The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
The earliest documentation from 1895 to 1909 concerns the organization's history and founding and is located in Series 1: Board of Trustees. Also found in this series are meeting minutes, 1909-1963 and 1968. Interfiled with the board meeting minutes are minutes of the executive committee and other special and ad hoc committees, reports to the board, financial statements and reports, and lists of committee appointments and board membership. This series also contains the scattered correspondence and subject files of various officers. Although not a complete set of officers' files, Presidents' Frederick Allen. Whiting (1931-1936), Lawrence M.C. Smith (1948-1952), Thomas Brown Rudd (1952-1954), Daniel Longwell (1954-1956), James S. Schramm (1956-1958), and Roy R. Neuberger (1958-1961) are represented. Leila Mechlin served on AFA's board as secretary from its founding to 1929, and her files are a particularly rich resource for AFA's activities during its early years. Lawrence M.C. Smith's files documenting his years as board treasurer are also arranged in this series. Additional officers' correspondence is interspersed throughout the Alphabetical Files and other series.
General information about the scope of AFA's programs, affiliations, founding, functions, and proceedings are arranged in Series 2: Administrative Records. The first subseries, Alphabetical Files, houses a wide variety of subject files that contain memoranda, correspondence, printed materials, lists, reports, and other papers. These files document the AFA's general history and founding, organizational affiliations, buildings and moves, grants, federal and state government art programs, auctions and other fund-raising efforts, publicity and public relations, publications, and fiftieth anniversary celebration. The subject headings by which these files are arranged are, for the most part, the ones designated by the AFA. The second subseries, Staff Records, houses the scattered files of AFA's director, assistant director, registrar, and special state representative, Robert Luck.
During its most active period, the AFA sponsored or participated in several special programs and Series 3: Special Programs houses the files that document many of them. The first subseries consists of the files for the Artists in Residence program that was funded by the Ford Foundation. Awarded in 1963, the grant sponsored short-term teaching residencies for artists in museums throughout the United States. The host museums were encouraged to hold exhibitions of the artists' works. This subseries contains both the general files of the program, as well as individual files on the participating artists. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the AFA and the Ford Foundation also sponsored additional programs for artists, including Grants in Aid, Purchase Awards, and the Retrospective Exhibitions Program. The files documenting these three programs are also arranged in Series 3, under the subseries Ford Foundation Program for Visual Artists. In the late 1950s, the AFA implemented the Museum Donor Program with benefactors and philanthropists Audrey Bruce Currier and Stephen Richard Currier. Through the administration of the AFA, the Curriers donated funds to selected institutions specifically for the purchase of contemporary American art. The Curriers preferred to remain anonymous throughout the program. Files documenting this program include correspondence, applications from the accepted institutions, rejections, a summary report, and clippings about the untimely deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Currier in 1967.
Also found in Series 3 are the files documenting AFAs working relationship with the first state arts council, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). In 1961, AFA and NYSCA implemented a traveling exhibition program in New York State. Found here are files for possible itineraries, proposals, publicity, loans, budgets, and the actual exhibition files. Additional AFA special programs documented in Series 3 include the Picture of the Month program of the mid-1950s and the Jean Tennyson Foundation Color Slide Lecture Program.
AFA Annual Convention files constitute Series 4. Beginning with the Third Annual Convention in 1912 and continuing through the 1963 Annual Convention, the files contain official proceedings, speeches, programs, clippings, correspondence, and press releases. Files are missing for 1913, 1915, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1936-1949, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962. There are also audio recordings in the form of reel-to-reel tapes for the 1951 Annual Convention.
Series 5: Exhibition Files forms the bulk of the collection at circa 62 linear feet and is arranged into twenty subseries. The first subseries, Exhibitions, General, houses primarily the records of the Board of Trustees Exhibition Committee and documents the AFA's earliest involvement with traveling exhibitions. These files contain reports, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, scattered exhibition catalogs, and photographs. They are primarily the files of the chair of the Exhibition Committee and include the files of Juliana R. Force, Eloise Spaeth, and Mrs. John Pope. Also found in this series is a subseries of Mrs. John Pope's records documenting circulating exhibitions from 1934 to 1955, arranged by state.
The remaining nineteen subseries of the Exhibition Files reflect either specific exhibition programs, many of which have unique numbers assigned by AFA to individual exhibitions, or other exhibition-related files, such rejected, canceled, and suggested exhibitions and miscellaneous installation photographs. The Annual Exhibitions files constitute the largest of the subseries and are numbered according to the system assigned by AFA, following a typical chronological order. Although the documentation for each exhibition varies widely by both type and amount, most of the files contain contracts and legal agreements, correspondence, memoranda, itinerary information, condition reports, publicity materials, catalogs, announcements, price lists, and other such information arranged into one or more files. The files were labeled "documentation files," "dispersal files," "report form files," "loan agreement files," and "publicity files" according to the filing system devised by AFA. Many of the files also house a significant amount of correspondence with museum officials, lenders, and artists.
Additional subseries document AFA's exhibition venues and partnerships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the New York State Council on the [UNK] Life magazine, and Addison Gallery. A complete list of all of the subseries, including specific exhibition programs, follows in the Series Outline.
The final three series of the collection are small: Printed Material, Miscellaneous Files, and Oversized Material. The printed material was donated much later to the Archives and dates from 1990 to 1993. Found here are scattered press releases, annual reports, and an exhibition program. Miscellaneous Files contain scattered records, 1926-1962, of the Architectural League of New York relating to national award programs. It is not clear why this small group of Architectural League records was found mixed with the AFA records but perhaps the collaboration between the two organizations on several special projects provides an explanation. Also found in Miscellaneous Files is a group of black and white lantern slides from a lecture series, "New Horizons in America." Oversized Material includes a portfolio, a work of art, and posters.
See Appendix for a list of artists exhibiting with the American Federation of Arts
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight primary series based primarily on administrative units or program areas. Several of the series are further subdivided into subseries. While processing, it became clear that the two filing systems were redundant and overlapped in both subject area and type of material. Most of these files were subsequently merged into the now broader Alphabetical Files or into separate series. Oversized material may be found at the end of the collection arranged in a separate series.
In most cases, files related to one another by subseries or subject areas (in the case of the Alphabetical Files) or by individual name (in the case of officers and staff files) are arranged in chronological order. The entire subseries of Alphabetical Files in Series 2 is arranged by subject heading, as assigned by the AFA, or individual name. The Alphabetical Files originally formed two broad filing systems as established by the AFA: one for general correspondence arranged by subject; and one for director's and other staff correspondence, also arranged by subject.
Series 1: Board of Trustees, circa 1895-1968 (Boxes 1-3)
Series 2: Administrative Records, 1910-1966 (Boxes 4-8)
Series 3: Special Programs, 1950-1967 (Boxes 9-13)
Series 4: Annual Conventions, 1912-1963 (Boxes 14-16)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1934-1969 (Boxes 17-78)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1990-1993 (Box 78)
Series 7: Miscellaneous Files, 1926-1962, undated (Box 79)
Series 8: Oversized Materials, 1890, undated (Boxes 80-85)
Historical Note:
Founded in 1909 by Elihu Root, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) exists today as a national nonprofit museum service organization striving to unite American art institutions, collectors, artists, and museums. Elihu Root, then secretary of state in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, spoke of his idea at the first meeting of the AFA held in New York at the National Academy of Arts. He envisioned an organization that would promote American art most often seen only by the elite in the major cities of the East and upper Midwest by sending "exhibitions of original works of art on tour through the hinterlands across the United States."
The American Academy in Rome, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Metropolitan Museum of Art were influential organizing member institutions. Individual members included such notables as William Merritt Chase, Charles L. Freer, Daniel C. French, Charles L. Hutchinson, Henry Cabot Lodge, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Walters. The founding of the AFA provided the American art world with a forum for communication and participation among artists, cultural institutions, patrons of the arts, and the public.
