gross and Red Grooms; professional correspondence with galleries, museums, and other art institutions including the Jewish Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Whitney Museum of American Art; correspondence documenting commissions, loans, and sales of Gross's artwork through galleries including Forum Gallery; and correspondence with synagogues including International Synagogue, Temple Sharaay Tefila, and Temple Sinai, Pittsburgh, and multiple other Jewish organizations such as Hadassah and State of Israel Bonds. Correspondence also documents publications by and about Gross including letters from Abe Lerner, the Jewish Publication Society of America, Chaim Potok, and Harry N. Abrams, Inc.; Gross's work as a teacher including at the Educational Alliance and the New School for Social Research; and the significance of Gross's personal collection of African art through correspondence with Warren M. Robbins, the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, and others. Gross's work for the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project and Treasury Relief Project, as well as for the 1939 World's Fair, is also documented in this series and includes contracts and correspondence with Ed Rowan.
Correspondence includes many letters from artist friends and colleagues including Isabel Bishop, Peter Blume, Eliot Elisofon, Eugenie Gershoy, Milton Hebald, Lewis Jacobs, Karl Knaths, Arnold Newman, Elias Newman, Saul Rosen, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Nicholas Sperakis, William and Marguerite Zorach, and many others. Writers and scholars who corresponded with Gross include Samuel French Morse, Jack C. Rich, Shea Tenenbaum, Roberta Tarbell, and others.
Writings primarily consist of a partial draft of Gross's book The Technique of Wood Sculpture but also include a copy of his first published article in 1938 in the American Federation of Arts Magazine of Art, and a few short writings by Gross on other artists. Writings by others include a memoir of Gross's boyhood written by his brother, poet Naftoli Gross.
Gross's personal business records are scattered, as many transactional records are included with his correspondence. They do include lists of Gross's artwork and his personal art collection, two agreements for rights to use his work, appraisals of twelve of his works of art, and receipts of consignments, sales, loans, and gifts of artwork.
Printed material is a comprehensive and substantial record of Gross's exhibitions, and his prolific engagement in the arts and his community throughout his long career. This series includes announcements and catalogs for many of his exhibitions, brochures and programs for art organizations for which he exhibited, taught, donated to, or was otherwise represented in, notably the Educational Alliance, the New School for Social Research, the Sculptors Guild, Inc., and numerous other private and public museums, galleries, and institutions. Also found is circa one linear foot of clippings about Gross that span his career from newspapers, magazines, and journals, including some Hebrew and Yiddish publications. The series also houses video recordings of the documentaries Tree Trunk to Head and A Sculptor Speaks, and an NBC broadcast of an interview with Gross entitled The Two Chaims, as the motion picture film, A Sculptor Speaks.
Sketchbooks provide a unique visual record of Gross's development and the shifting focus of his subject matter from 1933 to right before his death in 1991. They record his early subjects of acrobatic models, family bonds, and landscapes, and the emergence of darker "fantasy" drawings in the wake of the Holocaust and World War II which brought the news of the murder of his brother and sister and her family by the Nazis. The sketchbooks document Gross's travels abroad during the 1960s, and his incorporation of Jewish iconography and Old Testament themes in the 1960s and 1970s. They also illustrate how the constant theme of the celebration of the human form persisted in his work to the end of his life.
Photographs of people and events, although only measuring 0.7 linear feet, provide a rich visual record of Gross's life and his professional and personal relationships from the time he arrived in the United States in 1920 to the late 1980s. The earliest photographs picture Gross with his brothers and with new friends at the Educational Alliance including Moses and Raphael Soyer, Peter Blume, and Elias Newman. There are many photographs of Gross working in his studios, and at the Bedi-Makky Art Foundry in Brooklyn, photographs taken at parties, exhibition openings, receptions, and other events, and photographs of Gross's art collection and exhibition installations. Photographs picture artists such as Hyman Brown, Jose de Creeft, Joseph Hirsch, Moses Soyer, and Raphael Soyer; and gallery owners and collectors including Bella Fishko, Joseph Hirshhorn, Sidney Janis, and Warren M. Robbins. The series also houses photographs of works of art, primarily sculpture, executed by Gross between 1922 and 1987.
