Brumbaugh, Thomas B. (Thomas Brendle), 1921- Search this
Extent:
10 Items (Letters, written in ink, ball point, graphite, typewritter)
Type:
Archival materials
Correspondence
Date:
1941-1970
Scope and Contents:
This collection is an amalgamation of letters written and recieved by prominent figures in 19th and 20th century American art. Included in this folder are letters between the collector, Thomas Brumbaugh, and various artists, including American playwright and writer Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, mural artist Barry Faulkner, and Louis Hardin.
Arrangement:
Organized chronologically.
Biographical / Historical:
Beginning in his youth Thomas Brumbaugh collected autographed correspondence. Mr. Brumbaugh's collecting instincts resulted in a unique collaborative collection providing a glimpse into the lives of a variety of 19th and 20th century American artists, such as Abbott Thayer. Brumbaugh was a professor of fine arts at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and author of many articles on American art and artists.
Oliver Wolcott Gibbs was an American playwright and writer who lived in New York City. He wrote for The New Yorker and worked as a humorist and theatre critic. Gibbs was a direct descendent of President Martin Van Buren.
Barry Faulkner was an American artist who studied with Abbott H. Thayer, George de Forest Brush, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Along with sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry, Faulkner organized artists to train as camouflage specialists. Faulkner was born in New Hampshire, traveled to Europe as he studied art, and then returned to New York, where he began work as a mural artist. He completed "The Constitution" and "The Declaration" in 1936 for the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives.
Isaac Soyer was a social realist painter from New York City who used working-class and unemployed people as the subjects in his paintings. He also painted portraits for friends, and used his friends and family as models for his work.
Louis Hardin, commonly known as "Moondog," was a blind American composer and poet who lived on the streets of New York for a large portion of his life. He wore clothes inspired by the Norse god Thor, giving him the epithet, "The Viking of 6th Avenue." Moondog was influenced by ambient noises in his environment, and Native American music.
Henry Rox was a German artist who studied in Berlin and Paris before settling in the United States in 1938, where he taught at many universities, including Mount Holyoke College. He is known for fruit and vegetable photo-sculptures.
Ibram Lassaw was an American sculptor in the 20th century. Born in Egypt to Russian parents, Lassaw grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He was influenced by Alexander Calder and Wassily Kandinsky. Lassaw created open-space sculptural abstractions with metal, and helped abstract art grow in the United States.
Harry Rosin was an American sculptor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After working around the area following his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, he traveled to Tahiti, where he married his wife. He is known for his iron sculptures.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.06 3
Other Archival Materials:
Thomas B. Brumbaugh research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and other artists, 1876-1994 (bulk 1960s-1994); Also located at Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
73 Items (Letters, written in ink, ball point, graphite, typewriter)
26 Items (Stamps)
3 Items (Photographs)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Place:
USA -- Tennessee -- Nashville
Date:
1831-1979
Scope and Contents:
This collection is an amalgamation of letters written and recieved by prominent figures in 19th and 20th century American Art. Included in the collection is a significant portion of letters from Abbott Thayer to correspondents from his circle of family, friends and art world figures such as Maria Oakey Dewing and Samuel Coleman.
Arrangement:
Organized alphabetically by author.
Biographical / Historical:
Beginning in his youth Thomas Brumbaugh collected autographed correspondence. Mr. Brumbaugh's collecting instincts resulted in a unique collaborative collection providing a glimpse into the lives of a variety of 19th and 20th century American artists, such as Abbott Thayer. Brumbaugh was a professor of fine arts at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and author of many articles on American art and artists.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.06
Other Archival Materials:
Thomas B. Brumbaugh research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and other artists, 1876-1994 (bulk 1960s-1994); Also located at Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The interviews are of artists, educators, art administrators, and dealers. Topics covered include the Federal Art Project, the Artists' Union, the Club, the influence of French emigre artists, and political activism among artists. The transcripts range from 1 to 4 pages in length.
Interviewees include: Mildred Baker, Will Barnet, Emanuel Benson, James Brooks, Paul Burlin, Giorgio Cavallon, Willem de Kooning, Jimmy Ernst, Sidney Geist, Adolph Gottlieb, Balcomb Greene, Robert Gwathmey, Seymour Hacker, Carl Holty, Harry Holtzman, Reuben Kadish, Lee Krasner, Joe Lasker, Ibram Lassaw, Jack Levine, Conrad Marca-Relli, George McNeil, Dorothy Canning Miller, George L.K. Morris, Reuben Nakian, Phillip Pavia, Louis Schanker, Ben Shahn, Theodoros Stamos, Eugene Victor Thaw, Jack Tworkov, and Esteban Vincente.
