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Edwin H. Blashfield papers

Creator:
Blashfield, Edwin Howland, 1848-1936  Search this
Extent:
1.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Date:
1850-1980
Scope and Contents:
Awards, medals, photographs, drawings, printed material and miscellany.
Included are a Gold Medal Certificate awarded to Blashfield in 1904; two medals; drawings, some of medieval armour, in pen and ink, oil and pencil. The photos, many extensively annotated, are of Blashfield including two of him painting murals at the Library of Congress and of Blashfield and others, of armour, and of his paintings and murals in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, state capitols, Library of Congress, libraries in Detroit, Kansas City, the New York City College (now C.C.N.Y.), M.I.T., Grove Academy of Athens (Georgia), Baltimore and Cleveland court houses, and private homes and businesses. and a bound volume with reproductions of engravings by Blashfield and others. Also found are a poster, money, and anti-German stamp designs.
Biographical / Historical:
Mural painter. Having studied at P.A.F.A. and in Paris, Blashfield worked on: the Court House, Baltimore; Cleveland Federal Building; Citizens Bank, Cleveland; Hudson County Court House, Jersey City; Capitol, Masdison, Wis.; Essex County Court House, Newark; Appellate Court, N.Y..; C.C.N.Y.; Church of the Saviour, Phila.; Capitol, Pierre, S. Dak.; Bank of Pittsburgh; Capitol, St. Paul, Minn.; Library of Congress; Luzerne County Court House, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Mahoning County Court House, Youngstown, Ohio; St. Matthew's Church, Wash., D.C.; First Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Public Lib., Detroit, M.I.T.; and the Episcopal Church, Chappaqua, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1973 and 1980 by the Williams College Museum of Art.
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.
Topic:
Muralists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Identifier:
AAA.blasedwi
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw924f015ad-602c-4f19-9ef7-9d26f1433064
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-blasedwi

Richard Haas papers

Creator:
Haas, Richard, 1936-  Search this
Extent:
6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Watercolors
Sketchbooks
Travel diaries
Drawings
Sketches
Photographs
Date:
1937-2012
Summary:
The Richard Haas papers measure 6 linear feet and are dated 1937 to 2012, bulk 1970-2012. His work and career as a muralist, printmaker, and educator are documented by correspondence, writings, printed material, sketchbooks, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Richard Haas papers measure 6 linear feet and are dated 1937 to 2012, bulk 1970-2012. His work and career as a muralist, printmaker, and educator are documented by correspondence, writings, printed material, sketchbooks, and photographs.

Haas's correspondence relates to commissions, exhibitions, lectures, publications, teaching, and other professional activities. Correspondents include clients, galleries, professional organizations, critics, artists, architects and others. Also found is small amount of personal correspondence. Writings and notes by Haas include artist's statements, notes, lectures, a travel diary, papers and class notes from his undergraduate and graduate student days. Writings about him are a New Museum exhibition catalog text and a student paper. Subject files relate to Haas's professional activities and interests. They document exhibitions and projects, relationships with galleries, membership and participation in various organizations, and routine business matters. Sketchbooks (17 volumes) contain drawings, sketches, and a few watercolors, along with scattered writings and notes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1990, 2009 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2008 (Box 1; 1 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1954-2012 (Box 2; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1970-2011 (Boxes 2-4; 2.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1956-2012 (Boxes 5-6; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, 1954-2005 (Box 6; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 7: Sketchbooks, 1976-2009 (Box 6; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, 1937-2006 (Box 6; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Richard Haas (b. 1936) is a mural painter of "architecture of illusion," his term describing the trompe l'oeil architectural subjects for which he is best known. His work as a printmaker also focuses on architecture, with iconic buildings of New York and other cities serving as subject matter. Hass is also an educator who has taught painting and printmaking at University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, Bennington College in Vermont, and School of Visual Arts in New York City.

During World War II, the Haas family moved from Spring Green, Wisconsin to Milwaukee. As a teenager, Richard spent two summers working with his great uncle, a master stone mason employed by Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. He proved to be less interested in stonework than in exploring Wright's library and watching the young architects draw. He considered becoming an architect, but eventually concluded the artistic side of architecture was more attractive than the day to day work of an architect.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (B.S., 1959), Hass worked as an art teacher in a Milwaukee high school. He attended graduate classes at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where visiting artist Jack Tworkov was his teacher. At the University of Minnesota (M.F.A., 1964), Haas studied with Peter Busa and Malcolm Myers. As an assistant professor at Michigan State University from 1964 to 1968, Haas's colleagues included Angelo Ippolito and Charles Pollock, and he met a number of important artists and critics who visited the campus. Haas moved to New York City in 1968 and soon accepted a part-time position teaching printmaking at Bennington College. He commuted weekly between New York and Vermont for the next decade.

During the 1960s Haas was a Color-field painter. He also continued making etchings and lithographs, and by 1970 several galleries were selling his architectural prints. His first outdoor mural, painted in the So Ho section of New York City in 1975, attracted attention and commissions followed. Mural commissions include: Boston Architectural Center (1977); Edison Bothers Store, Inc., St. Louis (1984); Home Savings of America, multiple locations in Florida and California (1990-1991); City of Huntsville, Texas (1991); Federal Building and Courthouse, Kansas City, Kansas (1994); and Yorkville Mural, New York City (2004.)

Haas, who began exhibiting while still a student, has participated in a large number of group shows and enjoyed many solo exhibitions. He was elected a National Academician, National Academy of Design, was granted a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has been a MacDowell Fellow. Among other honors, Haas has received the American Institute of Architects Medal of Honor, New York City Municipal Art Society Award, Doris C. Freedman Award for Public Art, and the Jimmy Ernst Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Mr. Haas, who works in New York City, is represented by David Findlay, Jr. Gallery. His wife, Katherine Sokolnikoff, is a sculptor and arts administrator; they live in Yonkers, New York.
Related Material:
An interview of Richard Haas conducted January 13 and March 16, 2009, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts oral history project, at Haas' studio, in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated by Richard Haas in 2012.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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.
Topic:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Genre/Form:
Watercolors
Sketchbooks
Travel diaries
Drawings
Sketches
Photographs
Citation:
Richard Haas papers, 1937-2012, bulk 1970-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.haasrich
See more items in:
Richard Haas papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91efc1077-30a8-4bd5-a702-b003b7c4a817
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-haasrich

