Photographs of Bloch's murals in the House of Detention for Women in New York City, for Madison House, and for George Washington High School; and photographs of unknown demonstrators.
Biographical / Historical:
Mural painter and painter, New York, N.Y. Died Mar. 13, 1999 Bloch was an artist for the Federal Art Project (New York, N.Y.).
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Lucienne Bloch.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
14 Items (photoprints (on partial microfilm reel), b&w, 20 1/2 x 25 1/2 cm.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
[ca.1937-1938]
Scope and Contents:
Copyprints of photographs of two WPA murals by Karp, "The Normal Pursuits of Man-Production," 1937, in Bellevue Hospital, NYC, and "Armed with Learning and Reality, Looking from the Past to the Future," 1938, in the Hebrew Orphans Asylum, NYC. The photographs show Karp and assistants at work on the murals and the completed murals. Also included are photographs of a design for a PWAP mural, "Electrical Production and Direction" (never executed in mural scale).
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mural painter; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Transferred from the National Museum of American Art, Department of 20th Century Painting and Sculpture, 1985.
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.
Photographs of the paintings, sketches and murals Egri did for Brooklyn College, a project of the FAP.
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Egri (1913-2010) was a mural painter and sculptor from New York, N.Y. and Taos, N.M. Taught at Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Wyoming. Preferred media: metal, wood, and mixed media.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by Ted Egri.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts -- New York N.Y. -- Photographs Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- New York N.Y. -- Photographs Search this
Art and state -- New York (State) -- New York -- Photographs Search this
Mural painting and decoration, American -- Photographs Search this
National Society of Mural Painters (New York, N.Y.) Search this
Extent:
80 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- New York (N.Y.)
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- New York (N.Y.)
Date:
1934-1940
Scope and Contents:
Official correspondence consisting mainly of letters received by Norman while he was president of the Society of Mural Painters and chairman of the Committee on Mural Painting for the Fine Arts Federation of New York; membership lists; agenda; press releases; newsletters; and clippings relating to the National Society of Mural Painters and the Federal Art Project in New York City.
Biographical / Historical:
Mural and portrait painter, London, England and New York City. Painted murals for the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration.
Provenance:
The lender, Geoffrey Norman, lent his papers for microfilming.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
0.4 Linear feet ((60 items partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1931-1987
Scope and Contents:
Sketches, photographs, notes, a scrapbook, and printed material.
REEL 2787: A notebook containing sketches and notes on the completion of the Willard Parker Hospital mural, New York City, which Sakari Suzuki painted with the assistance of Berntsen for the Federal Arts Project in 1936-1938; and 9 photographs of the Willard Parker mural, 2 of which show Suzuki and 2 of Suzuki and Berntsen at work. The Willard Parker Hospital was later demolished.
UNMICROFILMED: A chronology of Berntsen's career; 24 sketches in pencil and in pen and ink of ironworkers and construction workers, ca. 1933-1934, and of visitors to the National Gallery where Berntsen was a guard, ca. 1966-1971; three letters from Bernsten to his wife Alma, 1947-1952; loose newspaper clippings, ca. 1933-1985, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings (in Norwegian and English) concerning Berntsen's involvement with the Norwegian Art and Craft Club, and his paintings and sketches of workers at construction sites where he worked as an ironworker, ca. 1931-1976; two exhibition announcements, 1964 and 1986; photographs, ca. 1933-1987, mostly snapshots, include Berntsen painting, Bernsten in his National Gallery of Art guard uniform with Chief Justice Earl Warren, one of students and faculty of the Art Students League (ca. 1933-1934), one of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in New York, several of Berntsen and Suzuki at work on the Willard Parker Hospital mural, ca. 1938, of events sponsored by the Norwegian Art and Craft Club, and of works of art. Also included are photocopies of works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mural painter, ironworker; Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y. and Va. Born in Oslo, Norway. Berntsen also was the model for the laborer who stands behind Lenin in the controversial Diego Rivera mural for Radio City Music Hall.