To accomplish its mission, the AFA established volunteer committees for membership, exhibitions, and publications. During its first year, the AFA began publishing Art and Progress (later changed to Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual (now the American Art Directory). In 1909, the AFA also organized its first traveling exhibition, Paintings by Prominent American Artists, which was shown at museums in Fort Worth, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and New Ulm, Minnesota.
By the end of the first year, the headquarters of the organization moved to Washington, D.C., to facilitate lobbying the federal government for favorable art legislation. In 1913, the AFA lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on foreign art entering the United States. In 1916, the Federation met with the Interstate Commerce Commission to protest prohibitively high interstate taxes on traveling art exhibitions.
Throughout the next fifteen years, the AFA continued to grow in membership and influence. By 1919, membership included 438 institutions and 2,900 individuals. The AFA's annual conventions were held in major national art centers and were attended by members, chapter delegates, and the public. At the conventions, scholars, patrons, and curators lectured on and discussed subjects of national interest, thereby fostering an exchange of ideas. The AFA also sponsored periodic regional conferences to promote institutional cooperation and to discuss mutual problems and needs. To facilitate exhibition venues west of the Mississippi River, in 1921 the AFA opened regional offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University. The AFA produced and circulated slide programs and lecture series to museums and educational institutions that fostered art education. By 1929, the Federation had developed forty-six slide-lecture programs that covered American mural painting, European and American contemporary art, and textiles.
During the 1930s, the Federation expanded its services by providing schools with teaching guides, student workbooks, slides, and films about art. In 1935, the AFA began publishing Who's Who in American Art, later publishing The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists and Films on Art reference guides. To reach an even larger audience, the AFA began collaborating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to organize national circulating exhibitions to "bring the museum to the people."
One of AFA's priorities was to make American art more visible abroad. The Federation focused on encouraging the representation of American artists in foreign exhibitions, and in 1924 it lobbied successfully for additional American participation in the Venice Biennale. The AFA's focus on exhibiting American art abroad continued to expand, particularly following World War II. In 1950, recognizing that the AFA could assist in promoting American culture, the State Department awarded the AFA a grant for a German "re-orientation program" consisting of educational exhibitions shown in German museums. Additional government funding further enabled the AFA to organize American participation in exhibitions in India, Japan, Paris, Switzerland, and Rotterdam between 1950 and 1970. Later, the AFA collaborated with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program which permitted donations of American art to foreign institutions on a restriction-free, tax-deductible basis. During the 1950s, the AFA was a very active member of the Committee on Government and Art, a national committee with members from across the art and museum world concerned with government sponsorship of and legislation affecting art sales, commissions, and trade.
In 1952, the headquarters of the AFA returned to New York, sparking a period of innovation and expanded of programs. Throughout the 1950s, the AFA distributed films about art and co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York. The AFA also introduced its Picture of the Month Program in 1954, renting original works of art to small American art and educational institutions. In 1956, the AFA organized the Art Collectors Club of America to provide fellowship for art collectors through meetings and activities. The club disbanded in the 1970s.
The Federation's exhibition programs continued to flourish during the 1950s and 1960s. Private and public financial support allowed the AFA to achieve many of its goals. In 1958, the Ford Foundation awarded an important grant to organize a series of traveling one-person shows and a series of monographs devoted to contemporary American artists. Milton Avery, Andrew Dasburg, José DeCreeft, Lee Gatch, Walter Quirt, Abraham Rattner, and others were among the artists who participated. Private foundation support for the AFA's Museum Donor Program provided an annual allowance that was distributed to regional museums for the pourchase of contemporary American art. Cooperative programs and joint venues also became popular during this period. For example, public support from the New York State Council on the Arts allowed the AFA to circulate exhibitions to small New York State communities, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided the AFA with five exhibitions for national tours.
Throughout its history, the American Federation of Arts has concentrated on its founding principle of broadening the audience for contemporary American art. Through its numerous exhibition and film programs, the AFA has succeeded in "breaking down barriers of distance and language to broaden the knowledge and appreciation of art." Annual exhibitions such as New Talent in the USA and Art Schools USA, organized by the AFA, brought before the public the most contemporary American artists and craftspeople, genres, and artistic forms of experimentation, exposing viewers to new ways of thinking and expression. In 1965, AFA produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films created to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
A vital part of American art history, the AFA was one of the first organizations to develop successfully the concept of traveling art exhibitions on a national and international level. The AFA was instrumental in assisting museums with circulating important juried exhibitions of contemporary art, such as the Whitney Annual and Corcoran Biennial. The AFA also recognized the importance of the exchange of cultural ideas, and it brought exhibitions of the European masters to the American public as well as exhibitions focusing on foreign contempoorary art, photography, and architecture. Many organizations and museums have followed the AFA's precedent, and traveling national and international venues are now commonplace.
Since 1909, women have served as officers and members of the Board of Trustees. Leila Mechlin was a founding participant and served as secretary from 1909 to 1933. Juliana R. Force and Eloise Spaeth both chaired the Exhibition Committee in the late 1940s. Women and artists of diverse backgrounds and nationalities were widely represented in the AFA's exhibition programs, most notably during the 1960s. In 1960, the AFA organized, with financial support from the Ford Foundation, a major Jacob Lawrence retrospective. Additional culturally diverse exhibitions included Contemporary Jewish Ceremonial Art (1961), The Heart of India (1962), 1,000 Years of American Indian Art (1963), and Ten Negro Artists from the United States (1966).
The AFA also had an impact on patronage in the arts. AFA exhibitions of contemporary art provided collectors with knowledge of new artists and avant-garde art forms, creating a broader demand and market for this type of work. Museums and collectors began purchasing work by new or obscure American artists whom they learned about through AFA exhibitions and programs.
The historical records of the American Federation of Arts offer the researcher a unique opportunity to study the development of American art and artists in the twentieth century as well as providing insight into trends in American culture.
Missing Title
1909 -- Founded in New York City. Began publishing Art and Progress (later retitled Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual.
1910 -- Moved headquarters to Washington, D.C.
1913 -- Lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on art entering the United States.
1915-1916 -- Lobbied successfully against the Cummins Amendment and the Interstate Commerce Commission's prohibitively high interstate tax on traveling art.
1920 -- Organized a lobbying campaign for the development of a national gallery of art at its national convention.
1921 -- Opened two new offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University.
1924 -- Arranged American participation in the Venice Biennale exhibition.
1927 -- Closed office at Stanford University.
1929 -- Organized American participation in exhibitions in France and Germany.
1933 -- Closed office at the University of Nebraska.
1935 -- Began publishing Who's Who in American Art.
1948 -- Published The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists.
1949 -- Collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to circulate exhibitions from its collections.
1950 -- Participated in the U.S. government's German re-orientation program.
1951 -- Joined forces with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program. Published the reference guide Films on Art. Co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York, through 1957.
1952 -- Moved headquarters to New York City.
1953 -- Magazine of Art liquidated.
1954 -- Introduced the Picture of the Month Program.
1956 -- Founded the Art Collectors Club of America.
1958 -- Received a Ford Foundation grant to finance a series of one-person shows of contemporary American artists.
1960 -- Created the Museum Donor Program.
1961 -- Received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to circulate exhibitions to small New York state communities.
1963 -- Received a grant from the Ford Foundation for the Artists in Residence program.
1964 -- Introduced the List Art Poster Program.
1965 -- Produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films that attempted to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
Appendix: List of Artists Exhibiting with American Federation of Arts:
The following is an alphabetical list of artists who exhibited with the American Federation of Arts; many are obscure. The alpha-numeric codes and numbers appearing with the artist's name represent specific AFA exhibition programs and, most often, AFA's exhibition numbering system. In cases where the AFA did not assign an exhibition number, Archives' staff have done so.