Oral history interview with Richard Haas

Interviewee:
Haas, Richard, 1936-  Search this
Interviewer:
Berman, Avis  Search this
Creator:
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Names:
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Sound recording, master: 1 data compact disc (6 hr., 11 min.), digital, 4 WMA files)
133 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2009 Jan. 13 and Mar. 16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Richard Haas conducted 2009 Jan. 13 and Mar. 16, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts oral history project, at Haas' studio, in New York, N.Y.
Haas discusses his early interest in architecture; his family connection to Frank Lloyd Wright; attending Taliesin for two summers in 1955 and '56; Meeting Joseph Friebert while an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; taking studio classes and experimenting with different art styles and techniques; the influence of Abstract Expressionism and Post-Impressionism on his artworks; joining the ROTC program and painting his first mural at Fort Leonard Wood, MO; viewing the murals of Thomas Hart Benton and John Steurt Curry; going to graduate school at the University of Minneapolis, MN and meeting Jack Tworkov and Peter Busa; visiting Mexico on his honeymoon and viewing the murals of "Los Tres Grandes"; teaching art at Michigan State and developing his series, Boxes; the evolution of his art while teaching at Bennington college in Vermont and the shift from architectural drawings into murals; moreover, Haas speaks about the rise of street art in the 1970s and '80s in New York; his first mural at 112 Prince Street; his collaboration with Doris Freeman; the political challenges associated with doing public art; the collaborative process between the artist and architect; the importance of location when choosing a mural and the work's relationship to its environment; furthermore, Haas discusses his GSA projects in Kansas and West Virginia; his other mural commissions, particularly White House Detention Center, 1997; and the impact of technology on the medium. Throughout the conversation, Haas speaks about fellow artists Richard Serra, James Rosinquist, Malcolm Myers, as well as architects Philip Johnson, Grant Marani and Tim Vreeland.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Haas (1936- ) is a trompe l'oeil muralist from New York, N.Y. Haas was educated at the University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota.
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:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Trompe l'oeil painting  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.haas09
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94d27952d-47f7-48fa-bf05-c9090505a03d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-haas09
Online Media:

Edwin H. Blashfield papers, 1850-1980

Creator:
Blashfield, Edwin Howland, 1848-1936  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Citation:
Edwin H. Blashfield papers, 1850-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Muralists  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6763
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208888
AAA_collcode_blasedwi
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208888

Francis Scott Bradford papers, 1917-1958

Creator:
Bradford, Francis Scott, 1898-1961  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Citation:
Francis Scott Bradford papers, 1917-1958. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6786
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208913
AAA_collcode_bradfran
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208913

Allyn Cox papers, 1856-1982

Creator:
Cox, Allyn, 1896-1982  Search this
Subject:
Bishop, Warner  Search this
Bayley, John Barrington  Search this
Conrad, Arthur  Search this
Cassio, Fabrizio  Search this
Cox, Louise Howland King  Search this
Cox, Kenyon  Search this
Frost, Stuart  Search this
DeWitt, Roscoe  Search this
Shutze, Philip Trammell  Search this
Schwengel, Fred  Search this
Lay, Charles Downing  Search this
Laning, Edward  Search this
Harbeson, John F. (John Frederick)  Search this
Keller, Deane  Search this
Keally, Francis  Search this
Lamb, Adrian  Search this
Young, Clifford  Search this
MacDonald, Pirie  Search this
Cox, Ethel  Search this
National Society of Mural Painters (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Park Club of Kalamazoo  Search this
Smithsonian Institution  Search this
United States Capitol Historical Society  Search this
American Battle Monuments Commission  Search this
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Art Commission of the City of New York  Search this
Century Association (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Cosmos Club (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Dumbarton Oaks  Search this
George Washington Masonic National Memorial (Alexandria, Va.)  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Citation:
Allyn Cox papers, 1856-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Muralists -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9398
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211595
AAA_collcode_coxally
Theme:
Diaries
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211595
Online Media:

John Steuart Curry and Curry family papers, 1848-1999

Creator:
Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946  Search this
Subject:
Curry, Kathleen  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Video recordings
Photographs
Sketches
Interviews
Citation:
John Steuart Curry and Curry family papers, 1848-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Technique  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Regionalism  Search this
Muralists -- Wisconsin  Search this
Illustrators -- Wisconsin  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9459
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211657
AAA_collcode_currjohn
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211657
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Kathleen Curry relating to John Steuart Curry

Interviewee:
Curry, Kathleen, 1899-  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946  Search this
Extent:
39 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
1990 and 1992
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Kathleen Curry regarding John Steuart Curry, conducted on 1990 and 1992, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Curry discusses her childhood; meeting John Steuart Curry and their subsequent marriage; their friends; his work; his temperment; their relationship; moving to Wisconsin where he became the artist in residence in the School of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin; his major mural projects; Laurence Schmeckebier's writing of "John Steuart Curry's Pageant of America"; J. S. Curry's death and the hardships that followed.
Biographical / Historical:
Katleen Curry (1899-) is the wife of regionalist painter John Steuart Curry.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 19 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 administrators.
Occupation:
Painters -- Kansas  Search this
Muralists -- Kansas  Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Regionalism  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.curry90
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9574f6aad-759f-40ac-81c5-6dcb1e52d0cd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-curry90
Online Media:

Allyn Cox papers

Creator:
Cox, Allyn, 1896-1982  Search this
Names:
American Battle Monuments Commission  Search this
Art Commission of the City of New York  Search this
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Century Association (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Cosmos Club (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Dumbarton Oaks  Search this
George Washington Masonic National Memorial (Alexandria, Va.)  Search this
National Society of Mural Painters (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Park Club of Kalamazoo  Search this
Smithsonian Institution  Search this
United States Capitol Historical Society  Search this
Bayley, John Barrington, 1914-1981  Search this
Bishop, Warner  Search this
Cassio, Fabrizio  Search this
Conrad, Arthur  Search this
Cox, Ethel  Search this
Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919  Search this
Cox, Louise Howland King, 1865-1945  Search this
DeWitt, Roscoe, 1894-1975  Search this
Frost, Stuart  Search this
Harbeson, John F. (John Frederick), 1888-1986  Search this
Keally, Francis, 1889-1978  Search this
Keller, Deane, 1901-1992  Search this
Lamb, Adrian  Search this
Laning, Edward, 1906-1981  Search this
Lay, Charles Downing, 1877-1956  Search this
MacDonald, Pirie, 1867-1942  Search this
Schwengel, Fred, 1907-1993  Search this
Shutze, Philip Trammell  Search this
Young, Clifford, 1905-  Search this
Extent:
11 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Date:
1856-1982
Summary:
The papers of New York, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. painter and muralist Allyn Cox measure 11 linear feet and date from 1856-1982. The collection documents Cox's personal and professional life through biographical material, family and general correspondence, writings and notes, research material, printed material, sketchbooks and loose sketches, and photographs. Photographs are of Cox at work, the Cox family, including Kenyon and Louise Cox, Cox's friends and colleagues, events, and Cox's artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. painter and muralist Allyn Cox measure 11 linear feet and date from 1856-1982. The collection documents Cox's personal and professional life through biographical material, family and general correspondence, writings and notes, research material, printed material, sketchbooks and loose sketches, and photographs. Photographs are of Cox at work, the Cox family, including Kenyon and Louise Cox, Cox's friends and colleagues, events, and Cox's artwork.