Provenance:
Material on reel 2787 transferred from the National Collection of Fine Arts, who received it from Berntsen, 1975. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1993 and 2002 by Berntsen's great-grandson, Cliff Miller.
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:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American Search this
Art museum attendance -- Pictorial works Search this
Papers relating to Block's involvement as a supervisor in the WPA Federal Art Project New York City office and as a member of the Artists Congress.
Frames 825-889: Photographs of murals in New York City, many unidentified, and photographs of strike and picketing by Artists' Union [microfilm title WPA-FAP, New York].
Frames 1013-1300: Correspondence and memoranda regarding rejection of murals for the Harlem Hospital by black artists, and charges of racism and segregation in the FAP; memos and reports by Block on the Index of American Design in New York City, including a roster of master artists on the Index; memos relating to cutbacks and quotas on the FAP; memos from the Supervisors Association of the FAP; Artists Congress report to membership, November 1936; issues of AMERICAN ARTIST; Index of American Design exhibition catalogs; and other printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Administrator, Federal Art Project; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1965 by Louis Block.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
United States. Work Projects Administration Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1931-1942
Scope and Contents:
Reports and photographs of the Technical Service Division of the WPA-Federal Art Project, New York; publications of the New York City WPA Art Project including "The WPA Federal Art Project a Summary of Activities and Accomplishments," undated, "Oils, Watercolors, Prints & Sculpture by Artist Teachers of the Art Teachers Division," 1939, "Art in Action: An Exposition of Work in Progress by the New York City WPA Art Project," 1941, and "Technical Problems of the Artist: Canvas Adhesives," 1939, with clippings glued to the inside cover. (A duplicate pamphlet without the clippings was microfilmed on reel 3482). Also included are catalogs, announcements and newspaper clippings concerning Doktor's exhibitions, and the original manuscript to his novel, "The Laughing Torch" along with several rejection letters from publishers.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; head of the Restoration, Installation and Technical Service Division of the Federal Art Project (FAP) in New York City. Died 1995.
Provenance:
Donated by Raphael Doktor, 1993-1995. An additional copy of "Technical Problems of the Artist" was donated ca. 1970 and microfilmed on reel 3482.
Restrictions:
All except mss.: "Technical Problems of the Artist: Canvas Adhesives" (microfilm reel 3482) is: Unmicrofilmed; use requires an appointment and is limited to AAA's Washington, D.C. storage facility.
An interview of Ted Gilien conducted 1965 Mar. 3, by Betty Hoag, for the Archives of American Art. Gilien speaks of his background and education; getting on the WPA Federal Art Project; starting out as an assistant mural painter on Ellis Island; his military service in World War II as a combat artist; working in New York City and then in California after World War II; experimenting in screenwriting and novel writing; recurring themes in his paintings; his feelings about the FAP; art criticism; the politics of government support for the arts; camaraderie among artists during the WPA years. He recalls Leonard Bocour, James Dean, and Jack Levine.
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Gilien (1914-1967) was a painter and muralist in New York, N.Y. and Los Angeles, Calif.
General:
An unrelated interview of Charles White (3/9/65) conducted by B. Hoag is also on one tape.
An interview of F. J. Schwankovsky (3/1/65) conducted by B. Hoag is also on one tape.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Typescript of an article, "Out of the Wookwork: A New Look at WPA-FAP Murals," with a checklist of New York City WPA-FAP murals.
Biographical / Historical:
Writer (New York, N.Y.)
Provenance:
Donated 1977 by Greta Berman.
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:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration (New York, N.Y.) Search this
An interview of Grace Greenwood conducted 1965 Jan. 29, by Joseph Trovato, for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project.
Greenwood speaks of her background and art education; her mural work before joining the Treasury Relief Art Project; working on a post office mural in Camden, New Jersey; participating in the WPA Federal Art Project's easel painting project; and her post-FAP career.
Biographical / Historical:
Grace A. Greenwood, (1905-), painter and mural painter of Woodstock, New York. Also went by Grace Greenwood Ames and Grace Crampton.