The primary reference source for the names and name variants is the American Federation of Arts Records. The names are documented in handwritten notes and lists, typed lists, and exhibition catalogs and announcements. The Archives of American Art name authority file was also consulted in questionable cases. The majority of names, however, were not found in either the AAA name authority file or standard bibliographic resources, and only in the AFA records.
Examples:
55-1: AFA annual exhibitions program
AD-1: Addison Gallery exhibitions
L-1: Life Magazine Exhibitions
ME-1: Misceallaneous exhibitions (numbers assigned by AAA staff)
NMA-1: Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibitions
NE-96: Contemporary Color Lithography
NY-1: New York State Council on the Arts exhibitions
VA-1: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions
Missing Title
A. Quincy Jones, Frederick E. Emmons & Assoc: 62-34
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) were donated to the Archives of American Art (AAA) over a thirteen-year period, with the bulk of the material arriving between 1964 and 1966. In 1979, Preston Bolton donated his letters and those from John de Menil, Ann Drevet, Lee Malone, and others regarding planning for the 1957 AFA annual convention held in Houston, Texas; convention committee minutes from 1956; and AFA newsletters. This material, as well as a 1979 gift from Louise Ferrari of transcripts from a panel discussion from the 1957 AFA convention in Houston, was microfilmed on AAA Reel 1780. All material previously microfilmed on Reel 1780 has been fully integrated into the collection and arranged within proper series and subseries. The provenance of the 1990-1993 printed material is unknown.
Restrictions:
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.
The papers of New York City photographer, conceptual artist, and musical composer Cosmos Sarchiapone measure 49.2 linear feet and 0.367 GB and date from circa 1860-2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940-2011. The collection includes biographical material and personal business records; correspondence; extensive writings, including written and recorded music compositions; teaching files; printed material and published sound and video recordings; photographic material; artwork; artifacts; and unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material. Highlights of the collection are more than 40,000 photographic images documenting New York's avant-garde art scene of the 1970s, along with celebrity parties, concerts, exhibition openings and other occasions in the art, music, and theater world. Extensive and somewhat rare printed materials offer users a visual chronical of the downtown art world in the form of posters from the 1970s, including a number of Milton Glaser's, and hundreds of exhibition announcements, theater programs, and playbills.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York City photographer, conceptual artist, and musical composer Cosmos Sarchiapone measure 49.2 linear feet and 0.367 GB and date from circa 1860-2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940-2011. The collection includes biographical material and personal business records; correspondence; extensive writings, including written and recorded music compositions; teaching files; printed material and published sound and video recordings; photographic material; artwork; artifacts; and unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material. Highlights of the collection are more than 40,000 photographic images documenting New York's avant-garde art scene of the 1970s, along with celebrity parties, concerts, exhibition openings and other occasions in the art, music, and theater world. Extensive and somewhat rare printed materials offer users a visual chronical of the downtown art world in the form of posters from the 1970s, including a number of Milton Glaser's, and hundreds of exhibition announcements, theater programs, and playbills.
Biographical material and personal business records include address books, calendars, legal paperwork, life documents, resumes, and other material. Correspondence is both personal and professional in nature. Personal correspondence is between Cosmos and friends, family, and pen pals. Professional correspondence is with curators, publishers, and estates and mostly concerns Cosmos's artwork, photographs, or objects he lent for exhibition or publication.
Writings include general writings and notes, including a book layout for a book never realized; fifteen notebooks containing Cosmos's writings about projects, dreams, and miscellany; music compositions in both written form and on sound recordings; and scattered writings by others, including manuscripts and theater scripts.
Teaching files document photography courses taught by Cosmos at the School of Visual Arts in 1974-1976, and the Parsons School of Design in 1980.
Printed materials and commercially published sound and video recordings in the collection are extensive and reflect Cosmos's unique interests and inspirations, and his tendency to save and collect material discarded or rejected by others. There are books and periodicals featuring Cosmos's work, annotated by Cosmos, or of special significance to Cosmos. There is also a list of books in Cosmos's library. Some of the periodicals concern Push Pin Studios and Milton Glaser. There is a large group of ephemera, such as announcements, catalogs, press releases, programs, playbills, posters, and assorted items covering several decades of New York exhibitions, events, concerts, and performances. There are posters for exhibitions, events, performances, film screenings, and concerts. Some of the clippings and other ephemera may have been removed from scrapbooks or other compilations, and some remain collated and mounted on mat board. Some of the printed materials may have been used by Cosmos as source materials.
Photographic material makes up a significant portion of the collection (14.5 linear feet), and illustrates the breadth of Cosmos's documentation of New York City, capturing the avant-garde art and theater worlds, the people and streets, self-portraits, and numerous other subjects. There are images of named people and people at parties, of exhibitions and performances, of New York City streets and buildings, of a more personal and family nature, of artwork, and of miscellaneous subjects. There are also collected photographs, some of which are vintage. There is a large group of unidentified and unsorted negatives, slides, and contact sheets. Where they existed, labeling and descriptive notes have been preserved with the unidentified materials.
Artwork is also quite extensive (10.5 linear feet) and found in a variety of genre, format, and media. There is also a small subseries of artwork by others. One group of artwork consists of titled or named art projects and series, often executed in the form of series that spanned decades. This group includes Cosmos's Reciprocal project that incorporated his photographic work. For this project, he would photograph notable figures, including John Cage, Robert Scull, and others, and ask them to photograph him. There are also several folders of Cosmos's work focusing on photographer Diane Arbus.
A group of artwork identified as "compilations" consist primarily of photocopies of compiled presentations of documents, photographs, fragments, writings, drawings, printed materials and ephemera, and bits and pieces of Cosmos's titled work. These compilations were prepared by Cosmos for individuals in the art world to whom he was close. The original compilations were then photocopied and presented to the intended receiver. The subseries of compilations contains both originals and photocopied versions that do not always correlate with one another. Also found among the artwork are drawings, illustrations, a few paintings, collages, and sketchbooks by Cosmos. Artwork by others includes an artist book, drawings, a sketchbook, and prints by Milton Glaser, Alex Hay, Douglas Huebler, Marvin Israel, Ray Johnson, Ellsworth Kelly, and Eve Sonneman.
Found within the collection are three dimensional artifacts, including eight cameras and other items Cosmos saved and collected to incorporate into his photographs.
There is a large series of unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material, some of which is clearly identified and labeled, and some of which is unidentified. When known, labeling has been incorporated into the folder titles in the container inventory. Users should note that sound recordings that were clearly identified and associated with other projects were arranged in context with those related materials.
Printed material (series 5), photographic material (series 6), and artwork (series 7), include many photocopies. Cosmos used the photocopy process to make copies of his work to share with others, and as a creative form of art in itself, experimenting with tonality, collage, and the degeneration of images from repeated copying. Photocopies were also made of articles, newspapers, and various source material and ephemera that he collected. Many photocopies have descriptive labeling on the back. For some photographs and projects, photocopies are the only form of documentation located in the collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material and Personal Business Records, circa 1949-2011 (1 linear foot; Box 1, 44, OV 49)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1940s-2011 (.7 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1947-2000s (4.2 linear feet; Box 2-6, 44, OV 50-51)
Series 4: Teaching Files, 1970s-1980s (1.9 linear feet; Box 6-8, 44, OV 52)
Series 5: Printed Material, Published Sound, Video Recordings, 1894-2000s (8.3 linear feet; Box 8-13, 44-45, OV 53-73, RD 105)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1860-2000s, bulk 1970-2010 (14.5 linear feet; Box 14-26, 46-47, OV 74-80)
Series 7: Artwork, 1947-2000s (10.5 linear feet; Box 27-34, 47-48, OV 81-104)
Series 8: Artifacts, 1960s-2000s (1.5 linear feet; Box 34-35)
Series 9: Sound Recordings and Born-Digital Material, 1950s-2000s (6.6 linear feet; Box 36-43, 0.367 GB; ER01-ER02)
Biographical / Historical:
Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone (1931-2011) was a documentary photographer, musical composer, and conceptual artist who worked in New York City.
Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone was named Cosime Sarchiapone at birth, and was also known as Cosmos, Cosmos Savage, and Richard Savage. His parents, Lois and Aldo, had seven children, including twins Cosmos and Damian. Born in Manhattan, Cosmos graduated from the La Guardia High School of Music and Art in New York City in 1948 and from Syracuse University in 1958 with a concentration in music composition and studio art. After college, he studied musical composition with John Cage at the New School in 1961, art history with Meyer Schapiro at Columbia University from 1963-1965, illustration with Marvin Israel from 1966-1971, design with Milton Glaser from 1968-1973, and photography with Diane Arbus from 1970-1971. He taught photography at the School of Visual Arts from 1974-1976, and at Parsons School of Design in 1980. In the early 1970s, he led experimental theater workshops at Columbia-Barnard University.
Between 1968-1969, Cosmos worked with Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast at their Push Pin Studios, a graphic design and illustration studio.
Sometime between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Cosmos began photographing New York City, capturing the art and theater worlds, the people and streets, self-portraits, and numerous other subjects. As a freelance photographer for New York magazine (founded by Milton Glaser) and other mass-market publications, Cosmos photographed Andy Warhol and his circle, Halloween parties at the Waldorf, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon convention, the Jesus Joy Jubilee at Carnegie Hall, the Beat Poets' reunion and private parties attended by Hollywood actors and directors, often capturing the overlapping worlds of art, movies and music. Cosmos's photographs have been published in numerous books and publications. His work was featured in several exhibitions in the 1970s, including shows at the Jamie Gallery, the Fine Arts Building, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. But he created the bulk of his work for himself and much of it remains unpublished.
Throughout the 1970s, Cosmos documented the avant-garde art scene in New York City. He captured performances at The Kitchen and La Mama, the offices of New York magazine and Push Pin Studios, Tom O'Horgan's Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and much more. He photographed performances and installations at 112 Greene Street in SoHo, an interdisciplinary art space that nurtured the experiments of a number of now significant American artists, dancers and musicians, including Chris Burden, Vito Acconci, Suzanne Harris and Phillip Glass, all of whom were photographed by Cosmos. He also photographed numerous images of 112 Greene Street's sister space, Matta-Clark's FOOD, an artist-run eatery at the corner of Prince and Wooster Streets where exotic meals were offered up as both performance art and nourishment. Cosmos used his camera as a way to get close to artists he admired, including Diane Arbus, Milton Glaser, and Marvin Israel.
According to Milton Glaser, "Cosmos was a brilliant photographer who was never without a camera….He was always everywhere. In terms of documentation of that period, there was no one like him."
Cosmos often incorporated aspects of his photography into conceptual art pieces, including two serial works that Cosmos made from fragments of Diane Arbus' discarded photographs, transforming her iconic work. Many of Cosmos's conceptual art pieces often took the form of a series, and were continuously revisited. In Reciprocal, Cosmos photographed figures—including those he admired like John Cage, Meyer Schapiro, Robert Scull, and others—then asked each to photograph him. Many of Cosmos's art projects were based in photographic documentation of his "performances", as in Sheet Music, where he is seen tearing a white sheet outside Bloomingdale's during the 'white sale.' Cosmos's convictions about smoking, its hazards, and the nefarious actions of tobacco companies led to several related projects, among them, Photo Arrest, where Cosmos captured on camera people smoking illegally in hospitals, classrooms, grocery stores, and elevators.
Cosmos created scores for plays and dance performances, including Churchyard by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1970, and numerous Off-Off Broadway theater productions in the 1960s. He wrote an opera, Vox Humana #3. The opera is about three heroines of history: Antigone, Joan of Arc, and Patty Hearst, and synthesizes a variety of media, including music composition, stage direction, and video (Patty Hearst in Chains), into a four hour performance that was staged at La Mama in 1976 and The Kitchen in 1977.
Cosmos lived at Westbeth Artists' Community from 1970-2011, but had largely withdrawn from the world by the 2000s. Cosmos Sarchiapone died in 2011.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2015 by Tom Sarchiapone, Cosmos Sarchiapone's brother, via Catherine Morris, curator and friend of Cosmos.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Composers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
REELS 826-827: 697 letters, including letters to her parents and her future husband Alan Fink, and letters from Bernard Chaet, Maxine Kumin, Tillie Olsen, Anne Sexton, Andrew Stevovich, Elbert Weinberg, and the Cober Gallery; a 15-page diary; a scrapbook containing photographs, clippings, catalogs and miscellany; and many loose clippings and catalogs.
UNMICROFILMED: Photographs of Swan, Ellsworth Kelly, and other students of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston School; letters relating to Swan's career and from friends and relatives, including Bernard and Ninon Chaet and Edwin and Rosalind Miller; Christmas cards by Swan and other artists; drafts and a transcription of a talk by Swan on Harold Tovish; exhibition announcements and catalogs; clippings; and printed material on Anne Sexton.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, illustrator, draftsman, and lithographer; Boston, Mass. Studied at School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Karl Zerbe. Ellsworth Kelly was also a student there. Swan collaborated as an illustrator with poets Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin.
Provenance:
Material on reels 826-827 was lent for microfilming in June of 1974 by Barbara Swan. She donated the photographs of Ellsworth Kelly in December 1974, and letters, writings, exhibition catalogs and miscellaneous printed material in 1992. Additional papers are expected.
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.
An interview of Ralph Coburn conducted 1995 May 25 and 1995 June 23, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art, in Coburn's home, Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Coburn talks about his parents and his childhood in Miami Beach, Florida; his early schooling; and entering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1941, in its 5-year architecture program. He recalls Walter Netsch, a classmate at MIT, who later became a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who introduced Coburn to modern design and to avant-garde music. He also recalls the painter and head of painting at the Museum of Fine Arts School, Karl Zerbe, his teacher in the course of his work for advanced MIT architecture students. He talks about his return to Florida as a draftsman for an aircraft equipment company in Miami, outfitting planes for the African campaign, and his foreman, a son of Al Capone; then returning to Massachusetts to work with an electrical company making secret military components.
Coburn discusses returning to and dropping out of MIT; working at the Institute of Modern Art in Boston through Hyman Swetzoff; following Swetzoff to the Boris Mirski Gallery; studying at Mirski's art school with Esther Geller and John Wilson and friends made at the school, including Ellsworth Kelly, Arthur Polonsky, and Reed Kaye. He recalls Carl Nelson, one of his teachers. He talks about the change in atmosphere at the Institute with the replacement of Thomas Metcalf by James Plaut and Nathaniel Saltonstall who changed the Institute's name to Institute of Contemporary Art and the protest surrounding the name change.
Biographical / Historical:
Ralph Coburn (1923- ) is an architect, painter, and designer currently living in Gloucester, Massahusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 36 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.
The papers of sculptor, painter, and educator Sidney Simon measure 23.7 linear feet and 2.21 GB and date from circa 1917-2002, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1940-1997. The collection documents Simon's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, sketches, sketchbooks, printed and digital material, and photographs.
There is a 15.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes exhibition files; commission files; project files; ledgers; photograph albums, slides, transparencies and glass plate negatives of works of art and installations and photographs of Simon, family and others; inventories of works of art; files relating to World War II including personal and professional photographs, blank postcards, sketches, printed material, and personnel information; unidentified CDs and a cassette with a letter from mother; journals with sketches and notes; biographical information including certificates and awards; printed material including catalogs and announcements and articles about Simon; appraisals; correspondence including posthumous letters of condolence; sketchbooks and drawings, including oversized student drawings and drawings for commissions and competitions; interviews with Simon on Hi8 tapes, mini DV; a scrapbook; and a zinc metal plate. Materials date from circa 1940-1997 and 2008.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor, painter, and educator Sidney Simon measure 23.7 linear feet and 2.21 GB and date from circa 1917-2002, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1940-1997. The collection documents Simon's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, sketches, sketchbooks, printed and digital material, and photographs.