Biographical material includes family birth, death, and marriage certificates, and passports for Cox and his wife Ethel, whom he married in 1927; professional membership cards, awards and certificates; records related to sales of furnishings from the Cox family home in Essex, Massachusetts; and an untranscribed interview of Cox by Tony Janak of NBC TV.

Cox's family correspondence is primarily with his mother, Louise Cox. Also found is correspondence with Cox's sister, Caroline Cox Lansing, and his brother Leonard Cox and Leonard's wife, Sylvia, and letters from Ethel Cox to her mother. Additional correspondence relating to the disposition of Kenyon Cox''s artwork and archives to various institutions, can also be found here.

General correspondence documents Cox's career and professional relationships with artists and architects, including John Barrington Bayley, Fabrizio Cassio, Arthur Conrad, Roscoe DeWitt, Stuart Frost, John Harbeson, Francis Keally, Adrian Lamb, Edward Laning, Charles Downing Lay, Deane Keller, Philip Trammell Shutze, and Cliff Young; art institutions and organizations including the Art Commission of the City of New York, the Art Students League, Dumbarton Oaks, the National Society of Mural Painters, and the Smithsonian Institution; federal, state and local government agencies including the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Architect of the Capitol, and the General Grant National Memorial; members of Congress including founder of the United States Capitol Historical Society, Representative Fred Schwengel; and private social clubs in which Cox was active, including the Century Association, the Cosmopolitan Club and the Cosmos Club. Correspondence documents Cox's most well known commissions including work for the George Washington Masonic National Memorial and the United States Capitol, as well as work for many private clients including banks and residences.

Also found are typescripts, manuscripts and notes for Cox's lectures, as well as Ethel Cox's diary from 1923-1936 and her diary excerpt from 1955. Ten folders of research files, consisting primarily of clippings, comprise Cox's source material. Additional printed material provides scattered documentation of Cox's career through announcements and catalogs, and magazine and newspaper articles written by him or about his work. Also found is one folder of clippings about Kenyon Cox.

Four sketchbooks and circa twenty-two loose animal, figure, architectural and landscape sketches comprise Cox's artwork, in addition to two 1943 sketches Cox entered into a War Department mural competition. Also found is an 1873 sketchbook of Kenyon Cox, with sketches of people and scenes in Ohio.

Photographs are of Cox from childhood to the 1980s; his family, including parents, siblings, and grandparents; friends including Philip Trammell Shutze and Warner Bishop; family residences; artist models; events; and artwork, including many of Cox's commissions. In addition to photographic prints, slides, and negatives, the series includes vintage formats such as an ambrotype, 8 tintypes, 2 cyanotypes, and a platinum print. Of particular note are circa 16 photos of Kenyon Cox, one taken by Pirie MacDonald and three of him teaching a class at the Art Students League, and a series of circa 1906 photos taken in a garden, of Louise and Kenyon Cox with their children and others. Also found are 10 glass plate negatives of artwork by Cox.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and are closed to researchers.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1916-1982 (0.33 linear feet; Boxes 1, 12)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1878-1982 (6.74 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, 12)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1919-1982 (0.58 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)

Series 4: Research Files, circa 1950s-circa 1970s (0.25 linear feet; Box 8)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1920s-1982 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 8-9)

Series 6: Sketchbooks and Sketches, 1873-circa 1978 (0.25 linear feet; Box 9, OVs 13-14)

Series 7: Photographs, 1856-circa 1980 (2.25 linear feet; Boxes 9-12, OV 13)
Biographical / Historical:
New York, N.Y. and Washington, D.C. painter and muralist, Allyn Cox (1896-1982), was born in New York City to artists Kenyon and Louise Cox. Cox first trained as his father's assistant, serving as an apprentice to Kenyon Cox during the painting of the murals at the Wisconsin State Capitol, circa 1912. He attended the National Academy of Design from 1910-1915, and the Art Student's League with George Bridgman in 1915. In 1916 he was awarded the Prix de Rome and subsequently studied at the American Academy in Rome for 2 years before returning to New York City to begin a career in mural painting.

Cox completed numerous murals and decorative paintings for private residences, businesses, churches, and public buildings. Some of his most famous commissions included murals for the Royal Arch Room and Memorial Hall of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia; the Law School at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; and the William A. Clark Memorial Library at the University of California, Los Angeles; panels for the National City Bank, the Continental Bank, and the Guaranty Trust Company in New York; and glass mosaics and inlaid stone maps for the United States Military Cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg.

Cox is best known for his work in the United States Capitol, beginning in 1952 when he undertook a congressional commission to restore and complete the murals in in the Capitol rotunda begun by Constantino Brumidi and Filipo Costaggini in 1878. Over the course of the next two decades Cox, now residing in Washington, D.C., restored the Frieze of American History and the Apotheosis of Washington in the Rotunda, and designed murals for three first-floor corridors in the Capitol's House wing, now known as the Cox Corridors. Assisted by Cliff Young, Cox completed painting for two of these corridors before his death. In 1958 Cox also painted a portrait of Henry Clay for the Senate Reception Room and in 1975 completed a mural depicting the 1969 moon landing in the Brumidi Corridor.

Cox taught at the Art Students League in 1940 and 1941, and was active in professional organizations throughout his career. He served as President of the American Artists Professional League and the National Society of Mural Painters, and Vice President of both the Fine Arts Federation and the New York Architectural League. He was a member of the board of the New York Municipal Art Society and served on the the New York City Art Commission.