An unprocessed addition of three sketchbooks was donated in 2020.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as eight series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1920-circa 1991 (0.35 linear feet; Box 1, FC23)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1926-1997 (8.75 linear feet; Boxes 1-9, 22)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1938-circa 1980s (0.25 linear feet; Boxes 9-10)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1936-1982 (0.25 linear feet; Box 10)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1925-2004 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 10-14, 22, FC 24)
Series 6: Sketchbooks, 1933-1991 (6.1 linear feet; Boxes 14-19, 22)
Series 7: Photographs, circa 1921-circa 1990s (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 20-22)
Series 8: Unprocessed Addition, 1949-1951 (0.2 linear feet; Box 25)
Biographical / Historical:
New York City sculptor and teacher Chaim Gross (1904-1991) is considered one of America's foremost sculptors, known for his semi-abstract bronzes celebrating the human form, and his pioneering work in direct wood carving. Gross taught for over fifty years at the Educational Alliance Art School and for forty years at the New School for Social Research.
Born in 1904 in Wolowa, Galicia, in what is now the Ukraine, Gross studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest in 1919 and at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna in 1920 before immigrating to New York in 1921. He attended the Lower East Side Educational Art School in New York City from 1921-1927 where he began lifelong friendships with artists Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Peter Blume and other important twentieth century artists. Gross also studied with Elie Nadelman at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and Robert Laurent at the Art Students League. He began teaching at the Educational Alliance in 1927 where his students included Louise Nevelson.
Gross married Renee Nechin in 1932 and they had two children, Yehuda and Miriam (Mimi). Mimi Gross is a New York-based artist who was married to artist Red Grooms from 1963-1976.
Gross's first solo exhibition was held at Gallery 144 in New York City in 1932, and he began to develop a reputation as a major contemporary sculptor when he joined the Federal Art Project in 1934 and won a commission from the Treasury Department competition for art works for public buildings in 1936. His projects included relief panels for the Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, D. C., and a large-scale family group for the France Overseas and Finnish Buildings at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1938 Gross founded the Sculptors Guild with William Zorach and served as the guild's first president. His work began to be acquired by major American museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art which in 1939 awarded Gross a $3000 purchase prize for his wood sculpture of circus performer Lillian Leitzel.
In 1938 filmmaker Lewis Jacobs produced a thirty minute film, Tree Trunk to Head, of Gross carving a wood sculpture of Renee Gross in his studio. Lewis subsequently produced a seventeen minute film, The Sculptor Speaks, of Gross working in his studio in 1957. That same year Gross published an influential how-to book The Technique of Wood Sculpture, featuring photographs by Eliot Elisofon.
Much of Gross's early work focused on performers such as acrobats and dancers, family groups, and the mother and child bond. The bulk of his work was in wood, particularly hardwoods with a dark or pronounced grain. In the 1940s, after hearing that his brother Pincus and sister Sarah and her family had been murdered by the Nazis, Gross devoted time daily to sketching in his notebooks, producing a visual diary of the emotional trauma involved in processing their horrific fate and navigating his own grief. A collection of the drawings was published in Chaim Gross: Fantasy Drawings (Beechurst Press) in 1956. Gross carved My Sister Sarah – in Memoriam (no. 36) in 1947 and made the first of seven trips to Israel in 1949.
By the late 1950s Gross was working less in direct carving and was focusing primarily on modeling in plaster on an armature for casting in bronze. In 1957 and 1959 he traveled to Rome, Italy, and worked with the Nicci Foundry. Bella Fishko began representing Gross's work after establishing Forum Gallery in New York City in 1961. After 1947 Gross had begun to incorporate more Jewish iconography and Old Testament themes into his work, designing and casting large scale menorahs for synagogues such as Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh and the Menorah Home for the Aged in Brooklyn during the 1960s. He executed six bronze panels, entitled Six Days of Creation, for Temple Sharaay Tefila in New York City in 1964, and Ten Commandments for the International Synagogue at Kennedy Airport in 1970-1971. In 1973 Gross illustrated The Book of Isaiah, published by the Jewish Publication Society of America.
Gross was active in many art-related and philanthropic organizations throughout his life and was the recipient of numerous awards, honors, and honorary degrees. He was elected to membership of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1964, became an Academician at the National Academy of Design in 1983, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1984. A solo exhibition Chaim Gross: Sculpture and Drawings, was held at the Smithsonian's National Collection of Fine Arts in 1974. In 1977 Gross had three retrospective exhibitions at the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami, the Montclair Art Museum, and the Jewish Museum in New York City. Scholar Roberta Tarbell wrote a key essay on Gross for the Jewish Museum exhibition.
In addition to being a professor of sculpture and printmaking at the Educational Alliance Art School and the New School for Social Research, Gross taught at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, the art school of the Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Students League.
