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Artist:

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Names:

Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this

Cornell, Robert  Search this

Extent:

196.8 Linear feet

186 Nitrate negatives

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Nitrate negatives

Photographic photoprints

Photographs

Place:

New York, New York

Date:

1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972

Summary:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Scope and Contents:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Correspondence is with collectors, museums, galleries, artists, friends, family, charity organizations, admirers and those admired by Cornell, and World War II European pen pals. Discussions about the appreciation, donation, sale, purchase, and exhibition of Cornell's works are frequent, with the inclusion of shipping and loan documentation or notices of payment installments. Galleries and museums frequently request that Cornell agree to an exhibition, which he often declines, and fans request free works be mailed or affordable works be sold to them. With friends, artists, and those he admired, Cornell discussed topics that fascinate him, included bits of poetry or philosophical musings, sent clippings or a collaged letter, and occasionally discussed a project or work in process. After World War II, when so many were displaced by the war in Europe, Cornell answered ads for pen pals in the "Christian Science Monitor," often responding to requests for clothing or other goods, and sometimes exchanging many letters over several years. Family correspondence is with his mother, sisters, brother, and others, and often notes activities of the day, foods eaten, and general musings, as well as occasionally mentioning a project or artwork. Correspondents of note include Stan Brakhage, Betty Freeman, Charles Henri Ford, Allegra Kent, Yayoi Kusama, Roberto Matta, Marianne Moore, Octavio Paz, Sonia Sekula, Pavel Tchelitchew, Parker Tyler, Dorothea Tanning, and Betsy von Furstenberg, among others.

Cornell was often preoccupied with his thoughts, feelings, memories, a project or thematic "exploration," and jotted notes on seemingly any surface available. Notes and musings are on napkins, the backs of envelopes, newspaper clippings, and paper bags from record and magazine stores. Frequently, an observation would trigger a lengthy nostalgic moment, or a "feé," fairy-like child or girl, would capture his imagination and lead him to thoughts of 18th-century ballerinas and silent film stars. Cornell wrote longer diary notes, sometimes expanding on an earlier notation or emotion, and often wrote when he experienced trouble sleeping or woke early. Drafted letters to imaginary muses or admired individuals are interspersed among diaries, often revealing Cornell's yearnings to find emotional intimacy and human connection. Over time, Cornell revisited his notes and occasionally made further notations about renewed thoughts on a topic, dating the note with "revisited" or "reviewed." Notes are often written in a stream-of-consciousness style, for example, jumping from the mention of a record album or composer, to a ballerina of the same period, a note about a French poet, the memory of childhood, or an observation made earlier in the day, all in the space of a few lines. Notes about artistic processes or meanings behind works or images do occasionally emerge from the tangled, poetic notations. Notes also often provide insights into Cornell's internal emotional state and give clues about his intentions behind an artwork or a particular thematic fixation.

Financial materials document Cornell's professional and personal business activities, including the sale of artworks, annual expenses for supplies and household incidentals, payments and schedules for personal assistants, receipts for donations to charities and nonprofits, and tax documents. There is also information about who worked as assistants, or "helpers," in his later years and where Cornell purchased art supplies. Additionally, specific details are documented through receipts and invoices, such as what kind of paint he purchased. Estate records include preparations made for Cornell's artworks after his death, and clippings about other deceased artist's estates show that he thought often about such arrangements in his later years.

Exhibition files highlight several select solo exhibitions for Cornell, as well as preparations and planning for the "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" in honor of his brother in 1966. Also included are several early exhibition catalogs and announcements, including "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932) and "Exhibition of Objects (Bibloquet) by Joseph Cornell" (December 6-31, 1939) at the Julien Levy Gallery, and "Romantic Museum: Portraits of Women, Constructions and Arrangements by Joseph Cornell" (December 1946) at the Hugo Gallery.

