The Jack Lenor Larsen papers measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1941-2003. Larsen was a renowned weaver and designer, entrepreneur, and a scholar who wrote and lectured on modernist design. His career in the New York design world is documented by biographical materials, correspondence, writings by and about him, various printed materials and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Jack Lenor Larsen papers measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1941-2003. Larson was a renowned weaver and designer, entrepreneur, and a scholar who wrote and lectured on modernist design. His career in the New York design world is documented by biographical materials, correspondence, writings by and about him, various printed materials and photographs.
Found are biographical materials and artifacts including items from his early years, 4 volumes of daily planners and numerous awards. Correspondence includes letters from notables such as Isamu Noguchi, Walter F. Mondale, and various craft artists such as Helen W. Drutt English, Magdalena Abakanowicz, and Beatrice Wood, and author Hannah Tillich, widow of Paul Tillich. Business correspondence is from museums, professional societies, magazines and other organizations such as the Josef Albers Foundation. Larsen also curated textile exhibitions and there are records pertaining to these exhibitions.
There are a substantial number of writings, lectures and speeches by Larsen, and proofs of a book he co-authored with Mildred Constantin, Beyond Craft: The Art of Fabric. Also found are writings about Larsen and 3 interviews with him including a 1965 videotaped interview, 2 transcribed interviews, and an audio tape of Larsen's talk "Personal Perspective," presented at a conference of the American Craft Council.
Photographs show Larsen and his employees at work and at professional events. Photographs removed from albums retain their original order. Lastly, there are printed materials include catalogs and announcements, newspaper and magazine clippings, and press and promotional materials.
Arrangement:
The Jack Lenor Larsen papers are organized into 7 series based primarily on record type and arranged chronologically.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1941-2001, (Box 1, 5; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1958-2003, (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Exhibition Records, 1986-1990, (Boxes 1-2; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, 1950-2003, (Boxes 2-3; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographs, 1970-1992, (Box 3, 5; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1972-2002, (Boxes 4-5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Audio Recordings, 1965, (Box 4; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Jack Lenor Larsen (b. 1927), based in New York and of international reputation, has been deeply involved in the design of hand woven fabric and its application to modernist interior design. An international entrepreneur, Larsen also has written books on design and has been a frequent lecturer.
Larsen was born in Seattle, Washington to parents of Canadian/Scandinavian descent; his father was a building contractor. Larsen studied architecture at the University of Washington and became interested in materials design, receiving his M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1951. Following graduation, he opened a studio in New York and established Jack Lenor Larsen Incorporated. Just months later, Larsen successfully competed for the commission to design draperies for the important glass walled Lever House building on Park Avenue designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
Larsen was highly successful in marketing his ideas and innovations, which included combining metallic thread with natural polished linen and hand woven fabrics consisting of varied yarns in random and repeating patterns. This later style of fabric became known as the "Larsen Look" and was synonymous with modern design. Larsen's firm successfully adapted technological advances to fabric design but also used ancient techniques; they were first to design fabrics for jet air planes, stretch upholsestry and printed velvets.
In 1958-1960, Larsen represented the United States Department of State in Vietnam and Taiwan, studying those countries' crafts with the goal of developing industry to create jobs and products for export. Larsen then saw the opportunity for international fabric design and production. He travelled to Latin America, Africa and Asia to study local crafts and weaving with an eye towards business opportunites, focusing on hand spun and hand woven silks. By the 1990s Larsen was producing fabric in over 30 countries. In 1997, Jack Lenor Larsen, Inc. merged with the British fabric house, Cowtan and Tout and became the United States subsidiary of the British company, Colefax and Fowler.
Many museums have collected and/or exhibited Larsen fabrics. Notable among them are The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musee des Arts Decoratifs (in the Louvre Museum), Museum of Modern Art, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In addition, Larsen is the author of several books relating to fabric and fabric design including Material Wealth: Living with Luxurious Fabrics (an international survey of contemporary fabric design) and an autobiography, Jack Lenor Larsen: A Weaver's Memoir.