Gross had begun collecting African sculpture in the 1930s and was later introduced by art critic Frank Getlein to Warren M. Robbins, who established the Museum of African Art in 1964. Gross gave Robbins several pieces for the museum and connected him with other individuals whose private collections of African art Robbins learned would be key to the success of the museum. A selection from Gross's renowned collection was exhibited at the Worcester Art Museum in The Sculptor's Eye: The African Art Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Chaim Gross in 1976.
The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation was created in 1974 at 526 LaGuardia Place, the historic Greenwich Village townhouse which Chaim and Renee Gross purchased in 1962 and renovated to include studio and gallery space with living quarters above. Three years after Gross's death in 1991, the Renee and Chaim Gross foundation opened to the public with a memorial exhibition of the sculptor's work. 526 LaGuardia Place continues to house an extensive collection of Gross's artwork, a photographic archive, and Gross's personal art collection. Gross's work is represented in major museums throughout the United States and abroad, with the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden housing the largest collection of his sculpture in a public museum.
Related Materials:
Additional Chaim Gross papers are held by Syracuse University.
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Chaim Gross conducted 1964 September 1 by Dorothy Seckler and an oral history interview of Chaim Gross conducted 1981 May 26-27 by Milton Wolf Brown.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds the microfilm (Reels D115a, 924, and 925) of ten record books, 1926-1975, containing rough drawings of artworks, dimensions, titles, dates, materials, production locations, and information regarding owners. The record books were returned to the donor after microfilming and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Chaim Gross papers were given to the Archives of American Art in a series of accessions by Chaim Gross from 1963-1983. Thirteen postcards were given by Mrs. Irving Marantz in 1975. Mimi Gross donated eight letters and two envelopes in 2005. Additional papers were donated by the Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation in 2016 via Susan Fisher, executive Director, and in 2017 and 2020 by the Foundation via Sasha Davis, Interim Director and Curator of Collections.
Restrictions:
Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
New York Feminist Art Institute/Women's Center for Learning Search this
Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework Search this
Extent:
21.7 Linear feet
2.55 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Diaries
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1932-2007
Summary:
The papers of multimedia and textile artist Ita Aber, measure 21.7 linear feet and 2.55 GB and date from 1932 to 2007. The collection documents many aspects of Aber's career through biographical material, correspondence, diaries and other writings, records of Aber's commissions for various organizations, gallery files documenting her exhibitions, teaching files documenting classes and workshops taught by Aber, personal business records including price lists for Aber's work, printed and digital material, artwork including sketches, paintings and embroidery, and photographs of family, friends, artwork, and exhibitions. The collection also includes sound and video recordings, some in digital format.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of multimedia and textile artist Ita Aber, measure 21.7 linear feet and 2.55 GB and date from 1932 to 2007. The collection documents many aspects of Aber's career through biographical material, correspondence, diaries and other writings, records of Aber's commissions for various organizations, gallery files documenting her exhibitions, teaching files documenting classes and workshops taught by Aber, personal business records including price lists for Aber's work, printed and digital material, artwork including sketches, paintings and embroidery, and photographs of family, friends, artwork, and exhibitions. The collection also includes sound and video recordings, some in digital format.
Biographical materials consist of membership and identification cards, passports and travel documents, and educational material related to various schools Aber attended. Correspondence is mainly with friends, colleagues, and organizations. There are also letters to and from local and national political figures concerning various topics. Diaries are primarily a number of calendar books containing appointments and various notes. Writings include draft manuscripts for articles and books that Aber wrote, transcripts for lectures she presented, notes on various subjects in embroidery and Jewish art, and articles on Aber and Jewish artwork written by other scholars. Professional activity consists of documents related to commission work Aber did for various organizations and synagogues. Gallery materials include documentation related to Aber taking part in museum exhibitions. Teaching materials are of various classes and workshops Aber presented at museums on different aspects of needlework and embroidery. Personal business records consist of inventories, price lists, appraisals, and invoices. Printed materials include exhibition announcements and catalogs, newsletters, and newspaper and magazine clippings. Artwork is design and sketches for textiles used for various commissions. Also included are a number of small paintings. Photographs consist of personal photographs of family and friends, artwork, and exhibitions that Aber took part in. Also included are numerous photographs and slides of artwork.