Film projects and collected film materials consist of files related to Cornell's various experimental film projects: "Aviary," "Cappuccino," "Centuries of June," "Fable for Fountains," "Nymphlight," "Serafina's Garden," and unrealized film scenario "Monsieur Phot." Files include film-making notes, correspondence, and photographs. Cornell's interest in film also led him to collect film-related materials, such as film stills, film posters, and screening programs. Scattered correspondence documents the interest other institutions and individuals had in purchasing and viewing his collection. Though most of his collected film stills and movie posters were donated to the Anthology Film Archives, film stills from "Escape Me Never" (1935) and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) are still within the collection, as well as film-screening programs for Cornell's collection of films.

Writing and design projects document Cornell's work authoring articles and designing issues of specialty dance magazine "Dance Index," and his layouts for popular magazines like "Good Housekeeping," "House and Garden," and "Mademoiselle." Other writing projects include brochures dedicated to opera singers Maria Malibran and Giulia Grisi, "Maria" and "Bel Canto Pet." Materials used for these brochures, such as copper photo engraving plates, are also found. Design work includes a series of Christmas cards created with The Museum of Modern Art as well as traced patterns ("textile tracings") and design clippings from Cornell's time working as a "textile designer" for Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio.

Cornell acquired troves of source material from bookstalls, antique stores, sporting good and department stores, hardware stores, and magazine and record shops. He kept boxes and files of material on admired individuals, such as actresses, artists, dancers, and singers, as well as on art projects or thematic "explorations." Files are on general topics such as American history, scientific phenomena, animals, plants, and humankind, as well as on series of artworks, such as "Castles," "Homage to the Romantic Ballet," and "Medici Slot Machines." Focused "exploration" projects include "Celestial Theatre," "Colombier," "GC 44," and "Switzerland," among others. Materials include photographs, photostats, maps, book fragments, autographed letters, notes, collage clippings and cutouts, collected prints and engravings, box and collage fragments, and scattered artifacts.

Collected ephemera includes large amounts of blank postcards and greeting cards, stamps, collected bus and train tickets, food labels and packaging, decals, and other materials. Artifacts are three-dimensional collected objects and source objects, which include found objects from the streets, dried flowers, and pieces of nature gathered from walks around his neighborhood. Cornell may have gathered materials because they inspired a memory or nostalgic feeling, or because they fit with a bin of other similar objects to select from for an artwork in progress.

Photographs found within the collection are of Cornell at work and as a child with family. Also found are assorted personal and family photographs, photographs of Cornell's attic and garage storage, and photographs of his Utopia Parkway house. Photographs of artwork include few installation photographs, in addition to photographs of Cornell's boxes and collages. Collected photographic materials include vintage photographs, such as tintypes, a cyanotype, stereoscopic glass slides, albumen prints, cabinet cards, and cartes-de-visite. Cornell also collected cased photographs, such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and one opalotype. Negatives and photostats were often produced from various prints and even other photographs and used in Cornell's boxes and collages. Images are of men and women, actors, authors, dancers, performers, well-known men and women, royalty, places, and artwork. Photographs of note include those by Hans Namuth of Willem and Lisa de Kooning and of Edward Hopper's bedroom; photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson; a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron; photographs by Brassai; and a photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz from "Camerawork."

Also found in the collection are works of art by others, including a sketch by Pavel Tchelitchew, as well as artwork by Cornell, such as unfinished collages, Rorschach drawings or ink blots, and childhood artwork. Printed material includes assorted bulletins, flyers, exhibition materials for other artists, journals, and sent printed membership and charity materials. Magazines, including "View," are also included, and often have annotations by Cornell or a note to "cut" or "review" with page numbers. A large amount of magazine and newspaper clippings are in the collection, sometimes collected with a group of like material by Cornell, and at other times simply gathered in heaps. Occasional annotations are also found on the clippings.