Provenance:
The records were donated to the Archives in 2004 by Jack Lenor Larsen in connection with the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Weavers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Textile design -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Leo Holub conducted 1997 July 3, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in San Francisco, Calif.
Holub discusses his background, being born in Arkansas, moving to New Mexico, and then to Oakland, Calif. (1923); early educational experiences in Oakland, and later at the Art Institute of Chicago; seeing Edward Weston's photographic work at an exhibition in Chicago, and admiring Weston's nude studies of Charis Wilson; his return to the Bay Area; his studio on Montgomery St. (Monkey Block); meeting painter Matthew Barnes, who had assisted Diego Rivera with his murals at the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA), 1931-1932; his experiences as a student at CSFA- its program and instructors which included Maurice Sterne, Gottardo Piazzoni, Lee Randolph, Dick Hackett, Otis Oldfield, William Gaw, Spencer Mackey, and Victor Arnautoff; fellow students including Hassel Smith, Ed Corbett, and Florence Michelson (his future wife); and his beginning awareness of modernism.
Holub discusses his involvement with the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939); apprenticeship with industrial designer Joe Sinel and the advent of the product design era; his founding of Design Development Associates, and staying only a year before moving to Grass Valley, Calif. for his son's health; his return to the Bay Area, succeeding Emmy Lou Packard at the San Francisco Planning Office graphic arts dept.; working at the housing agency and redevelopment agency and as chief designer for the Bay Area Rapid Transit report.
He recalls his encounter with Ansel Adams at the 1955 Yosemite workshop where Holub produced a pictorial map of Yosemite; Adam's "zone system" of exposing for shadows and developing for highlights; going on to teach at CSFA (1955-1957), where Imogen Cunningham was a guest instructor; Minor White replacing him; his ten years at Stanford University's planning office (1960-1970); his campus views "Stanford Scene" that were used by the university to appeal for more space for the art dept., and his shows at Stanford's art gallery in 1964 and at the Washington, D.C. home of Vice President Walter Mondale in 1980.
Biographical / Historical:
Leo Holub (1916-2010) was a photographer, lithographer, and teacher from San Francisco, Calif.
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. Other interviewees in the Art Schools in California Oral History Project include: Emerson Woelffer, Charles Linder, Paul Carey (1993), and Paul Carey and Stephanie Caloia (1997), with funding provided by the Bente and Gerald E. Buck Collection.
Topic:
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California Search this
The papers of contemporary Color Field painter and educator Sam Gilliam measure 7.9 linear feet and date from 1957 to 1989. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, subject files, a scrapbook, artwork, and photographic material that document Gilliam's life from his time as a student through his teaching, professorial, and artistic career. The collection highlights Gilliam's close involvement with the art institutions, racial politics, and artistic innovation taking place in 1960s through 1980s America, specifically in Washington D.C.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of contemporary Color Field painter and educator Sam Gilliam measure 7.9 linear feet and date from 1957 to 1989. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, subject files, a scrapbook, artwork, and photographic material that document Gilliam's life beginning as a student, through to his teaching, professorial, and artistic career based in Washington D.C. The collection highlights Gilliam's close involvement with the art institutions, racial politics, and artistic innovation taking place in 1960s through 1980s America, specifically in Washington D.C., and showcases the planning and creation of the large scale three-dimensional paintings Gilliam is best known for as a member of the Washington Color School of painting.
Biographical material includes resumes, passports, exhibition lists, artists' statements and essays, interview transcripts and recordings. Also included are audio recordings of conversations between Sam Gilliam and artist Benny Andrews, between Gilliam and artist Rockne Krebs, as well as recordings of a 1968 interview conducted by Dorothy Gilliam.
Correspondence spans over 20 years and includes letters to and from museums and galleries such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Carl Solway Gallery, collectors, artists including David Driskell, friends, family, students, and fans.