General:
An interview of Rollin Crampton conducted by J. Trovato is also on this tape.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview of Reuben Kadish conducted 1992 Apr. 15, by Stephen Polcari, for the Archives of American Art. Kadish discusses designing murals for the WPA in the 1930s; working as an artist in the South Pacific for the U.S. Army during World War II; the N.Y. art scene in the 1940s; and his views on government support of the arts and on art censorship. He recalls Jackson Pollock.
Biographical / Historical:
Reuben Kadish (1913-1992) was a painter, sculptor, and mural painter from New York, N.Y.
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 administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of George McNeil conducted by Dorothy Seckler for the Archives of American Art. McNeil speaks of his childhood and his family; becoming interested in art during high school; attending Pratt Institute, and not being satisfied there; deciding to drop out of Pratt after attending a lecture from Vaclav Vytlacil; going to the Metropolitan Museum every day drawing and analyzing paintings; meeting Arshile Gorky while at the Metropolitan Museum; attending the Art Students League; studying with Hans Hofmann; the start of the American Abstract Artists; his involvement in the WPA's mural project; attending Teachers College at Columbia before joining the Navy; re-entering the New York art scene during the forties and liking it very much; meeting and being influenced by Pollock; his views on the state of painting; how his work has evolved; the various stages in the way a painting developed for him; how The Club and the Eighth Street Club has influenced him; the ideas discussed at The Club, and how he feels surrealism was not a big influence on them; Jackson Pollock's influence on abstract expressionism; artists he admires or has admired; and his thoughts on the contemporary art scene. He recalls Vaclav Vytlacil, Arshile Gorky, Jan Matulka, David Smith, Dorothy Dehner, Edgar Levy, Leo Manso, Burgoyne Diller, Irene Rice Pereira, Hans Hofmann, Jo Hopper, Giorgio Cavallon, Linda Lindaberg (Cavallon), Mercedes Kahls, George Byron Brown, Albert Swinden, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollack, Franz Kline, Jack Tworkov, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
George McNeil (1908-1995) was a painter and a printmaker in Brooklyn, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 49 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
An interview of Buffie Johnson conducted 1977 Nov. 22-1978 Jan. 23, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Johnson speaks of her childhood in New York City and Ducksbury, Mass.; her early encouragement in art; life in Paris and the European scene before World War II. She discusses gettting established as a painter, selling her early work, the change in her painting toward abstraction, her friendship with gallery owner Howard Putzel, painting a mural for a movie theater, her inspirations for painting and her interest in the women's movement. She recalls Tony Smith, Hans Hofmann, Stanley William Hayter, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock.
Biographical / Historical:
Buffie Johnson (1912-2006) was a painter and muralist from New York, N.Y.
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.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Use requires an appointment.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Painting, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Rockwell Kent conducted 1969 Feb. 26-27, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Kent speaks of his family background; his early interest and talent in art; studying painting with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase; his early studies and work in architecture; Kenneth Hayes Miller as a teacher; experiences which influenced him and inspired him; his travels and explorations; his work in book design and illustration; mural commissions; the American Artists Group; his political life and public affairs. He recalls Merle Armitage and Carl Zigrosser.
Biographical / Historical:
In addition to being a successful painter, printmaker, illustrator, designer, and commercial artist, Kent pursued careers as a writer, professional lecturer, and dairy farmer. He travelled extensively, and was a political activist who supported the causes of organized labor, civil liberties, civil rights, anti-Fascism, and peace and friendship with the Soviet Union.
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.
2 photographs of Spivak and 15 photographs of his art works, including painted and mosaic WPA murals.
Biographical / Historical:
Mosaicist, teacher, and lecturer; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1980 by Max Spivak's wife, Florence.
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:
Mosaicists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- New York N.Y. -- Photographs Search this
REEL 3472 (fr. 30-36): A crayon sketch by Sloan on Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, 1909, signed by other guests Mary Fanton Roberts, Robert and Marjorie Henri, John Butler Yeats, Dolly and Eleanor Sloan, and others.