Cornell's personal library and book collection includes over 2500 titles, ranging from fiction, poetry, and cinema, to history, science, and travel. Notable among the titles are "Baedeker's" travel guides that Cornell often sourced for his "Hotel" box series, as well as an influential publication by Max Ernst, "La Femme 100 têtes," which includes a typed letter and exhibition flyer tucked within. Books often have annotations, some fairly extensive, by Cornell, and assorted collected items, notes, and correspondence tucked between pages. Pages were often cut by Cornell, either to make photostats and use in a box, or to file with other thematic "explorations." A wide range of authors and topics provide insight into Cornell's interests and to ideas behind artwork and diary notes. Cornell's collection of record albums includes over 145 records. These contain inserted notes and clippings and are often referenced in diary notes Cornell made, noting a recent album or song listened to while at work in his studio.

The papers of Cornell's mother, Helen Storms Cornell, and his brother, Robert Cornell, are also included in the collection. Both lived with Cornell his whole life, spending the most time with him at their home at 3708 Utopia Parkway. Financial materials document shared responsibilities for billing, utilities, household fixes and chores, and expenditures, and Helen kept detailed financial records in a series of ledgers. Robert notes when he borrowed money from Cornell, or when he means to pay Cornell back for the purchase of a typewriter. Activities documented in diaries also occasionally cross paths with Cornell, noting his visitors or an exchange of letters continued after introductions through Cornell. Personal activities, such as Robert's interest in his train collection and his drawing projects and cartoon series, are also documented.

Arrangement:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection is arranged into 15 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1972 (Boxes 1, 98, OV118; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1813, 1934-circa 1973 (Boxes 1-8, 86; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notes, 1940-1976 (Boxes 8-10, 98-99, 135, OV108, OV119; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business and Estate Records, 1950-1978 (Boxes 10-14; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1932-1973 (Box 14; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Film Projects and Collected Film Materials, circa 1924-1972 (Boxes 14-16, 100, 133; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 7: Writing and Design Projects, circa 1910s, 1936-1962 (Boxes 16-18, 86, 100, 131-132, OV109-OV111, OV120-OV122; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Source Material, 1750-circa 1911, 1926-1972 (Boxes 19-49, 86-92, 96, 100-105, 126-130, 132-137, OV112-OV115, OV125; 42.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, 1768, circa 1839-1972 (Boxes 49-52; 3.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1800s-1972 (Boxes 52-56, 80-86, 93, 106, 128, 133, OV116, OV123-OV124; 7.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Artwork, circa 1810-1972 (Boxes 56-57, 107, OV117; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 12: Printed Material, 1855-1972 (Boxes 57-76, 94-96, 107; 16 linear feet)

Series 13: Book Collection and Personal Library, 1722-1980 (99.8 linear feet)

Series 14: Record Album Collection, circa 1925-1974 (3.2 linear feet)

Series 15: Cornell Family Papers, 1910-1980 (Boxes 77-79, 97, 107; 3.2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was a self-taught assemblage and collage artist, and filmmaker, active in New York City. He was born in Nyack, New York on December 24, 1903, and died of heart failure at his home in Queens, New York on December 29, 1972. The oldest of four children, he was born Joseph I. Cornell to his mother, Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), and his father, Joseph I. Cornell (1875-1917). Cornell had two younger sisters, Elizabeth ("Betty") Cornell Benton (1905-2000) and Helen ("Sissy") Cornell Jagger (1906-2001), as well as one brother, Robert Cornell (1910-1965), who had cerebral palsy.

Cornell attended the Phillips Academy, a preparatory boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, beginning shortly after his father's death in 1917. He attended for four years but did not receive a diploma, and soon began work as a textile salesman for the William Whitman Company in Manhattan. His work took him, by foot, through the city, visiting secondhand bookshops on Fourth Avenue, browsing music stores and magazine shops, and catching early shows at the Metropolitan Opera House. He would occasionally wait outside the stage doors for favorite singers and dancers to emerge, requesting signatures on photographs or bits of costumes.

Around 1926, Cornell joined the Christian Science Church, joined by his brother Robert shortly thereafter, and both continued to be lifelong members. Cornell kept a number of books in his personal library on Christian Science teachings and regularly subscribed to "The Christian Science Monitor."