Cox retired in March 1982 at the age of 86 and died the following September.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Allyn Cox papers relating to U.S. Capitol murals, 1970-1974, donated by the Committee on House Administration, via Cindy Szady in 1981. Papers include a resume; a cost estimate by Cox for designing and executing mural decorations in the U.S. Capitol, 1970; a letter, 1974, from the Office of the Architect of the Capitol to the Capitol Historical Society enclosing photocopies of printed material pertinent to the unveiling and dedication of the Capitol rotunda frieze in 1954; miscellaneous printed material, 1971-1974; and 15 photographs of the murals in the Capitol.
Provenance:
The bulk of the Allyn Cox papers was donated in 1977 and 1983 by the Estate of Allyn Cox, Stephen M. Pulsifer, Exectuor, including material that had been loaned for microfiliming in 1969. Two mural sketches were donated by the Essex County Greenbelt Association in 1984.
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. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and are not served to researchers. 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:
Painters -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Muralists -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Citation:
Allyn Cox papers, 1856-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.coxally
See more items in:
Allyn Cox papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90c9efb57-6d34-4007-ad8a-8ce4b40537fd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-coxally
Online Media:

Edwin Howland Blashfield (left) with his assistants Vincent Aderente (center) and Alonzo E. Foringer (right) standing in front of "Wisconsin" (Wisconsin State Capitol dome crown) at the Vanderbilt Gallery, New York [photograph] / (photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son)

Photographic firm:
Peter A. Juley & Son  Search this
Photographer:
Juley, Paul 1890-1975  Search this
Subject:
Blashfield, Edwin Howland  Search this
Aderente, Vincent  Search this
Foringer, Alonzo E  Search this
Type:
Photograph
Date:
Ca. 1912
Topic:
Portrait male--Full length  Search this
Portrait male--Occupation--Artist  Search this
Occupation--Art--Painter  Search this
Portrait group  Search this
Object--Art Object--Painting  Search this
Image number:
JUL J0044089
See more items in:
Photograph Study Collection
Data Source:
Photograph Study Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_jul_44090

Oral history interview with Richard Haas, 2009 Jan. 13 and Mar. 16

Interviewee:
Haas, Richard, 1936-  Search this
Interviewer:
Berman, Avis, 1949-  Search this
Subject:
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Richard Haas, 2009 Jan. 13 and Mar. 16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Trompe l'oeil painting  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)15677
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)282736
AAA_collcode_haas09
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_282736
Online Media:

John Steuart Curry

Artist:
John Steuart Curry, 14 Nov 1897 - 29 Aug 1946  Search this
Sitter:
John Steuart Curry, 14 Nov 1897 - 29 Aug 1946  Search this
Medium:
Charcoal on canvas
Dimensions:
111.5cm x 108.3cm (43 7/8" x 42 5/8"), Sight
Type:
Drawing
Date:
1946
Topic:
John Steuart Curry: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this
John Steuart Curry: Male  Search this
John Steuart Curry: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter  Search this
John Steuart Curry: Visual Arts\Artist\Illustrator  Search this
John Steuart Curry: Visual Arts\Art instructor  Search this
John Steuart Curry: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter\Muralist  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
Owner: Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Object number:
49.4.5
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Catalog of American Portraits
Data Source:
Catalog of American Portraits
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm468dcef41-defb-4288-9856-923ebb8ea320
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_49.4.5

Curriculum Vitae and Resumés

Collection Creator:
Casas, Mel, 1929-2014  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1968-1996
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Mel Casas papers
Mel Casas papers / Series 1: Biographical Materials
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9984b112d-6e3c-48a1-aa9d-0d62a7686bd1
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-casamel-ref8
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  • View Curriculum Vitae and Resumés digital asset number 1

"The Question: Who Cares?" University of Wisconsin

Collection Creator:
Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this
Container:
Box 27, Folder 25
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1949
Collection 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 in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Ben Shahn papers
Ben Shahn papers / Series 5: Notes and Writings / 5.1: Notes and Writings by Shahn
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cfc4f547-8084-411d-b698-9c0e82515955
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-shahben-ref1209

John Steuart Curry and Curry family papers

Creator:
Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946  Search this
Names:
Curry, Kathleen, 1899-  Search this
Extent:
10.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Video recordings
Photographs
Sketches
Interviews
Date:
1848-1999
Summary:
The papers of painter, muralist, and illustrator John Steuart Curry, and Curry family papers, measure 10.1 linear feet and date from 1848 to 1999. Papers document his career and family history through certificates, correspondence, photographs, clippings, contracts, receipts, inventories, writings, notes, and other materials. The papers contain particularly rich documentation of Curry's period as artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin, from 1936 to 1946. Mural projects in Kansas, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin are also documented.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, muralist, and illustrator John Steuart Curry, and Curry family papers, measure 10.1 linear feet and date from 1848 to 1999. Papers document his career and family history through certificates, correspondence, photographs, clippings, contracts, receipts, inventories, writings, notes, and other materials. The papers contain particularly rich documentation of Curry's period as artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin, from 1936 to 1946. Mural projects in Kansas, Washington, DC, and Wisconsin are also documented.

Biographical Materials include chronologies, biographical narratives, genealogical notes, certificates and awards, and other ephemera related to Curry and his family. Family Correspondence includes the earliest records created by Curry himself, including letters home from art school and from the East Coast during his early career.

Correspondence and Project files document mural projects, appearances, gallery relationships, and other activities from the early 1930s until his death in 1946 with correspondence, photographs, clippings, contracts, writings, and other miscellany. Subject files include pictorial reference and research files created by Curry for subjects depicted in his murals and paintings. Curry's writings include essays, lectures, interviews, and notes related to his technical and philosophical approach to art, as well as notes from his various travels, and essays by others about Curry. Personal Business Records contain records of artwork, business transactions, and personal finances.

Print Materials include print copies of published artwork by Curry, including magazine illustrations from Curry's early career. Extensive clippings, exhibition catalogs, and a scrapbook created by Curry as a youth are also found. Photographs depict Curry throughout his life in formal portraits, candid snapshots, and publicity photographs, with a significant number of photographs depicting Curry creating and posing with his artwork. The Artwork series contains a few sketches by Curry and seven canvases used for testing art materials. Additional sketches are found in Subject Files and scrapbooks.