Biographical material chronicles Simon's academic training and professional activities through curriculum vitae, biographical accounts, and awards. Included are letters and memoranda, many from Forbes Watson pertaining to Simon's service as a combat artist in World War II. Also found is a transcript of an interview with Simon recounting his experiences in the Southwest Pacific. Simon's personal correspondence with colleagues, friends, and family includes scattered letters from Jacqueline Helion, Penelope Jencks, William King, Burgess Meredith, among others. Many letters are illustrated by Sidney Simon and others. General correspondence includes letters from artists, galleries, museums, public and religious institutions primarily relating to Simon's exhibitions and commissioned projects. Among the correspondents are Castle Hill, Truro Center for the Arts, Colby College, André Emmerich, Eric Makler Gallery, Xavier Gonzalez, Graham Gallery, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Interspersed among the files are letters of a personal nature. Other correspondence relates to Simon's faculty positions and his activities in professional organizations, e.g., Century Association, National Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Writings and notes include Simon's 1943 diary entries recording his activities in the Army Corps of Engineers, draft versions of writings and lectures, and notes. Included are digital audio recordings of Simon's lectures at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Subject files provide documentation on Simon's commissioned projects, select exhibitions and competitions, as well as his faculty positions and memberships in several arts organizations. Printed material consists of clippings, invitations, announcements, newsletters, and programs. Exhibition catalogs are of Simon's solo and group shows at galleries, museums, and art organizations from 1959-1966. Photographs are of Simon by Budd Brothers, Richard Pousette-Dart, and Bernard Gotfryd. There are a number of photographs of the artist in his studio and outdoors as well as of Simon's family and friends, including group photographs with Ellsworth Kelly, André Emmerich, Robert Motherwell, and Louise Nevelson. Also found are three personal and family albums and twenty-one photograph albums of Simon's paintings and sculptures.
There is a 15.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes exhibition files; commission files; project files; ledgers; photograph albums, slides, transparencies and glass plate negatives of works of art and installations and photographs of Simon, family and others; inventories of works of art; files relating to World War II including personal and professional photographs, blank postcards, sketches, printed material, and personnel information; unidentified CDs and a cassette with a letter from mother; journals with sketches and notes; biographical information including certificates and awards; printed material including catalogs and announcements and articles about Simon; appraisals; correspondence including posthumous letters of condolence; sketchbooks and drawings, including oversized student drawings and for commissions and competitions; interviews with Simon on Hi8 tapes, mini DV; a scrapbook; and a zinc metal plate. Materials date from circa 1940-1997 and 2008.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1940-1998 (Boxes 1, 9; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-2002 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1943, circa 1960-1997 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet, ER01-ER03; 2.21 GB)
Series 4: Subject Files, 1940-1941, 1951-1997 (Boxes 2-4, 9; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 5: Sketches, 1937-1942 (Box 4; 1 folder)
Series 6: Sketchbooks, 1939-1995 (Boxes 4-5, 9; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1933, 1942-1998 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1978-1995 (Box 5; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1917-1997 (Boxes 5-10; 3.0 linear feet)
Series 10: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1940-1997, 2008 (Boxes 11-27, OV 28-43; 15.7 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Sidney Simon (1917-1997) was a sculptor, painter, and educator who worked primarily in New York City and Truro, Massachusetts. Simon was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, he won a place as a special student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934 and from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1936. Simon also studied at the Barnes Foundation from 1937-1940. Simon received professional recognition early in his career; he was awarded the Prix de Rome Collaborative Prize in 1939 and the Edwin Austin Abbey Fellowship in mural painting in 1945.
In 1941, Simon enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Army Corps of Engineers. Assigned to MacArthur's headquarters as an official war artist for the Southwest Pacific Theater, Simon was chosen to paint the signing of the peace treaty between the U.S. and Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. He was discharged from the army with a Bronze Star and five presidential citations. In 1945, along with Bill Cummings and Henry Varnum Poor, Simon co-founded the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, where he later served as a director and a member of the Board of Governors. By the mid-1950s, Simon's interest shifted from painting to sculpture, creating works in wood, clay, and other media. Over the years, Simon collaborated with architects on a number of public and private commissions, including the doorway for the Downstate Medical Center, the Jewish Chapel at West Point, a playground sculpture for Prospect Park, and the totemic column for the Temple Beth Abraham. In addition to serving on the faculty at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Simon also taught at the Art Students League, Brooklyn Museum, and Parsons School of Design. An active champion of artists' rights, Simon established the New York Artists Equity Association. He participated in solo and group shows at the Graham Gallery, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and the Sculptors Guild, among other venues.
In 1997, Sidney Simon died at the age of 80 in Truro, Massachusetts. Simon was divorced from Joan Crowell in 1964. He is survived by his wife, Renee Adriance Simon and five children from his first and second marriages.
Related Materials:
The Archives has two oral history interviews with Sidney Simon conducted by Paul Cummings in October 17-November 8, 1973 and the Karl E. Fortress taped interviews with artists, [1963-1985].
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds materials lent for microfilming (reel D210) including biographical material, correspondence, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, and photographs of Sidney Simon. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Sidney Simon lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming in 1965. Rene Simon, Simon's widow, donated the Sidney Simon papers in 2009. Additional material donated in 2022 by the Renee A. Simon Revocable Trust via trustees Barbara Sussman, Alexa Elam and Susanne Howard.
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 and born-digital records 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.
An interview of Diane Waldman conducted 2010 June 8-9, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Waldman's home, in New York, N.Y.
Waldman speaks of her background; education and early career; her curatorial work at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; relationships with artists; her exhibitions of works by Joseph Cornell, Willem de Kooning, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Max Ernst, and others; her travels to India; her life after resigning from the Guggenheim Museum; Frank Lloyd Wright's building; the Guggenheim International; the museum profession dominated by men; writing detective stories; and other topics. She recalls Ed Fry, Thomas Hess, Thomas Kress, Thomas Messer, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Diane Waldman (1936- ) is an independent art history scholar in New York, N.Y. Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is a former director of iCI in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 memory cards. Duration is 5 hr., 57 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:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
1.2 Linear feet ((ca. 700 items partially microfilmed on two reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1968-1977 and [undated]
Scope and Contents:
Photographs by Roxanne Everett, of artists fabricating and installing their sculpture at Lippincott, Inc., and other sites.
REEL 1400: 23 photographs including: Robert Breer, Ellsworth Kelly, Donald Lippincott, Clement Meadmore, Robert Morris, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Lucas Samaras, George Sugarman, and Minoru Yamasaki.
REEL 1875: 79 photographs including: Robert McIntyre Doty, Jean Dubuffet, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, David McKee, Clement L. Meadmore, Robert Murray, Forest Warden Myers, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosati, Lucas Samaras, George Sugarman, and others.
UNMICROFILMED: 593 photographs, among them ca. 300 of Claus Oldenburg, and many of Robert Murray, George Sugarman, Louise Nevelson, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosati, Ellsworth Kelly, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
North Haven, Ct. Founded in 1966 by Donald B. Lippincott as a place for artists to create large sculptures and receive help in transportation and installation of their work.
Provenance:
Photographs on reel 1400 donated 1974 by Roxanne Everett and Donald B. Lippincott; those on reel 1875 donated 1978 by Everett. Unmicrofilmed photographs donated by Roxanne Everett, October 4, 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.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Jonathan Lippincott. 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.
