The papers of sculptor and educator Tom Doyle measure 5.2 linear feet and date from 1956-2014. The collection contains biographical material, correspondence, commission files, printed material, and four sketchbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor and educator Tom Doyle measure 5.2 linear feet and date from 1956-2014. The collection contains biographical material, correspondence, commission files, printed material, and four sketchbooks.
Biographical material dates from 1966-circa 1980s and includes an address book, scattered notes, and receipts. Correspondence dates from 1959-2013 and is both personal and professional in nature. There are letters, postcards, holiday cards, greeting cards, invitations, and printed material from friends and family. Noteworthy artists represented in the correspondence include Stephen Antonakos, Lawrence Fane, Bruce and Sarah Breckenridge, Andy F. Klimko, Alfred Jensen, Mel Shestack, Jack Troy, and Christos Gionakos. Professional correspondence is with galleries, museums, and other arts organizations regarding exhibitions, commissions, and other projects. Commission files date from 1978 to 1985 and detail Doyle's sculpture Map of Alaska, commissioned by the General Services Administration for the Federal Building and Courthouse in Fairbanks, Alaska. Printed material dates from 1956-2014 and includes articles and clippings, a book, booklets, brochures, exhibition announcements and catalogs, journals, magazines, bulletins, press releases, and price lists. Four sketchbooks date from circa 1960s-1974. Sketches are completed in pen, pencil, colored pencil, and marker, and appear to be studies and preliminary drawings for sculptures.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1966-circa 1980s (0.1 linear foot; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1959-2013 (2.7 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 3: Commission Files, 1978-1985 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3-4)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1956-2014 (1.9 linear feet; Box 4-5, OV 6-7)
Series 5: Sketchbooks, circa 1960-1974 (0.2 linear feet; Box 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Tom Doyle (1928- ) is a sculptor and educator currently residing in Roxbury, Connecticut. Previously, he lived and worked in New York City and Three Springs, Pennsylvania.
Tom Doyle was born in Jerry City, Ohio in 1928 and received his BFA in 1952 and MFA in 1953 from Ohio State University, where he studied with Roy Lichtenstein. In 1957, he moved to New York City and in 1960 was included in a group exhibition at the Martha Jackson Gallery.
In 1961 Doyle met and married Eva Hesse, but they separated in 1965 after spending a year in Germany together. He later married Jane Doyle, his current wife. Doyle was a member of and exhibited at 55 Mercer, a cooperative gallery in SoHo established in 1969. Doyle and Jane shared a studio with a number of other artists at 135 Bowery.
Although Doyle primarily creates sculptures from wood, he also uses metals, and experimented with synthetic materials in the 1960s. Franz Kline, Henry Moore, and Alexander Calder are among his influences.
Doyle taught at the Brooklyn Museum Art School from 1960-1968, the New School from 1961-1968, the School for Visual Arts in 1969, and at Queens College from 1970-1992. His work has been shown extensively throughout the United States and Europe, and he is the recipient of NEA and Guggenheim fellowships.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 1982, 1983, and 2014 by Tom Doyle.
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.