Provenance:
Donated in 1985 by Anne Bowen Parsons' son, Randall T. Parsons.
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 Peter Agostini conducted in 1968, by Colette Roberts, for the Archives of American Art at 151 Avenue B, New York, New York.
Mr. Agostini speaks of his childhood spent living throughout the five boroughs of New York; his interactions with clients of his father's acting employment agency; his early education in Catholic school and the creative freedom allotted by the nuns; his first feelings of isolation as an artist at the age of seven; the development of a sense of communication as the result of the loss of his mother at the age of three and time spent at a school for orphans; his early realization and vision of artistic destiny; his religious interests which lead to mysticism in his earlier work; his time spent working freely in the DaVinci Studio with Spaventa; the discovery by Hess of his works in Gallerie Grimaud; his attainment of the Longview Grant; his working experience throughout the Depression as part of the WPA casting plaster mannequins while working indirectly with Pollack as well as Marca Relli; his subsequent move to designing department store windows (use of Mondrian-like forms and lines); his feelings of his position as an observer; the importance of communication through art (communication without words); his rejection of the Abstract Expressionist group and choice of independence; the influence of the sculpture of Kolbe and Bache in the thirties; Clement Greenberg's distaste for his work; his feelings about the relative failure to sell his work due its unusual edginess and mystery; his role in the introduction of the work of contemporary European artists (Chausserian, Gauthier, Modrian) to the American group; his description of his own work as "traditionless"; his feelings of self-importance as one of the most original sculptors in the art world; his influence on the younger generation, particularly Marisol; the enslavement to originality that the younger generation faces; his attitudes towards American Art forms and their lack of rebellious spirit; the virtues of the American writers, such as Poe, Whitman, and Melville as American "knapsack" writers; his personal technique which places an emphasis on the "skin" or volume of something; his attempt to create quiet art, or art that merely indicates features; his frustration with teaching and the problems of regurgitated knowledge; the role of Meyer Shapiro in his teaching career at Columbia; the formation of the Club and its similarity to the Cubist's café scene; his opinions on the relationship of sex and sensuality in American art; his personal struggles, including the loss of his second wife and two of his brothers, in addition to the estrangement of his only daughter by his first wife; his feelings on the role of psycho analysis and personal history in a work of art; his present works which feature the "swell." For the majority of the second half of the interview Ms. Roberts asks Mr. Agostini to express his opinions on the work of: Kline; DeKooning; Duchamp; Oldenburg; La Tour; DeChirico; Maillol; Pompon; Rothko; Chardin; Cezanne; Giacometti; Reinhardt; Chryssa; Tony Smith; Segal; Lachaise; Zorach; Manship; Flannagan; Kelly; Lassaw; David Smith; Hare; Lipton; Ferber; Lippold; Roszak; Nakian; Noguchi; Hague; Kohn; di Suvero; Chamberlain; Kaprow; Sugarman; Stankiewicz; Bontecou; Scarpitta; Cornell; Keinholz; Rivera; Judd; Robert Morris; O'Keeffe; Samaras; Mark Tobey; Marin; Pollock; Hartley; Dove; Macdonald-Wright; Demuth; Sheeler; Hopper; Mirot; Matisse; DuBuffet.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Agostini (1913-1993) was a sculptor from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 28 digital wav files. Duration is 10 hrs., 37 min.
Transferred from 4 3" reels.