Writings include notes, statements, and essays by and about Gilliam, writings by university students of Gilliam, and writings related to Gilliam's artwork and public commissions including measurements for artworks, material research, and information regarding prints created for the private home of Walter Mondale.
Business records primarily include the daily records of activities kept by Sam and Dorothy Gilliam's secretary, Debby, from 1973 to 1978. Also present are resumes for a studio assistant for Gilliam, certificates of originality, legal documents, receipts and invoices, a record of donated paintings, financial records, ledgers, contracts, records and paperwork for the Gilliam's company Enterprise 101, and miscellany.
Printed materials include photocopies, exhibition announcements, magazines, and clippings regarding exhibitions, specific artworks, and commissions, and Gilliam and/or his then-wife, Dorothy Gilliam.
The subject file series contains letters, photographic material, business records, sketches, and printed materials concerning specific galleries, public art commissions, arts organizations, workshops, teaching positions, Gilliam's studio, art suppliers, and other topics.
A disbound scrapbook contains photographs, notes, and printed material related to Gilliam and his studio practice.
The artwork series includes sketches, personal notes, and small preparatory drawings by Gilliam.
Photographic material includes negatives, slides, and transparencies of artworks, Gilliam in his studio, and Gilliam and staff preparing museum and gallery exhibition spaces. Also included are records of student artwork, and photos and slides of artwork sent to Gilliam by students and aspiring artists.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1958-1988, (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-1989, (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1962-1988, (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Business Records, 1957-1986, (Boxes 2-3; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1962-1987, (Boxes 3-4; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 6: Subject Files, 1963-1988, (Boxes 4-7; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Scrapbook, 1958-1968, (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 8: Artwork, 1970-1980, undated, (Boxes 7-9; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographic Material, 1960-1985, (Boxes 8-9; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Sam Gilliam (1933- ) is an African-American artist based in Washington, D.C. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and raised in Louisville, Kentucky where he began painting as a child, eventually attending the University of Louisville where he received his B.A. in Fine Art and M.A. in Painting. He went on to teach art to high school students in the Washington D.C. public school system, and university-level students at the Corcoran School of Art, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the University of Maryland, and Carnegie Mellon University. His numerous grants and awards include the 1971 Solomon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and multiple Honorary Doctoral degrees.
As an artist, Gilliam is best known for his three-dimensional draped and suspended paintings, covered with large fields of poured paint, pigment, and colorful staining influenced by the movement and colors of Abstract Expressionist painters. Gilliam went on to become a part of the Washington Color School of painters, where his creation of free-form works flourished. He created many public works that incorporated new materials such as custom designed metal forms, quilted canvas, and textiles; his works often included subtle social commentaries through their titling. His suspended paintings cemented Gilliam as an innovative and influential presence in 20th century American art.
Provenance:
The Sam Gilliam papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Sam Gilliam in 1989.
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:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Sam Gilliam. 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 government arts administrator and novelist Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. (1918-2002) measure 40.2 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 2002. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, interviews, writings, numerous files reflecting his work to establish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), political committee files, personal legal records, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographs. Throughout the collection are video and sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of government arts administrator and novelist Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. (1918-2002) measure 40.2 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 2002. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, interviews, writings, numerous files reflecting his work to establish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), political committee files, personal legal records, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographs. Throughout the collection are video and sound recordings.
Biographical materials consist of awards; diplomas; genealogy records; resumes; and files for Biddle's work at Fordham, his nomination for the National Medal of Arts award, and about his second wife Catharina Baart. Correspondence is with family, friends, and professional and political contacts such as Jane Alexander, President Jimmy Carter, Armand Hammer, Nancy Hanks, Edward Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Sandra Day O'Connor, Claiborne Pell, Robert Rauschenberg, Slava Rostropovich, and others.