Estate Papers contain materials dated after Curry's death in 1946 and mainly document the activities of Kathleen Curry in managing her husband's estate from 1946 until her death in 2001. Estate papers contain writings about Curry, correspondence, inventories of artwork, and alphabetical files documenting sales, exhibitions, and other projects.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1911-1993 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Family Correspondence, 1916-1946 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 3: Correspondence and Project Files, 1928-1946 (Boxes 1-3, OV 11; 2.3 linear feet)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1848-1946 (Boxes 3-4, OV 11-12; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1911-1946 (Box 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1916-1952 (Box 4, OV 13; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Print Materials, 1918-1985 (Boxes 4-5, 10; OV 12-13; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1900-1998 (Boxes 5-6, OV 14; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork, 1941, undated (Box 7, OV 12, 14, 15; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Estate Papers, circa 1946-1999 (Boxes 7-9 and rolled document; 2.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Painter, muralist, and illustrator John Steuart Curry is considered one of the three important painters of the American Regionalist movement, along with Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri and Grant Wood of Iowa. Curry was born in north-eastern Kansas in 1897, and grew up on his family's farm. Curry left high school to attend the Kansas City Art Institute briefly, and then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916 with Edward J. Timmons and John Norton. Curry later spent a year in Paris studying with Basil Schoukhaieff in 1926 and 1927.

Curry began his career as a freelance illustrator in Leonia, New Jersey, under the influence of Harvey Dunn. Curry's illustrations were widely published in illustrated magazines such as Boy's Life, Country Gentleman, and Saturday Evening Post in the early 1920s. He married Clara Derrick in 1923 and lived in Greenwich Village, and then Westport, Connecticut, from 1924 to 1936. Derrick died in 1932, and in 1934 Curry married Kathleen Gould.

Curry's career shifted from illustration to painting during the 1920s and 1930s, bolstered by success in exhibitions and sales. Exhibits included the National Academy of Design (1924), the Corcoran Gallery (1927-1928), a solo exhibition at the Whitney Studio Club (1930), and the Carnegie International Exhibition (1933). Early sales include Baptism in Kansas, purchased by the Whitney in 1930, and Spring Shower, purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in 1932. Curry taught at Cooper Union (1932-1934) and the Art Student's League (1932-1934), and painted his first murals in Westport under the Federal Art Project in 1934.

In 1936, he was appointed artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture as part of a rural art program developed by rural sociologist John Burton. The purpose of his residency was to serve as an educational resource for rural people of the state. Curry stayed in this position until his death in 1946, carrying out the program's mission through lectures and visits with dozens of art and civic groups around the state, and by making himself available to rural artists through correspondence and guidance in his studio. He also helped to organize annual rural art exhibitions for UW's Farm and Home Week beginning in 1940. In return for his work, he was given a salary and a studio on campus and the freedom to execute his own work as he chose.

Under the Federal Art Program's Section of Painting and Sculpture, Curry completed two murals in the Justice Department building in Washington in 1936, Westward Migration and Justice Defeating Mob Violence, and two murals in the Department of the Interior building in 1938, The Homestead and The Oklahoma Land Rush. A design that was rejected by the government for the Justice building, a mural entitled Freeing of the Slaves, was later executed at the University of Wisconsin in their law library. From 1938 to 1940, Curry worked on murals for the state house rotunda in Topeka, Kansas admist a stormy, public controversy over his dramatic depiction of Kansas history. The legislature effectively blocked Curry's completion of the project through a formal resolution not to remove marble that was blocking areas that were part of Curry's design. Infuriated, Curry left the unfinished murals unsigned, and later derided the state frequently for the treatment he received. The Kansas State legislature issued a formal apology and appreciation of the completed murals in the 1990s.

Despite the lack of appreciation of his home state, Curry did receive recognition elsewhere during his lifetime as an artist of national importance. He continued to paint and exhibit in the art centers of the East Coast. In 1941, he won the Gold Medal Award at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts exhibition, and in the 1942 Artists For Victory exhibition, he won the top prize for Wisconsin Landscape. Curry's book illustrations were in high demand, and he contributed to books such as My Friend Flicka, editions of Lincoln's and Emerson's writings, and Wisconsin writer August Derleth's The Wisconsin. A biography of Curry written by Laurence Schmeckebier was published in 1942.

Curry died in 1946 of heart failure. A retrospective that had been planned for the living artist opened less than a month after his death at the Milwaukee Art Institute. His wife, Kathleen Curry, maintained his estate until her death, in 2001, at the age of 102. Additional retrospective exhibitions were held at Syracuse University in 1956 and in the Kansas State Capitol in 1970. In 1998, the exhibition "John Steuart Curry: Inventing the Middle West" was organized at the University of Wisconsin and traveled to the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds an oral history interview with Kathleen Curry regarding John Steuart Curry conducted in 1990 and 1992.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 164-168 and 4574-4576) including 98 sketchbooks, 1919-1942; a ledger, 1938-1946, of expenses with four loose letters to John Steuart Curry in Italian and Spanish; a notebook, 1932-1938, titled "Account and records of works, etc."; a journal, undated, of drafts of poems, and approximately 50 sketches. Loaned materials were returned to the lender some of which were subsequently donated to the Worcester Museum of Art in Worcester, Massachusetts. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.

John Steuart Curry memorabilia received with the Kathleen Curry's donation in 1979 (baby cup, baby dress, overalls, medals, paint box, watercolor box, 2 photographs) were transferred to the Spencer Museum of Art in 1985.
Provenance:
John Steuart Curry's widow, Kathleen Curry, lent materials on reels 164-168 for microfilming in 1971. In 1979, she subsequently donated portions of the material lent, along with additional items, some of which were transferred to Spencer Museum of Art. In 1972, Mildred Curry Fike, John Steuart Curry's sister, gave material and R. Eugene Curry, a brother, donated more material in 1975 and 1993. Ellen Schuster, John Steuart Curry's daughter, donated the home movies in 1973 and Daniel Schuster, John Steuart Curry's son-in-law, gave additional papers in 1991 in 1992, 1995, and 1999. In 1992, 1999 and 2000, additions were received from Kathleen Curry that may contain material previously filmed as a loan on reels 164-168.
Restrictions:
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Access to undigitized portions 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Wisconsin  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Technique  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Regionalism  Search this
Muralists -- Wisconsin  Search this
Illustrators -- Wisconsin  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Video recordings
Photographs
Sketches
Interviews
Citation:
John Steuart Curry and Curry family papers, 1900-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.currjohn
See more items in:
John Steuart Curry and Curry family papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9943b22b6-7e9f-4538-b0aa-808dbe459e9d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-currjohn
Online Media:

John White Alexander papers

Creator:
Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this
Names:
MacDowell Club of New York  Search this
Abbey, Edwin Austin, 1852-1911  Search this
Alexander, Elizabeth A., d. 1947  Search this
Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919  Search this
Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916  Search this
Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944  Search this
James, Henry, 1843-1916  Search this
La Farge, John, 1835-1910  Search this
Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale), 1870-1947  Search this
Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912  Search this
Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909  Search this
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894  Search this
Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903  Search this
Extent:
11.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Awards
Interviews
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Scrapbooks
Medals
Date:
1775-1968
bulk 1870-1915
Summary:
The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.