After living in several rental houses in Bayside, New York, Cornell's mother purchased a house for the family in 1929 in Flushing, Queens. Cornell, along with his mother and brother, would live at 3708 Utopia Parkway, for the rest of their lives. His two sisters soon married and moved away, eventually settling in Westhampton, Long Island and in the poultry-farming business.

With no formal art training to speak of, Cornell's first work was a Max Ernst-inspired collage, "Untitled (Schooner)," created in 1931. He was especially inspired by Ernst's collage novel, "La Femme 100 têtes," published in 1929. French artist Odilon Redon was also among the few artists Cornell named as an influence on his art. His first sculptural works were small, cardboard pill boxes with bits of ephemera, costume adornments, and nature hidden inside. Cornell also created a series of glass bell jar works, placing small trinkets and Victorian-era-like compositions within. It was these early collages and bell jar works that were included in Cornell's debut exhibition, "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932), a group show at the Julien Levy Gallery. Cornell designed the announcement for the show and exhibited alongside Max Ernst, Man Ray, Pierre Roy, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Eugène Atget, George Platt Lynes, Jean Cocteau, and Salvador Dalí. Months later, Cornell was invited to have his first solo show, "Objects by Joseph Cornell: Minutiae, Glass Bells, Shadow Boxes, Coups d'Oeil, Jouets Surréalistes" (November 26-December 30, 1932), also at the Julien Levy Gallery.

In 1932, after eleven years of work, Cornell was laid off from the William Whitman Company due to the Great Depression. Soon after, he took on more responsibility in the church, working part-time as an attendant in the Christian Science Reading Room in Great Neck, New York. Beginning in 1933, he taught Sunday school classes for three years and in 1935, became the Sunday school librarian. However, his religious activities and artistic ventures continued to remain separate.

In the early 1930s, Cornell progressed from movie lover to filmmaker. When Julien Levy began his New York Film Society in 1933, holding screenings of various experimental films in the gallery, Cornell began buying and collecting films and film stills in earnest. He set up a 16-millimeter projector in his home to screen favorites, such as those by Georges Méliès, D.W. Griffith, and Louis Feuillade. His collection quickly grew to over 2,500 film stills and several hundred films, and included silent era films, such as nature documentaries, goofy newsreels, travelogues, early cartoons, and slapstick comedies, as well as several feature films. In 1933, Cornell wrote a screenplay, or "scenario," entitled "Monsieur Phot." Between 1935 and 1937, Cornell also occasionally created publicity photomontages for Universal and Columbia studios. Of the nearly thirty films Cornell created, periods of activity can generally be separated into two areas: collage films of the late 1930s, consisting of combined elements from films in his own collection, and films he directed in the 1950s, which were collaborations with other filmmakers set in New York City. "Rose Hobart," Cornell's most celebrated collage film, was created and shown in the Julien Levy Gallery in 1936 and includes clipped footage from "East of Borneo." Later films were directed and filmed with cinematographers Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, and Larry Jordan.

In 1934, Cornell began a job at the Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio as a "textile designer," a job he held for six years. Continuing to work at his kitchen table in the evenings, Cornell completed his first assemblage box construction, "Untitled (Soap Bubble Set)," in 1936. It was first exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art's show, "Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism" (December 9, 1936-January 17, 1937). This work was also the first to be acquired by a museum, purchased for $60.00 by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Massachusetts in 1938. Cornell's European debut was also in 1938, as one of three Americans represented in the "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme" (January 17-Febuary 24, 1938) at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, alongside Man Ray and Anne Clark.

At the end of 1939, Cornell began corresponding with poet Charles Henri Ford, founder of avant-garde magazine "View," Pavel Tchelitchew, and Parker Tyler. After his "Soap Bubble Sets," this period saw the development of Cornell's homages to singers and actresses, including "Untitled (Fortune-Telling Parrot for Carmen Miranda)," the destroyed "Garbo (Greta Garbo in the Legendary Film 'The Crystal Mask,' c. 1845)," and "Dressing Room for Gilles." He also began using photostats of art reproduction prints, as with the print of Jean Antoine-Watteau's painting, "Pierrot" (circa 1719), used in his "Gilles" box.