REEL 3472 (fr. 37-42): Letter to William Woodward, June 24, 1935, soliciting money for the Artists and Writers Dinner Club, to help keep the club open to feed artists in need.
REEL 3472 (fr. 43-50): An illustrated letter to Mr. [John] Kraushaar, July 5, 1919, written from Omaha, Nebraska, en route to Santa Fe, N.M. He writes that he has done "so much setting still in the car, that I'll be glad to try the feel of a brush."
REEL 4391: A letter to "Nat & Estelle," written from New York. Sloan thanks them for their gift of fruit, comments on his etching as a respite from "painting problems which are so many!", the opening and small membership of the 17th annual exhibition of the Independents, and the negative reaction to Diego Rivera's "new Detroit murals," which Sloan finds "magnificent."
UNFILMED: A letter to an unidentified recipient, dated Feb. 1915. Sloan invites an order for some of his prints, and encloses a pamphlet listing prices and showing reproductions of several of his etchings.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, printmaker, illustrator, teacher; New York, N.Y. and Santa Fe, N.M. Member of "The Eight."
Painter; New York, N.Y.
Related Materials:
John Sloan papers, also located at: Helen Farr Sloan Library, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, De.
Provenance:
Letter on reel 3472 (fr. 30-36) donated 1976 by Charles Feinberg, a collector of American art and friend of AAA. Letter reel 3472 (fr. 37-42) donated 1976 by George E. Jordan. Letters on reels 3472 (fr. 43-50) and reel 4391 provenance unknown.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- United States Search this
An interview of Rollin McNeil Crampton conducted 1965 January 29, by Joseph S. Trovato, for the Archives of American Art. Crampton speaks of his work as supervisor of the New York City WPA mural project; selecting muralists and mural sites; how the murals were executed; the effect of the Federal Art Project upon him and his career; his background and early interest in art; and his education at Yale and at the Art Students League. He recalls Burgoyne Diller.
Biographical / Historical:
Rollin McNeil Crampton (1886-1970) was an art administrator and painter in both Woodstock and New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 22 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale), 1870-1947 Search this
Extent:
6.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 5 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Date:
1890-1947
Scope and Contents:
Letters, scrapbooks, subject files, and printed material, much of it related to her work as editor of American Art Annual and her guidebooks to art in New York.
REELS D43-D46: Scrapbooks, 1890-1920's, containing newspaper clippings and articles reflecting a wide variety of interests in the art world files of obituary notices collected for the American Art Annual; and subject files containing clippings, letters, pamphlets and handbooks on collectors and private collections, art work in and around New York, mural and fresco work in New York public buildings, and art in New York churches.
REEL N12: Correspondence, 1890-1947; minutes of American Art Annual, 1903-1914; writings on art education and other topics in the form of lectures, radio scripts, book reviews, and articles; clippings; and miscellany.
UNMICROFILMED Ca. 7000 file cards of biographical material used in compiling American Art Annual.
Biographical / Historical:
Editor and art historian; New York City. Founder and art editor of American Art Annual, 1898-1917. On staff of Metropolitian Museum of Art, 1908-1917. Director, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1922-1926. Author of Art in New York; a Guide to Things Worth Seeing (1916, 1922, and 1939).
Related Materials:
Florence Nightingale Levy papers, 1870-1947, are located at The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
Provenance:
Material on reels D43-D46 and unmicrofilmed material donated by the library of the Metropolitian Museum of Art, 1956-1961. Material on reel N12 was microfilmed in 1956 by the Archives of American Art with other art-related papers in the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library.
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:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Editors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Directories Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Names:
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
76 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1964 August 11
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Lucienne Bloch conducted by Mary Fuller McChesney and Robert McChesney on 1964 August 11 for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project.
Biographical / Historical:
Lucienne Bloch (1909-1999) was a mural painter in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 15 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