Biographical Information includes multiple essays related to Alexander, his family, and others in his circle. Also found is an extensive oral history of Alexander's wife Elizabeth conducted in 1928. Correspondence includes letters written by Alexander to his family from New York and Europe at the start of his career, and later letters from fellow artists, art world leaders, and portrait sitters of Alexander's. Significant correspondents include Charles Dana Gibson, Florence Levy, Frederick Remington, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, John La Farge, Francis Davis Millet, and Andrew Carnegie. Correspondence includes some small sketches as enclosures and illustrated letters.

Certificates and records related to Alexander's career are found in Associations and Memberships, Legal and Financial Records, and Notes and Writings, which contain documentation of Alexander's paintings and exhibitions. Scattered documentation of Alexander's memberships in various arts association exists for the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy in Rome, the National Academy of Design, the Onteora Club in New York, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, the Ministère de L'Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts, the Union Internationale des Beaux Arts et des Lettres, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notes and Writings include speeches written by Alexander, short stories and essays written by his wife, and articles by various authors about Alexander. Extensive documentation of the planning and construction of the Alexander Memorial Studio by the MacDowell Club is found, along with other awards, medals, and memorial resolutions adopted by arts organizations after Alexander's death.

Artwork includes fourteen sketchbooks with sketches related to Alexander's commercial illustration and cartooning, murals, paintings, and travels. Dozens of loose drawings and sketches are also found, along with two volumes and several dozen loose reproductions of artwork, among which are found fine prints by named printmakers. Many sketches are also interspersed throughout the correspondence. Eight Scrapbooks contain mostly clippings, but also scattered letters, exhbition catalogs, announcements, invitations, and photographs related to Alexander's career between 1877 and 1915. Additional Exhibition Catalogs and later clippings, as well as clippings related to the career of his wife and other subjects, are found in Printed Materials.

Photographs include many portraits of Alexander taken by accomplished photographers such as Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Aimé Dupont, Curtis Bell, Elizabeth Buehrmann, and several signed Miss Huggins, who may have been Estelle Huntington Huggins, a New York painter and photographer. Portraits of others include Alexander's friends William Merritt Chase and Edward Austin Abbey. Also found are photographs of groups, juries, family, friends, and studios in New York, Paris, and New Jersey, and a handful of scenic photographs of Polling, Bavaria, where Alexander had an early studio. A large number of photographs of works of art are found, many with annotations. Among the photographs of murals are a small collection of snapshots of the Carnegie Institute murals in progress. Miscellaneous artifacts include a palette, several printing plates, and an inscribed souvenir engraving of a self-portrait caricature of Mark Twain.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 11 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1887-1968 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1870-1942 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Associations and Memberships, circa 1897-1918 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 4: Legal and Financial Records, 1775, 1896-1923 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1875-1943 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Awards and Memorials, circa 1870-1944 (Box 2, OV 24; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1875-1915 (Boxes 2-3, 6, 14-16, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, circa 1877-1915 (Boxes 17-22; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 9: Printed Materials, circa 1891-1945 (Boxes 3-4, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1870-1915 (Boxes 4-8, MGP 1-2, OV 25-43, RD 44-45; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 11: Artifacts, circa 1899-1915 (Box 6, artifact cabinet; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
John White Alexander was born in 1856 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He was orphaned at age five and taken in by relatives of limited means. When Alexander left school and began working at a telegraph company, the company's vice-president, former civil war Colonel Edward Jay Allen, took an interest in his welfare. Allen became his legal guardian, brought him into the Allen household, and saw that he finished Pittsburgh High School. At eighteen, he moved to New York City and was hired by Harper and Brothers as an office boy in the art department. He was soon promoted to apprentice illustrator under staff artists such as Edwin A. Abbey and Charles Reinhart. During his time at Harpers, Alexander was sent out on assignment to illustrate events such as the Philadelphia Centennial celebration in 1876 and the Pittsburgh Railroad Strike in 1877, which erupted in violence.

Alexander carefully saved money from his illustration work and traveled to Europe in 1877 for further art training. He first enrolled in the Royal Art Academy of Munich, Germany, but soon moved to the village of Polling, where a colony of American artists was at its peak in the late 1870s. Alexander established a painting studio there and stayed for about a year. Despite his absence from the Munich Academy, he won the medal of the drawing class for 1878, the first of many honors. While in Polling, he became acquainted with J. Frank Currier, Frank Duveneck, William Merritt Chase, and other regular visitors to the colony. He later shared a studio and taught a painting class in Florence with Duveneck and traveled to Venice, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Alexander returned to New York in 1881 and resumed his commercial artwork for Harpers and Century. Harpers sent him down the Mississippi river to complete a series of sketches. He also began to receive commissions for portraits, and in the 1880s painted Charles Dewitt Bridgman, a daughter of one of the Harper brothers, Parke Godwin, Thurlow Weed, Walt Whitman, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Alexander met his wife Elizabeth, whose maiden name was also Alexander, through her father, James W. Alexander, who was sometimes mistaken for the artist. Elizabeth and John White Alexander married in 1887 and had a son, James, in 1888.

Alexander and his family sailed for France in 1890, where they became a part of the lively literary and artistic scene in Paris at the time. Among their many contacts there were Puvis de Chavannes, Auguste Rodin, and Whistler, who arrived in Paris shortly thereafter. Alexander absorbed the new aesthetic ideas around him such as those of the symbolists and the decorative style of art nouveau. Critics often note how such ideas are reflected in his boldly composed paintings of women from this period, who titles drew attention to the sensual and natural elements of the paintings. His first exhibition in Paris was three paintings at the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1893, and by 1895 he has become a full member of the Société.