The papers of New York gallery owner and art dealer David Herbert measure 5.8 linear feet and date from circa 1909-1996, with the bulk of the material dating from 1945-1995. Herbert's papers document his years working for Betty Parsons Gallery, Sidney Janis Gallery, Graham Gallery, and others; the operation of the David Herbert Gallery from 1959-1962; Herbert's partnerships and agreements with Richard Feigen and others; and his activities as an independent dealer. Records include biographical material, correspondence, notebooks, subject files, artist files, exhibition files, business records, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York gallery owner and art dealer David Herbert measure 5.8 linear feet and date from circa 1909-1996, with the bulk of the material dating from 1945-1995. Herbert's papers document his years working for Betty Parsons Gallery, Sidney Janis Gallery, Graham Gallery, and others; the operation of the David Herbert Gallery from 1959-1962; Herbert's partnerships and agreements with Richard Feigen and others; and his activities as an independent dealer. Records include biographical material, correspondence, notebooks, subject files, artist files, exhibition files, business records, printed material, and photographs.
Biographical material includes address books and calendars, educational records, records of Herbert's military service in the United States Naval Construction Battalion in Japan, and resume's charting his career.
Correspondence is with Herbert's parents, friends, business colleagues, and artists. It includes documentation of Herbert's partnership with Richard Feigen, and his cooperative work with Irving Blum and Walter Hopps of Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, and Robert Fraser in London. Also documented are Herbert's relationship with Jaime Andrade and Andrade's family, and a lawsuit Herbert brought against Aaron Berman relating to the ownership of an Ellsworth Kelly drawing. There are scattered letters and postcards from artists and collectors, including Martin Blaszko, Lloyd Cotsen, Martin Hoffman, Ray Johnson, Josephine Merck, Alfonso Ossorio, Paul Sorel, and Clyfford Still.
Notebooks provide brief notes on Herbert's day-to-day business dealings. Subject files, consisting primarily of printed material, document Herbert's interests in several art world figures, subjects such as ancient art, and travel to locations such as Ecuador, Puerto Rico, and Greece.
Exhibition files include installation shots and catalogs for many of the exhibitions held at the David Herbert Gallery between 1959 and 1962.
Artist files document Herbert's interest in individual artists, such as William Draper, Ellsworth Kelly, Franz Kline, Sven Lukin, Edgar Negret, Louise Nevelson, Anthony Padovano, Eduardo Ramirez, and Jeanne Reynal, through printed material, photographs of artwork, scattered artist letters, and sales documentation.
Business records document the financial details and overall goals of Herbert's various business ventures. There is a sales book for Betty Parsons Gallery and Sidney Janis Gallery; Herbert's appraisal, consignment, commission, sales, and loan records; Herbert's business plans and projections; financial statements from the David Herbert Gallery; sales records for Graham Gallery; and records of Herbert's partnership with Douglas McKelvy.
Printed material includes announcements and catalogs from galleries Herbert worked for or collaborated with, including Graham Gallery, Betty Parsons Gallery, Feigen/Herbert Gallery, Stewart Neill Gallery, and Robert Fraser Gallery. Also found are obituaries and other new clippings of interest to Herbert.
Photographs are of Herbert, family members, and friends and colleagues, including his companion, Jaime Andrade, Leona Carrington, William Draper, Jon Carsman, Hans Namuth, and Leon Polk Smith. Many are color snapshots collected in two photographs albums. Also found are photographs taken in Japan and Iwo Jima in 1945-1946 of street scenes, Naval Construction Battalion facilities, and Herbert's army colleagues and friends.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1920-circa 1995 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-1996 (1 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Notebooks, circa 1950s-circa 1995 (0.3 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 4: Subject Files, 1950s-1992 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1959-1963 (0.25 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 6: Artist Files, 1950s-1993 (0.75 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Series 7: Business Records, 1950s-1992 (0.6 linear feet; Box 4)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1949-circa 1995 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 5-7)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1909-circa 1990 (0.4 linear feet; Box 7)
Biographical / Historical:
New York gallery owner and art dealer David Herbert (1920-1995, born David Herbert Schmerer), worked for a number of important galleries in New York, had his own eponymous gallery from 1959-1962, operated as a private dealer, and was in partnership with dealer Richard Feigen from 1962-1964.
Herbert served in the United States Naval Construction Battalion from 1943-1946 and was posted to Japan in 1945-1946. After receiving a BA in art history from Syracuse University in 1951, he worked for Betty Parsons Gallery (1951-1953) and Sidney Janis Gallery (1953-1959), selling the work of contemporary American painters and sculptors, handling publicity, and installing exhibitions.
Herbert forged strong connections with artists and collectors alike, and was instrumental in launching the careers of a number of important artists. One such artist was Ellsworth Kelly, whom he recommended to Parsons, triggering Kelly's New York career. He opened the David Herbert Gallery in 1959, with investment from Douglas McKelvy, promoting the works of artists including Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, and Louise Nevelson, to leading collectors and museums.
Herbert often worked in cooperation with colleagues Irving Blum and Walter Hobbs in Los Angeles, and Robert Fraser in London. After closing his gallery in 1962, Herbert entered a partnership with dealer Richand Feigen, operating the Feigen/Herbert Gallery from 1962-1964. From 1964-1969 he worked as a private dealer specializing in twentieth century works of art and serving as a consultant to collectors, museums, artists, and corporate interests. From 1969-1975 he was Director and Art Salesman of contemporary and 19th Century American Art at Graham Gallery. Herbert subsequently continued as a private dealer from 1975 until his death.
Herbert traveled extensively, visiting museums, collectors, and galleries in England, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Hawaii, and Japan. Through Edgar Negret, whom Herbert represented, he met Jaime Andrade, who became his assistant at the Feigen/Herbert Gallery in 1963. In turn Andrade shared with Herbert an interest in pre-Columbian art and contemporary Spanish and Latin America art, hosting multiple visits to his native Ecuador by Herbert and others, including artist William Draper.
Andrade served as executor of Herbert's estate, following Herbert's death in 1995.
Provenance:
The David Herbert papers were given to the Archives of American Art by Jaime Andrade, Herbert's companion, in 1999.
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.
Occupation:
Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
David Herbert papers, circa 1909-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Kelly, Ellsworth, 1923- -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
2 Photographic prints (color, 10 x 8 in.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Date:
1954
Scope and Contents:
2 copyprints of photographs of Ellsworth Kelly in front of "Colors for a Large Wall" in his Broad Streeet studio, 1954; photographer unknown.
Biographical / Historical:
Ellsworth Kelly (1923- ) is a painter from New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 2000 by Ellsworth Kelly.
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.
An interview of Joseph A. Helman conducted 2010 January 4, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at Helman's home in New York, New York.
Helman recalls three major events from his early life--the exhibition "Masterpieces from the Berlin Museums: 1948-1949," the film "Lust for Life," and collecting--that led to his career as an art dealer; buying his first painting, which was a Jasper Johns work; meeting the art dealer Leo Castelli; opening his first gallery in St. Louis in 1969; selling his gallery to Ronald Greenberg and moving to Italy with his family; attending the Sotheby's auction of the Robert C. Scull Collection in 1973; teaming up with Irving Blum to open the Blum Helman Gallery in New York City; organizing exhibitions of established and emerging artists. Helman speaks about his relationship with Emily Rauh Pulitzer and the St. Louis Art Museum; his Happening with Allan Kaprow; the story behind Claes Oldenburg's drawing Tongue Cloud, over St. Louis, 1975; discovering the work of Ralston Crawford; introducing American art to Spain. In addition, Helman discusses the contemporary art market; collectors and the process of collecting; and the redefinition of Pop art to include British and American artists of the 1980s. Throughout the interview Helman mentions the various artists he has represented, exhibited or collected such as Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Ronald Davis, and Bryan Hunt.
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph A. Helman (1937- ) is an art dealer and collector in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound disc. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr.,19 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.
Topic:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
The records of Castelli Graphics measure 45.7 linear feet and date from 1965 to 2001. Administrative files, correspondence, exhibition and project files, artists' files, financial and legal records, inventory and stock records, printed materials, and photographic materials document the activities of the New York art gallery and publishing firm founded by Antoinette Castelli.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Castelli Graphics measure 45.7 linear feet and date from 1965 to 2001. Administrative files, correspondence, exhibition and project files, artists' files, financial and legal records, inventory and stock records, printed materials, and photographic materials document the activities of the New York art gallery and publishing firm founded by Antoinette Castelli.