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:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of V. V. Rankine conducted 1990 Mar. 2-22, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
Rankine discusses the evolution of her nickname, V.V.; discovering her dyslexia; growing up in Boston; auditioning for a part in, "The Philadelphia Story"; her art studies with Amedee Ozenfant from 1944 to 1946; her studies at Black Mountain College with Josef Albers and Willem De Kooning in 1947; her friendship with Morris Louis and watching him work; living with her brother-in-law Arshile Gorky, in New York City; her first one-woman show at the David Herbert Gallery in New York in 1962; exhibiting at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York and at the Jefferson Place Gallery in Washington, D.C.; Robert Richman and the Institute of Contemporary Arts; the relationship between her painting and her sculpture; favorite shapes and materials; and her summer home in East Hampton and artist friends there. Rankine also recalls Robert Rauschenberg, Jack Youngerman, Manoucher Yektai, Betty Parsons, Ibram Lassaw, Buckminster Fuller, Elaine De Kooning, Arthur Penn, Richard Leopold, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Ken Noland, Morris Louis, Ray Johnson, Kenneth Snelson, David Hare, Frederick Kiesler, Raphael Soyer, Moses Soyer, Jean Renault, Agnes Gorky, Esther Magruder, James Johnson Sweeney, Jim Brooks, John Graham, Phillip Guston, Duncan Phillips, Theresa Helburn, Augustine Duncan, Tom Downing, Gene Davis, Alice Denney, Nesta Dorrance, Kevin Merrill, Sam Gilliam, Dylan Thomas, Kay Halle, Kit Kennedy, Naum Gabo, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Anne Truitt, Wretha Nelson, Franz Bader, Louise Nevelson, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Bonnie Newman, Alexander Russo, Walt Sheridan, Gilbert Kinney, Saul Sherman, Steve Pace, Lee Krasner, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
V.V. Rankine (1920-2004) was a painter and sculptor from Washington, D.C. Variable forms of the artist's name are notably E. R. (Elvine Richard) Rankine, Vivian Scott Rankine, and her married name, Mrs. Paul Scott.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 53 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
An interview of Ibram Lassaw conducted 1964 Nov. 1-2, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Ibram Lassaw (1913-2003) was an Abstract Expressionist sculptor in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 33 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Full access copies are available through the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Information on who to contact for full access is available on the Hirshhorm Museum and Sculpture Gardern Library Audio Archive website.
Letters solicited by dealer Joan Washburn in response to the publication of Lee Hall's controversial biography of painters Willem and Elaine De Kooning. Included are a copy of a letter from dealer André Emmerich to Lee Hall, commenting on and correcting her book; letters to Washburn from sculptor Ibram Lassaw and his wife Ernestine, and from Patia Rosenberg, the daughter of critic Harold Rosenberg; and a statement by Washburn.
Biographical / Historical:
Gallery owner; New York, New York.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Washburn Gallery records.
Provenance:
Donated 1994 by Joan T. Washburn, who solicited corrections and comments about Lee Hall's book from people who knew the de Koonings.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
A two part panel discussion on sculpture (6 7" tapes), partially transcribed on 141 pages. Participants are Peter Agostini, Will Barnet, Elaine De Kooning, Herbert Ferber, John Ferren, Donald Judd, Frederick Kiesler, Ibram Lassaw, Robert Mallary, Nicholas Marsicano, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg, Philip Pavia (organizer), Ad Reinhardt, Rachel Rosenthal, Sal Schwartz, George Segal, David Slivka, and James Wines.
Biographical / Historical:
The Waldorf Panel on Sculpture was organized by Philip Pavia, who chose the name in homage to the informal artists' discussions held at the Waldorf Cafeteria on 6th St. in the early to mid 1940s, and which later formed the nucleus to the artists' group known as the Club.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original recordings requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
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:
Authorizatin to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Lenore Seroka. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- Great Neck Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965 -- Photographs Search this
Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946 -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
0.6 Linear feet ((on 2 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
ca. 1940-1960
Scope and Contents:
Photographs of 47 American artists taken by Newman.
REEL 153: Artists include: Gertrude Abercrombie, Josef Albers, Ivan Albright, Milton Avery, Peggy Bacon, William Baziotes, Ludwig Bemelmans, Boris Blai, Julis Bloch, Harry Botkin, Alexander Brook, Charles Burchfield, David Burliuk, Alexander Calder, Federico Castellon, Nicolai Cikovsky, Francis Criss (2), Jo Davidson, Willem De Kooning, Philip Evergood, Lyonel Feininger, Richard Florsheim, William Gropper, Chaim Gross (2), John Groth, Louis Guglielmi, Philip Guston, Robert Gwathmey, David Hare, Morris Hirshfield, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Paul Jenkins, Mervin Jules, Morris Kantor, Joseph Kaplan, Karl Knaths, Leon Kroll, Ibram Lassaw, Robert Laurent, Julian Levi, Jack Levine, and Jacques Lipchitz.
REEL 1027: Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Charles Sheeler.