Independent and secession artist societies emerged throughout Europe during this period, and Alexander exhibited with several of them, including the Société Nouvelle in Paris, the Munich Secession, and the Vienna Secession. He was also elected an honorary member of the Royal Society of Belgian Artists and the Royal Society of British Painters in London. His exhibited works sold well, and his influence began to be felt back in the United States. Andrew Carnegie and John Beatty of the Carnegie Institute consulted closely with Alexander in the planning and execution of the first Carnegie International Exhibitions. Alexander also became active in supporting younger American artists who wanted to exhibit in Europe, a stance which resulted in his resignation from the Society of American Artists in Paris, which he felt had become a barrier to younger artists. His promotion of American art became an central aspect of his career for the remainder of his life, most visibly through his presidency of the National Academy of Design from 1909 until shortly before his death in 1915. He also served frequently on juries for high-profile exhibitions, and was a trustee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the national Institute of Arts and Letters. Around 1912, he helped to form the School Art League in New York, which provided art instruction to high school students.

Alexander returned to the United States nearly every summer while based in Paris, and among his commissioned paintings were murals for the newly-constructed Library of Congress, completed around 1896. In 1901, the Alexanders returned to New York permanently. The demand for portraits continued, and he had his first solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1902. Around 1905 he received a commission for murals at the new Carnegie Institute building in Pittsburgh for the astounding sum of $175,000. He created 48 panels there through 1908. During this period, the Alexanders spent summers in Onteora, New York, where Alexander painted his well-known "Sunlight" paintings. There they became friends and collaborators with the actress Maude Adams, with Alexander designing lighting and stage sets, and Elizabeth Alexander designing costumes for Adams' productions such as Peter Pan, the Maid of Orleans, and Chanticleer. The couple became known for their "theatricals" or tableaux, staged at the MacDowell Club and elsewhere, and Elizabeth Alexander continued her design career when her husband died in 1915.

Alexander left several commissions unfinished upon his death at age 59, including murals in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Alexander held a memorial exhibition at Arden Galleries a few months after his death, and a larger memorial exhibition was held by the Carnegie Institute in 1916. Alexander won dozens of awards for artwork in his lifetime, including the Lippincott Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1899, the Gold Medal of Honor at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, the Gold Medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1901, and the Medal of the First Class at the Carnegie Institute International Exhibition in 1911. In 1923, the Alexander Memorial Studio was built at the MacDowell colony in New Hampshire to honor his memory.
Provenance:
Papers were donated in 1978 and 1981 by Irina Reed, Alexander's granddaughter and in 2017 by Elizabeth Reed, Alexander's great grandaughter.
Restrictions:
Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
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:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Portrait painting -- 20th century  Search this
Portrait painting -- 19th century  Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Portrait painting, American  Search this
Genre/Form:
Awards
Interviews
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Scrapbooks
Medals
Citation:
John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.alexjohn
See more items in:
John White Alexander papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw917c89625-97e2-4dce-a5e6-4cbf6627b78e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-alexjohn
Online Media:

Emanuel Martinez papers

Creator:
Martinez, Emanuel, 1947-  Search this
Extent:
6.3 Linear feet
0.061 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Scrapbooks
Date:
1951-2018
Summary:
The papers of painter, muralist, and educator Emanuel Martinez measure 6.3 linear feet and date from 1951 to 2018. The collection documents Martinez's career as a muralist and personal life through school records, incarceration records, and other biographical material; correspondence with family members and various organizations in regards to art projects; donations, consignments, invoices, and other personal business records; correspondence, proposals, sketches, contracts, and other material related to commissions Martinez completed for various individuals and organizations; loan forms, correspondence, and announcments related to exhibitions Martinez participated in; artist statements, awards, writings, commencement speeches, and other professional activity material; clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, posters, and other printed material; and photographs and slides of of artwork and some personal photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter, muralist, and educator Emanuel Martinez measure 6.3 linear feet and date from 1951 to 2018. The collection documents Martinez's career as a muralist through school records, incarceration records, and other biographical material; correspondence with family members and various organizations in regards to art projects; donations, consignments, invoices, and other personal business records; correspondence, proposals, sketches, contracts, and other material related to commissions Martinez completed for various individuals and organizations; loan forms, correspondence, and announcments related to exhibitions Martinez participated in; artist statements, awards, writings, commencement speeches, and other professional activity material; clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, posters, and other printed material; and photographs and slides of of artwork and some personal photographs.

Biographical material consists of encounters with the law from his youth, such as citations for minor crimes, school records, and Colorado Governor executive orders recognizing Martinez.

Correspondence is comprised of letters with Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzalez of the activist group Crusade for Justice, letters from family members sucg as his mother, Jennie Martinez, and nephew, Edward Martinez, and letters from a group of school children who visited his studio. Also included are letters with the City of Denver, Hispanic Culture Foundation, National Council of La Raza, Museo de las Americas, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Personal business records consist of donations made by Martinez in the 90s and 00s, consignments, invoices, and receipts. Also included are files associated with organizations such as Galeria Sigala, Beyond Bronze Inc., Museo de las Americas, the Hispanic Chamber of commerce of Wisconsin, and the La Napoule Art Foundation.

Commission files consist of files of correspondence, proposals, agreements, and some receipts for works Martinez did for various individuals and organizations around the country. Also included in some of the files are sketches and blueprints of the proposed works and photographs of the completed works. There are also files of rejected proposals. Some of the commissions include: the Denver Housing Authority, "La Alma" Mural, Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center, Peoria Pioneer Memorial, Colorado Fallen Firefighter Memorial, West High School Center for International Studies Awards, and "Raza on the Rocks" poster design. A few files also contain both floppy disks and CDs.

Exhibitions files consist of correspondence, loan agreements, and printed material such as announcements and clippings in relation to exhibitions that Martinez participated in. Some of the exhibitions include: "Chican Art:Resistance & Affirmation," "Emanuel Martinez: A Retrospective," "Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum," and "Sangre Nueva-New Blood." Also included are files of 1-day exhibitions aranged by year.

Professional activity consists of material such as artist statements, awards, residencies and fellowships, and work with various committess and organizations. Also included are writings of journal entries, essays about Mexican American youth, education, the artist Rini Templeton, community murals, and a presentation transcript about the sculpture Farm Workers' Altar. There are also files related to teaching at summer camps and workshops hosted by Martinez, and there are some transcript high scool commencement speeches given by Martinez. Some of the mateial includes: the Denver Opportunity Arts & Crafts Training Program, Denver Public Schools School of Arts Art Advisory Committee, Art Students League of Denver, Latino Research and Policy Center, Cesar Chavez/Dolores Huerta Curriculum Project, Foster Elementary School Summer Arts Camp, and Excelsior High School graduation speech.

Printed Material consists of clippings, exhibition announcements, exhibitions catalogs, and auction catalogs. Among the materials are catalogs for the Colorado Business Alliance for Youth, catalogs for the Artists for Colorado's Youth Art Auction, a calendar featuring Martinez's artwork, and "Selected Reading Material on the Mexican and Spanish American."