Teaching Files, 1967-1995 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 14-15)
Personal Business Records, 1963-2005 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 15-16)
Printed Material, 1963-2007 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 16-18, 22)
Artwork, circa 1983-2000 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 18, 22-23, OV 24)
Photographs, 1932-2006 (3.1 linear feet; Boxes 18-21, 0.001 GB; ER05)
Biographical / Historical:
Ita Aber (1932-) is a Jewish multimedia and textile artist, curator, and art teacher who works primarily in New York. Aber was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1932 and immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. She completed her studies at Empire State College and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York earning a masters degree equivalent in Jewish art. In addition to her textile work, Aber worked as a curator at the Hudson River Museum.
Aber was a founding member of the New York Feminist Art Institute and the founder of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework. Starting in 1972, she taught needlework at the Jewish Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and other venues throughout the eastern United States.
Related Materials:
Yeshiva University is the primary repository for the Aber family papers.
Provenance:
The Ita H. Aber papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Ita Aber in numerous installments between 1994 and 2007.
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Fiber artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Ita H. Aber papers, 1932-2007. 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.
The Ruth Gikow papers measure 2 linear feet and date from 1933-1982. The papers document Gikow's life and career as a figurative painter and illustrator through biographical material; personal and professional correspondence with family, galleries, universities, and colleagues; autobiographical essays and writings on art broadly, lists of artwork and other writings; personal business files such as sale records and price lists; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, and other printed material; and photographs of Gikow and her artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The Ruth Gikow papers measure 2 linear feet and date from 1933-1982. The papers document Gikow's life and career as a figurative painter and illustrator through biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business files, printed material and photographic material. Biographical material contains resumes, Gikows passports, a transcript from a Jewish Home Show radio interview and an audio interview with Gikow done by Karl E. Fortess. Correspondence is between Gikow and her family, critics and galleries, and from colleagues including Karl Fortess and Lee Nordness, and one letter each from Werner Drewes, Jo Hopper, and Raphael Soyer. Writings consists of essays by Gikow on her life and career and on art and artists more broadly. Other writings include an annotated appointment calander, lists of her artwork and miscellaneous notes.
Personal business records document Gikow's career through sale records and price lists, as well as receipts and correspondence related to the production of a catalog of her work. Also present is an exhibition file documenting an exhibition of Gikow's paintings memorializing the Kent State University shootings. Printed material is comprised of exhibition announcements and catalogs, news and magazine clippings, advertisements and brochures that Gikow illustrated, along with a book Gikow illustrated titled History of Jews in America. Of note is a published book on Gikow's work entitled Gikow by Matthew Josephson. Photographic material contains photographs of Gikow, her husband Jack Levine, her studio, other artists, including Chaim Gross, Jacob Lawrence, and Raphael Soyer, and her works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1933-1972 (5 Folders: Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1981 (0.5 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1950-1980 (0.2 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 4: Personal Business, circa 1954-1980 (5 Folders: Box 1)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1933-1982 (0.6 Linear feet: Box 1-2)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1939-1975 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
Ruth Gikow (1915-1932) was a New York based painter, illustrator, and serigrapher. Gikow was born in Ukraine, emigrating to New York City with her parents in 1920. She studied under John Steuart Curry at the Cooper Union Art School from 1932-1935. She also studied with Louis Ross, Louis Schanker and Raphael Soyer. In 1935 Gikow became a Works Progress Administration artist, and in 1939 Gikow was awarded a commission to paint a mural titled Children's Indoor and Outdoor Activities for the children's wing of Bronx Hospital. Her other mural work included a live demonstration at the 1943 New York City World's Fair, and commercial murals for department stores across the city. Her career also involved illustrating books such as an edition of Crime and Punishment and History of the Jews in America by Deborah Pessin; and co-founding the American Serigraph Society in which she developed her technique with silk screen printing. In 1946 Gikow married painter Jack Levine.
Her paintings are in the collection of several art museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art, and the National Institute of Arts and Letters in New York, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as collections at Brandeis University, and New York University.
Provenance:
Material on D230 was lent by Gikow in 1965. Gikow and her husband Jack Levine donated the remainder in 1978 and 1983, which was microfilmed in 1994 with grants from the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, and the Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation. After microfilming, an addition to the collection was donated by Levine in May 1999. Papers of Jack Levine donated at the same time have been cataloged separately.
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Serigraphers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Ruth Gikow papers, 1933-1982. 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.
An interview with Louise Nevelson conducted in 1983 by Barbara Braun. Jean Lipman, Paul Anbinder, and Diana McGowan are also present during the interview.
Biographical / Historical:
Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) was a sculptor based in New York, N.Y. who played a role in the feminist art movement.
Provenance:
Donated by Barbara Braun, 1993.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to reproduce or publish requires written permission from Barbara Braun. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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