Administrative files include documents about the gallery's history, three appointment books, floor plans, mailing lists, notes, and advertising plans. Correspondence is with artists, dealers and collectors, and others. Exhibition and project files document exhibitions of artwork by Eve Arnold, Robert Rauschenberg, Keith Sonnier, Roy Lichtenstein, Mary Ellen Mark, Hans Namuth, Frank Stella, and Jasper Johns, and many others, as well as, records of a book project and sales promotion projects.
Artists' files are for Lewis Baltz, James Brown, Robert Cumming, Ralph Gibson, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Bruce Nauman, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol. Client and collector files include business records for individual clients and organizations.
A few legal files, appraisals, check stubs, consignment and loan documents, invoices, royalty statements, and ledgers are in financial and legal records. Inventory and stock records contain inventory, exhibition, and sales lists. Printed materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements. Photographs and negatives are of exhibition installations and works of art. 3D negatives and snapshots are also included.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1969-1997 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1979-1997 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 2-5)
Series 3: Exhibition and Project Files, 1975-1997 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)
Series 4: Artists' Files, 1965-2001 (17.0 linear feet; Boxes 6-23, 47)
Series 5: Client and Collector Files, 1966-1997 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 23-27)
Series 6: Financial and Legal Records, 1969-1997 (12.2 linear feet; Boxes 28-39, 47)
Series 7: Inventory and Stock Records, 1970-1995 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 39-41)
Series 8: Printed Materials, 1969-1997 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 41-42)
Series 9: Photographic Materials, circa 1970-circa 1993 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 42-46)
Biographical / Historical:
Castelli Graphics (est. 1969, closed 1997) was an art gallery and publishing firm in New York, NY.
The gallery was founded by Antoinette (Toiny) Castelli, wife of Leo Castelli, in 1969 and focused on prints and graphic arts. The gallery promoted prominent artists such as Richard Artschwager, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Mary Ellen Mark, Bruce Nauman, Robert Rauschenberg, Eve Sonneman, Andy Warhol, and many others. After the death of Toiny in 1987, the gallery remained opened until 1997.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are the Leo Castelli Gallery Records, circa 1880-2000, bulk 1957-1999, which include 16 linear feet of additional Castelli Graphics records.
Provenance:
The Castelli Graphics records were donated in 2011 by Jean-Christophe Castelli, son of Leo and Antoinette Castelli.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Publishing houses -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Castelli Graphics records, 1965-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Cranmer Art Group records document the professional activities of Dana Cranmer and her art conservation studio. The earliest records date to 1985-87 and document private conservation work undertaken by Dana Cranmer prior to opening Cranmer Art Conservation in 1988. The bulk of the collection consits of client files that document the work of Cranmer and her studio from 1988 until its closure in 2021.
Client files are organized chronologically by year, and alphabetically by client within each year and contain correspondence, condition reports, notes, analysis and treatment recommendations, and documentation of treatments performed. Certain artists with whom Cranmer had especially extensive relationships (e.g. Brice Marden and Ellsworth Kelly) have their own dedicated sets of records. Photographic materials (primarily 35mm color slides) are also organized chronologically by year, and alphabetically by artist within each year. Additional photographic materials document artworks in the studio, the CAG team at work in the studio and various offsite locations.
Biographical / Historical:
Cranmer Art Group (1988-2021) was a leading conservation studio in New York City. It was owned and operated by Dana Cranmer.
Provenance:
Donated in 2022 by Dana Cranmer.
Restrictions:
This collection is access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access, with permission, 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:
Conservators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of New York art collector Douglas Cramer measure 1.41 linear feet and date from circa 1970-2014. Papers include letters from artists, four guest books signed by visitors to Cramer's art collection and attendees of his parties, printed material documenting Cramer's career in television as well as his prominence as an art collector, and photographs of people and artists who attended his parties including Ellsworth Kelly, Ed Ruscha, Mary Boone, Leo Castelli, and others.
There is an unprocessed addition to this collection of nine items donated in 2022 that include correspondence and works of art to Douglas Cramer consisting of handmade Christmas cards by Bryan Hunt, David Hockney, and Harland Miller; a sketch by Ellsworth Kelly; a postcard from Sol Lewitt; a sketch in oil on cardstock by Eric Fischl; and a collage by Richard Meier. Materials date from circa 1986-1994 and undated.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York art collector Douglas Cramer measure 1.41 linear feet and date from circa 1970-2014. Papers include letters from artists, four guest books signed by visitors to Cramer's art collection and attendees of his parties, printed material documenting Cramer's career in television as well as his prominence as an art collector, and photographs of people and artists who attended his parties including Ellsworth Kelly, Ed Ruscha, Mary Boone, Leo Castelli, and others.
There is an unprocessed addition to this collection of nine items donated in 2022 that include correspondence and works of art to Douglas Cramer consisting of handmade Christmas cards by Bryan Hunt, David Hockney, and Harland Miller; a sketch by Ellsworth Kelly; a postcard from Sol Lewitt; a sketch in oil on cardstock by Eric Fischl; and a collage by Richard Meier. Materials date from circa 1986-1994 and undated.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series
Missing Title
Series 1: Letters, 1972-2014 (2 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Guest Books, 1990-1997 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 3: Printed Material, circa 1972-2012 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1970, circa 1985 (1 folder; Box 1)
Series 5: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1986-1994 and undated (0.3 linear feet; folder 3, OV 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Douglas Cramer (1931- ) is an art collector and television producer in New York, New York and Miami, Florida. A producer of noted television series including The Love Boat, Dynasty, and The Brady Bunch, Cramer is also an avid art collector and was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Douglas Cramer conducted by Avis Berman in 2013.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2016 by Douglas S. Cramer. 9 additional documents were donated by the Douglas S. Cramer Jr. Revocable Trust in 2022 via Herbert Bush III, Cramer's spouse and trustee.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Florida -- Miami Search this
Television producers and directors -- Florida -- Miami Search this
Television producers and directors -- New York -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Visitors' books
Photographs
Citation:
Douglas Cramer papers, circa 1970-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of Belle Krasne Ribicoff measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1942-circa 2010, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-2004. Papers include biographical materials; correspondence with artists, art historians, writers, museum directors, and others; individual files relating to Belle and Irving Ribicoff's art collection and the Friends of Abe Ribicoff's campaign for the United States Senate; artwork; printed material, e.g., clippings, announcements, exhibition catalogues, brochures; and photographs. The collection documents Ribicoff's career as an arts editor, critic, and her involvement in civic and arts organizations for the State of Connecticut.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Belle Krasne Ribicoff measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1942-circa 2010, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-2004. Papers include biographical materials; correspondence with artists, art historians, writers, museum directors, and others; individual files relating to Belle and Irving Ribicoff's art collection and the Friends of Abe Ribicoff's campaign for the United States Senate; artwork; printed material, e.g., clippings, announcements, exhibition catalogues, brochures; and photographs. The collection documents Ribicoff's career as an arts editor, critic, and her involvement in civic and arts organizations for the State of Connecticut.
Biographical materials include documentation of the Buttenweiser Prize awarded to Belle Krasne by the Art History Departmental Honors at Vassar College in 1945 and curriculum vitae.
Correspondence, primarily incoming letters consists of letters, postcards, draft versions, and copies of e-mails. Belle Krasne Ribicoff was friends with many artists; their letters focus on daily activities, work, and the art world. Among the correspondents are Oscar and Eleanor Chelminsky, Joseph Cornell, Piero and Virginia Dorazio, John and Rae Ferren, Helen Frankenthaler, James Fitzsimmons, Adolph Gottlieb, John Graham, Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Modell, George L.K. Morris, Philip Pearlstein, Eero Saarinen, David Smith, and Adja Yunkers. There is substantial correspondence from Ben Benn, Sidney Geist, Leon Hartley, Ralph Rosenborg, and Theodore Roszak. Also found are love letters to Belle Krasne Ribicoff from Jean Bazaine. Many of the artists' letters are illustrated. Of note, are a letter from Carl Holty to J.B. Neumann and an artist's statement written by Adolph Gottlieb.