Photographic material cosists of photographs and slides of paintings and sculptures. There is one file on the "Charro" statue, and a file on Martinez with photographs of him as a child, at work in his studio, posed with sculptures, and at receptions.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1962-2002 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1962-2011 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1966-2014 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Commission Files, circa 1977-2015 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-4)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1986-2010 (0.6 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 6: Professional Activity Files, 1966-2016 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1964-2018 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 6, 7)

Series 8: Photographic Material, 1951-2015 (0.2 linear feet; Box 6)
Biographical / Historical:
Emanuel Martinez (1947- ) is a painter, muralist, and educator in Denver, Colorado.

Martinez was born in Denver where he spent a troubled youth until the age of 13. He was introduced to art through his lifelong friend and mentor Bill Longley who recognized Martinez's talent and arranged for an art apprenticeship. Martinez also studied with David A. Siqueiros and Francisco Zuniga, and at Metropolitan State College of Denver. In 1968 he established his own studio.

As an artist, Martinez is deeply affected by social and political issues. He has been a member of the Chicano activist group Crusade for Justice and was active in the civil rights movement. In 1968, Martinez completed Farm Workers' Altar, a painted wooden sculpture, for the Catholic mass that was held on the day César Chávez completed a 25-day fast in his continuous struggle for social justice. Martinez also completed Tierra O Muerte for activist Reyes Lopez Tijerina. Other works by Martinez include a mural at Alma Center in Lincoln Park and a commissioned portrait of former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña.

Martinez worked as an educator at the Student League of Denver for 12 years. He is also involved with the Emanuel Project, an organization named after Martinez that focuses on improving the lives of at-risk youth. With the organization, Martinez has completed approximately 50 murals with students all over the U.S.

Martinez has won numerous awards including the Latin American Educational Foundation scholarship and Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. He has works in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museo de las Americas in Denver among others. His work was shown in the seminal exhibition Chicano Art Resistance and Affirmation, as well as many other national and international exhibitions.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Emanuel Martinez in 2017 and 2021.
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.
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:
Painters -- Colorado -- Denver  Search this
Muralists -- Colorado -- Denver  Search this
Educators -- Colorado -- Denver  Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Colorado  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Chicano art movement  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Emanuel Martinez papers, 1951-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.marteman
See more items in:
Emanuel Martinez papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw994185542-c082-4a24-87c3-77028fd814c6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-marteman

M. E. Diemer photographs of John Steuart Curry

Creator:
Diemer, M. E.  Search this
Names:
University of Wisconsin  Search this
Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946  Search this
Extent:
5 Items ((on a partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
[ca. 1930s]
Scope and Contents:
Five photographs by M. E. Diemer show John Steuart Curry painting at the University of Wisconsin when he was artist-in-residence during the 1930s.
Provenance:
Copy prints made in 1990 from negatives donated by the Detroit Institute of Arts Library. The DIA probably received them from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
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 -- Wisconsin  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- Photographs  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.diemme
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92cc71e83-712c-407a-bdad-01164cc84878
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-diemme

James Watrous papers

Creator:
Watrous, James, 1908-  Search this
Names:
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
United States. Department of the Treasury  Search this
Arnautoff, Victor Mikhail, 1896-1979  Search this
Ballator, John R., 1909-  Search this
Bergman, Frank  Search this
Moya del Pino, Jose, 1891-1969  Search this
Sample, Paul, 1896-1974  Search this
Extent:
1.4 Linear feet ((on 2 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
[ca. 1933-1966]
Scope and Contents:
Research and teaching files relating to murals, painted ca. 1933-1966, many for the Public Works of Art Project and Department of the Treasury, and muralists, consisting mainly of two-card indexes listing murals by city and by artist; miscellaneous files on more than 50 artists, many of whom are muralists; a seminar paper by Watrous, "Nineteenth Century Criticism of Degas"; and photographs of murals by Victor Arnautoff, Frank Bergman, John Ballator, Jose Moya Del Pino, and Paul Sample.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mural painter, art historian; Madison, Wisc. Full name is James Scales Watrous.
Provenance:
Donated 1966 by James Watrous.
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 -- Wisconsin -- Madison  Search this
Muralists  Search this
Painters -- Wisconsin -- Madison  Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- United States  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.watrjame
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9384c31cc-25c2-48c3-bac4-8f27468a665e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-watrjame

Terry Schoonhoven papers

Creator:
Schoonhoven, Terry, 1945-2001  Search this
Names:
Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad  Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Date:
circa 1969-1980
Summary:
The Terry Schoonhoven papers measure 0.4 linear feet and date from circa 1969 to 1980. The scattered papers document Schoonhoven's career in Los Angeles as a painter, printmaker, and muralist through writings, artwork and 10 sketchbooks, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The Terry Schoonhoven papers measure 0.4 linear feet and date from circa 1969 to 1980. The scattered papers document Schoonhoven's career in Los Angeles as a painter, printmaker, and muralist through writings, artwork and 10 sketchbooks, and photographs.

Writings by Terry Schoonhoven include an essay about the Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad. Artwork and Sketchbooks include 3 loose sketches and 10 bound sketchbooks. Many of the sketchbooks contain preliminary studies for murals, as well as measurements, lists, phone numbers, addresses, and writings. Also found within the sketchbooks are miscellaneous notes written to Schoonhoven by his wife, Sheila. Photographs depict installation views and works of art by Terry Schoonhoven.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Writings, circa 1980 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Artwork and Sketchbooks, circa 1969-circa 1980 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Photographs, circa 1969-1980 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Biographical / Historical:
Terry Schoonhoven (1945-2002) was a painter, printmaker, and muralist who worked in Los Angeles. During his career he painted over forty public murals, mostly in the Los Angeles area.

Schoonhoven received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin. In 1967, Schoonhoven relocated to Los Angeles where studied fine art and taught lithography courses at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1969, Schoonhoven co-founded the Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad with muralist, Victor Henderson. The Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad, which also included Jim Frazin and Leonard Koren, painted murals in public spaces in the Los Angeles area from 1969 to 1974.
Provenance:
The Terry Schoonhoven papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Terry Schoonhoven in 1981.
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:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Muralists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Printmakers -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Terry Schoonhoven papers, circa 1969-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.schoterr
See more items in:
Terry Schoonhoven papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw919ffa136-087f-4143-b50a-aaea417ba91d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-schoterr

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