Interviews with Biddle include transcripts, four sound recordings, and two video recordings of Biddle with R.A. Davis, Bob Edwards, Peter Jessup, Susan King, Bob Schieffer, and Louann Temple.
Among the writings are journals, articles, poetry, speech notes, manuscript drafts of Our Government and the Arts: A Perspective from the Inside and Sam Bentley's Island, one video recording of "Art/Work/USA" by Barbara Rose, and one sound recording of a film introduction entitled "The Eagle".
Files concerning the establishment and early years of the National Endowment of the Arts consist of correspondence; congressional briefing books, committee files, and reports; financial material; drafts of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965; one sound reel titled "Swearing-In of L.L. Biddle, Jr.," and three video recordings. Additional files concerning Biddle's work for congressional committees and political campaigns include correspondence, meeting agendas and notes, and printed material concerning multiple arts organizations and the political campaigns for Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, and Claiborne Pell. Family and real estate records, a partnership agreement, and will are in personal legal records.
Printed materials include booklets, clippings, event invitations and programs, flyers, magazines and journals, and posters autographed by Jacob Lawrence, Fritz Scholder, and John Glenn. Additionally, one commercial sound cassette recordings of National Public Radio's program Performance Today is also found. Two mixed-media scrapbooks contain memorabilia from Biddle's professional life and international travel.
Photographs are of family, travel, and friends and colleagues at various events. Six video recordings are home movies of Bryn Mawr and documentaries about St. Katherine Drexel. Artwork in the form of pencil and watercolor sketches is by Ruth Asawa Lanier, Barb Maxwell, Pat Oliphant, James Rosenquist, and Howard N. Watson.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1950-2002 (2.5 linear; Box 1-3, 41, OV 43)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1956-2001 (2 linear feet; Boxes 3-5)
Series 3: Interviews, 1978-2002 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)
Series 4: Writings, 1940-2002 (12 linear feet; Boxes 6-18)
Series 5: National Endowment for the Arts, 1964-2000 (10 linear feet; Boxes 18-27, 42)
Series 6: Committees and Political Campaigns, 1944-2001 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 27-30)
Series 7: Personal Legal Records, 1952-1986 (1 linear foot; Boxes 30-31)
Series 8: Printed Materials, circa 1950-2000 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 31-34, 41, OV 44)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1970-1998 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 34, 42)
Series 10: Photographs and Video Recordings, circa 1950-2002 (4.6 linear feet: Boxes 34-40, OV 44)
Series 11: Artwork, 1976-1989 (0.3 linear feet; Box 40, OV 44)
Biographical / Historical:
Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. (1918-2002) was a federal government arts administrator and novelist active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Livingston L. Biddle was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1918 to a distinguished and wealthy family. He graduated from Princeton University in 1940. During World War II, Biddle volunteered as an ambulance driver in Africa for the American Field Services.
While working as a special assistant to Rhode Island Democratic Senator Claiborne Pell in the 1960s, Biddle drafted the legislation for the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, which led to the creation of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) one year later. Biddle served as deputy chairman of the NEA from 1966 to 1967, as congressional liaison director in 1975, and as chairman from 1977 to 1981. In 1976, he served as director of the Congressional Subcommittee on Education, Arts, and Humanities.
Also a writer, Biddle wrote four novels, all set in Philadelphia, including Sam Bentley's Island published in 1961. From 1968 to 1970, he was a professor and chairman of Fordham University's arts division. Biddle also published a non-fiction book about his experiences establishing and working for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) titled Our Government and the Arts: A Perspective from the Inside in 1988.
Biddle married artist Catharina Baart in 1973 after his first wife, Cordelia Frances Fenton, died in 1972. Biddle died in Washington, D.C. in 2002.
Provenance:
The Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. papers were donated in 2013 by Thomas O'Callaghan, a close friend of Biddle's who inherited the papers.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
"A new spirit, a new commitment, a new America" : the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter F. Mondale : the official 1977 inaugural book / [the 1977 Inaugural Committee]