UNMICROFILMED: Jacob Lawrence (2) and Joseph Stella (2).
Biographical / Historical:
Portrait photographer; New York City; b. New York, N.Y., Mar. 3, 1918; d. June 6, 2006, New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1961 by Arnold Newman.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Photographs Search this
The Laurel Gallery records measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1944 to 1951. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through scant correspondence, photographs, printed material, an exhibition inventory, and financial records.
Scope and Contents:
The Laurel Gallery records measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1944 to 1951. This small collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through scant correspondence, photographs, printed material, an exhibition inventory, and financial records.
The collection includes letters from artists and museums to gallery director Chris Ritter, and some to the gallery's co-director, Grace Borgenicht; writings on artists Milton Avery, Gabor Peterdi, and Leonard Pytlak. Financial records consist of tax records, notes, bills, price lists, artist agreements, an account book, and a sales book. Also present is an inventory from the exhibition, The New York Society of Women Artists (1947); a scrapbook and loose newspaper clippings; photographs of artists and works of art; a plan for the gallery's marketing, pricing, and financials by Chris Ritter; and photographs, notes, and drafts related to the gallery's quarterly, Laurels.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
The Laurel Gallery was founded in New York City in 1946 by painter, printmaker, and educator, Chris Ritter. The gallery, located at 108 East 57th Street, was an active supporter of contemporary American art. Ritter occasionally exhibited his own work in the Laurel Gallery, but mostly exhibited the work of other avant-garde artists, including Jimmy Ernst, Grace Borgenicht (Laurel Gallery's co-director), Claude Bentley, George Constant, Ibram Lassaw, and others. In addition to exhbitions, the gallery published four portfolios of artists' prints and a quarterly magazine. Ritter closed the gallery in 1952, around the same time Borgenicht opened the Grace Borgenicht Gallery.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by gallery founder Chris Ritter in 1974.
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, Modern -- 20th century -- History Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York
Citation:
Laurel Gallery records, 1944-1951. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
An interview of Ibram Lassaw conducted 1968 Aug. 26, by Irving Sandler, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Ibram Lassaw (1913-2003) was an Abstract Expressionist sculptor in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 14 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Documentaries about American abstract expressionists, produced and directed by Thomas Herskovic, and edited by Marika Herskovic; one is an interview of Ibram Lassaw conducted by Fred Licht. Each of the artists participated in the 1951 exhibition in New York, "The 9th Street Show" (May 21- June 10, 1951 at 60 E. 9th St.), organized and juried by the artists themselves. Each video includes a biographical summary of the artist, and is from 15 to 25 minutes in length. The artists include: James Brooks, Nicolas Carone, Perle Fine, Albert Kotin, Ibram Lassaw, Conrad Marca-Relli, and Joe Stefanelli. With the exception of Stefanelli, the artists participated in the following five "Artists Annuals" exhibitions.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Herskovic is a medical doctor and Marika Herskovic is a molecular biologist. Both have an interest in the abstract expressionist movement and are friends with the artists chosen for interviews.
Provenance:
The Herskovics produced the videotapes to document the recollections of the artists involved in abstract expressionism. The selection of the artists was based on participation in the "Artists Annuals" between 1951 (9th Street Show) and 1957. They are friends with many of the artists. Additional interviews have been and will be conducted; it is expected these will also be donated.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Topic:
Art, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- Sources Search this
Papers mainly documenting Goertz's invlovement with the 1977 exhibition "New York City WPA Art: Then 1934-1943 and... Now 1966-1977" and the New York City WPA Artists, Inc. organization. Included are correspondence with Lee Krasner, Ibram Lassaw, Paul Cadmus, and William Meyerowitz; artist files; minutes of meetings and administrative files of the organization; installation photographs and photographs of works of art; guest books; and printed material including an exhibition catalog and poster pertaining to the exhibition. Also included are scattered personal papers including biographical information, photographs of Goertz and his family, and sketches by Goertz.
Biographical / Historical:
Augustus Goerts was an abstract painter and WPA muralist in New York, N.Y. He organized the 1977 exhibition "New York City WPA Art: Then 1934-1943 and... Now 1966-1977," and subsequently founded the New York City WPA Artists, Inc.
Provenance:
This collection was donated in 2007 and in 2008 by Yvette Goertz Janssen, Goertz's daughter.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Exhibitions -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- United States Search this