In the 1940s, the Romantic ballet emerged as Cornell's new topic of interest. Through his friend Pavel Tchelitchew, Cornell was introduced to the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet founders, Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. Cornell collected dance memorabilia and had a great love of the Romantic ballet. His favorite dancers were primarily ballerinas of the nineteenth century, including Fanny Cerrito, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, Lucille Grahn, and Carlotta Grisi. Cornell's "Homage to the Romantic Ballet" works largely took the shape of jewel-box style wooden boxes with glass overlays and included bits of velvet, tulle, sequins, crystals, and chiffon, occasionally collected from dancers themselves. His most well-known work of this series is "Taglioni's Jewel Casket" (1940). Cornell also admired several living ballet dancers, including Tamara Toumanova, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Allegra Kent, who would all make their way into Cornell's box works and/or collages. Collecting for the "exploration," "Portrait of Ondine," Cornell's cased portfolio dedication to Fanny Cerrito and her role in the ballet "Ondine," began in the 1940s, though not completed until around 1960.

In late 1940, Cornell quit his job at Traphagen to concentrate on freelance commercial magazine design and editorial work during the day and his artwork at night. That same year, Charles Henri Ford started "View" magazine to promote Surrealists and Neo-Romantics in New York City and often asked Cornell to contribute. Published in the December 1941-January 1942 issue, one of his early contributions was a collage dedication to stage actress Hedy Lamarr: "Enchanted Wanderer: Excerpt from a Journey Album for Hedy Lamarr" (1941). Along with writing the accompanying text, he created a photomontage of Lamarr with her face overlaying the painted portrait of a Renaissance boy by Italian painter Giorgione. Peggy Guggenheim, at the advice of Marcel Duchamp, purchased multiple Cornell works prior to opening her new gallery, Art of This Century. Cornell also befriended Roberto Matta Echaurren, another Surrealist living in exile, who introduced him to Robert Motherwell.

After deciding to fully dedicate his time to his art in early 1940, he set up a studio in his basement. Complete with floor-to-ceiling wooden shelving, he kept his large collection of boxed source material stacked with handwritten labels in cardboard boxes. Themed folders of materials such as "Stamps" or "Maps" were kept in stacks and works in progress and finished works were stored in the basement, garage, and attic. Entering a renewed period of productivity, Cornell embarked on many new and important box projects in 1942. One of the first boxes created in his new basement studio, and the first of the "Penny Arcade" or "Medici Slot Machine" series, was "Medici Slot Machine" (1942), which includes a photostat of "Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa" (1557) by Sofonisba Anguissola. Another work from this time is the first of his "Castle" or "Palace" series, "Setting for a Fairy Tale" (1942), which uses a photostat of a French building from Jacques Androuet du Cerceau's book, "Les Plus excellents bastiments de France" (1576). "Untitled (Pharmacy)" (circa 1942) was the first of his "Pharmacy" series and included twenty-two apothecary jars. Cornell tended to work in series and created thirteen "Palace" boxes between 1942 and 1951, and ultimately created six "Pharmacy" works.

In 1943, Cornell began working at an electronics company, the Allied Control Company, Inc., to do his part to contribute to the defense effort during the war. He also sent correspondence and care packages to displaced Europeans, who listed their needs in "The Christian Science Monitor." Influenced by World War II, one of his strongest works to emerge in 1943 was "Habitat Group for a Shooting Gallery." Another notable work to come out of this period, "The Crystal Cage (Portrait of Berenice)," was an excerpt from one of his album "explorations" that was published in the January 1943 issue of "View."