Ribicoff had a professional and personal relationship with a number of prominent writers, actors, and other individuals known for their work in the arts, such as Edward Albee, Claire Bloom, Peter DeVries, Horton Foote, Elia Kazan, Mark Lamos, Estelle Parsons, Karl Shapiro, Cornelia Otis Skinner, and P.L. Travers. There are letters from museum directors, art historians, and other well-known cultural figures, such as Dore Ashton, Clement Greenberg, Balcomb Greene, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Pierre Matisse, E. P. Richardson, Andrew C. Ritchie, Harry Salpeter, Curt Valentin, and Mark Van Doren. Also found are files of holiday cards, many original artwork; letters to Ribicoff upon her departure from Art Digest; letters from representatives at Storm King Art Center Museum and the Wadsworth Atheneum; and letters from unidentified correspondents.
The Ribicoff collection relates to the personal art collection of Belle and Irving Ribicoff; materials document the purchase and sale of artwork and the lending of artwork for exhibitions. There is a file of petition letters sponsored by the Friends of Abe Ribicoff campaign for the United States Senate.
Original artwork includes prints by Jean Arp and Adja Yunkers and pencil sketches of Sarai Ribicoff by William Bailey. Printed material consists of news clippings; a periodical; exhibition announcements; brochures; an offprint of an article by Cleve Gray; and miscellaneous printed material.
Photographs contain black and white photographs of Belle Krasne Ribicoff, Ben and Velida Benn, Richard Krautheimer, and of the jurors attending the Carnegie International exhibition (circa 1954), including Jean Bazaine, Rico Lebrun, Eric Newton, and James Thrall Soby.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945, circa 2010 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Belle Krasne Ribicoff Correspondence, 1942-2007 (Boxes 1, 3; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 3: The Ribicoff Collection, 1949-1988 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Friends of Abe Ribicoff Campaign, 1968 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, circa 1950s-1978 (Box 1, OV 4; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1948-2000 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, 1945-circa 2007 (Boxes 1-2; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Belle Krasne Ribicoff (b. 1924) lives in Hartford, Connecticut and has served as an arts editor, critic, and university administrator.
Ribicoff was born and raised in New York City. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in art history from Vassar College in 1945. After a brief stint with an advertising agency in New York, Ribicoff became Assistant Editor at Magazine of Art (1946-1947), where she developed an interest in contemporary art. She served as editor for such publications as Art News (1948-1949), Art Digest (1949-1954), and Craft Horizons (1954-1955).
In 1955, she married Irving S. Ribicoff (1915-1994), an attorney and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. The Ribicoffs' had two daughters, Dara (b. 1956) and Sarai (1957-1980).
Ribicoff has held various positions at the University of Hartford: Development Director at the Hartford School of Art (1980-1981), Development Liaison to the Office of President (1982-1988), and Associate Vice President for Public Affairs (1980-1983). Belle Krasne Ribicoff has served as a professional volunteer for educational and cultural organizations in Connecticut; she has been involved in efforts to make the arts a part of the school curriculum. She was Vice-President of the Hartford Board of Education (1961-1967; 1965-1971) and was Chairman of the State of Connecticut's Commission on the Arts (1965-1971). Ribicoff is a Life Director at the Hartford Stage Company and a Life Regent at the University of Hartford. She is a Sterling Fellows at Yale University and sits on the President's Advisory Committee at Vassar College.
Belle Krasne Ribicoff has received recognition for her professional and public service contributions by a number of institutions. In 1954, she received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for critical writing from the College Art Association. Other honors have included: Charter Oak Leadership Medal for Distinguished Service (1968), the University of Hartford Medal for Distinguished Service (1995), and the Spirit of Vassar award for outstanding commitment and service to Vassar or another community (2005).
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is Belle Krasne's letter to Philip Pavia, May 14, 1954 on microfilm reel 3470.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Belle Krasne Ribicoff to the Archives of American Art in 2008.
Restrictions:
Use of original material requires an appointment.
Letters from Jean Bazaine to Belle Krasne Ribicoff and sketches of Sarai Ribicoff by William Bailey are access restricted. Their use requires written permission.
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.
Ellsworth Kelly. Interview with Ellsworth Kelly, circa 1969. E.C. (Eugene) Goossen papers, circa 1935-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of art historian and educator E.C. (Eugene) Goossen measure 10.8 linear feet and date from circa 1935 to 2004. The collection documents Goossen's career through biographical material, correspondence, artist files, writing project files and notes, exhibition files, other professional files and subject files, teaching files, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Goossen's career through biographical material, correspondence, artist files, writing project files and notes, exhibition files, other professional files and subject files, teaching files, and printed material.
Biographical materials include an address book, three appointment books, records regarding Goossen's retirement and death, artwork donations records, files for Goossen's wife Patricia Johanson, and other personal records. Correspondence is with Irene Alexander, the Guggenheim Foundation, Linda Nochlin, Ad Reinhardt, students, and other colleagues and friends. Artist files for Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Alexander Dorner, Paul Feeley, Herbert Ferber, Helen Frankenthaler, Tony Smith, and others include drafts, notes, research material, and five sound recordings of interviews with Robert Morris and Ellsworth Kelly. Writing projects files and notes are for book contributions, essays, lectures, and reviews. Exhibition files for 8 Young Artists (1964), 8 Young Artists Then and Now (1991), Art of the Real (1968), and a few other exhibitions are also included. Professional files document Goossen's activities outside of teaching and a small set of subject files include the topics of landscape sculpture, Mayan and Coptic art, and other art related subjects. Teaching files document Goossen's tenures at Bennington College, Hunter College, and the City University of New York's Graduate Center. Printed materials include clippings featuring Goossen's writings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, and other published material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1945-2004 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1, OV 15)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1930s-1990s (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Artist Files, circa 1947-1997 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 12-14)
Series 4: Writing Projects and Notes, circa 1940-circa 1994 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1958-1991 (1.0 linear feet; Box 8, OV 15)
Series 6: Professional Files, 1948-circa 1997 (0.5 linear feet; Box9, OV 15)
Series 7: Subject Files, 1956-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 9, OV 15)
Series 8: Teaching Files, circa 1950-1997 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 9-10)
Series 9: Printed Materials, 1964-1997 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 10-11, OV 15)
Biographical / Historical:
E.C. (Eugene) Goossen (1920-1997) was an art historian, critic, and educator in New York, N.Y.
Goossen attended Hamilton College, the Corcoran School of Fine Arts, and The New School in New York City where he received his bachelor of arts degree in 1950. He also received a certificate from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1948. He was Director of Exhibitions at Bennington College from 1958 to 1961, a professor at Hunter College from 1961 to 1991, and a student advisor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship Award in 1971 and a Critics' Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1975.
Goossen curated several major exhibitions including The Art of the Real (1968) at the Museum of Modern Art, Art in Space (1972) in Detroit, Helen Frankenthaler (1969) at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Ellsworth Kelly (1972) at the Museum of Modern Art, as well as Paul Feeley (1970), 8 Young Artists (1964), and Doug Ohlson exhibitions (1962-1982) at Bennington College. He produced numerous articles, essays, and books on Georgia O'Keeffe, Ellsworth Kelly, Herbert Ferber, Tony Smith, and other prominent artists.
Goossen was married to artist Patricia Johanson. He died in 1997 in Bennington, Vermont.
Provenance:
The E.C. (Eugene) Goossen papers were donated by Goossen's widow, Patricia Johanson, in 1997, 1998, and 2006.
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 historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
E.C. (Eugene) Goossen papers, circa 1935-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