Cornell left his job at Allied Control in 1944, but soon began working at the Garden Centre in Flushing, owned by a fellow Christian Scientist. Cornell was often nostalgic for this time in his life, devoting an entire "exploration" of material fondly remembered as "GC 44." He rode a bicycle to work and enjoyed collecting trips gathering dried grasses, driftwood, shells, and other relics of nature on the same bicycle as he rode through the streets of Queens. During this time, he continued to tend to his projects for "Dance Index," a magazine founded in 1942 by Lincoln Kirstein, but taken over by Donald Windham in 1944. Cornell designed several covers for the magazine and was given control of the entire summer 1944 issue, which he devoted to the Romantic ballet. He also devoted a special 1945 issue to Hans Christian Andersen, making great use of the New York Public Library Picture Collection.

Throughout the 1940s, Cornell continued to support himself with commercial design work for magazines like "Vogue," "Good Housekeeping," "Harper's Bazaar," "Town & Country," and "Mademoiselle." In 1946, after thirteen years at the Julien Levy Gallery, he joined the Hugo Gallery. In December 1946, Cornell's solo exhibition, "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell," celebrated his favorite movie stars, singers, and ballet dancers, and included his work created for the show, "Untitled (Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall)." Cornell's "Greta Garbo" box, as well as "Souvenir for Singleton," an homage to Jennifer Jones and her role in the film "Love Letters," were also included in the show. In late 1948, his West Coast debut was in the exhibition, "Objects by Joseph Cornell," held at the Copley Gallery. The end of the 1940s saw the final issue of "View" magazine in 1947, the closure of the Julien Levy Gallery in April 1949, and Cornell's departure from the Hugo Gallery after his last show in November 1949.

In late 1949, Cornell joined the Charles Egan Gallery, known primarily for showing Abstract Expressionists. At this time, Cornell was working on a new series of boxes known as his "Aviary" works, most of which include a white-painted box with cutouts of birds mounted on wood. Though he had worked on bird-related boxes before, including an "Owl" series in the mid-1940s, his "Fortune Telling Parrot" (1939), and "Object 1941" (1941), these newer works were stripped of French elements and left "clean and abstract" by design. His first show at the Egan Gallery, "Aviary by Joseph Cornell" (December 7, 1949-January 7, 1950), included twenty-six "Aviary" works, nearly all created in 1949. Donald Windham agreed to write the foreword for the exhibition catalog, a single folded sheet, and Cornell gave him one of the boxes in the show, "Cockatoo: Keepsake Parakeet," in appreciation. Through the Egan Gallery, Cornell became friends with a new group of artists, including Franz Kline, Jack Tworkov, and Willem de Kooning. Cornell also held two screenings of a selection of his collected films at Subjects of the Artist, an art school founded by Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, David Hare, and William Baziotes.

In 1950, Cornell's second show at the Egan Gallery, "Night Songs and Other New Work" (December 1, 1950-January 13, 1951), introduced his new "Observatory" series. These works are largely defined by stark, whitewashed spaces with astronomical charts and constellations replacing colorful birds. The Museum of Modern Art purchased its first Cornell work from this show in early 1951, "Central Park Carrousel, in Memoriam" (1950).

For three months in 1951, Cornell was beset by various ailments and had trouble finding the energy to create new work. He worried more for his aging mother and the health of his brother. After a monthlong vacation with his sisters in Westhampton, he returned with renewed interest in Emily Dickinson's poetry. His whitewashed boxes took on a new form in his newest "Dovecote" series, using grids and circular cutouts. The works then transformed into homages to Dickinson, notably "Toward the Blue Peninsula: For Emily Dickinson" (circa 1953), and then to his "Hotel" series. Cornell's "Hotel" boxes include photostats of vintage European ads for hotels collected from vintage travel guides, especially "Baedeker's," adhered to the back walls of the boxes. Another new series of work, his "Juan Gris" series, was dedicated to Cubist artist Juan Gris. Between 1953 and the mid-1960s, Cornell created at least fifteen "Juan Gris" boxes, which often include a cutout of a white cockatoo in a Cubist-collage habitat. Cornell's third and last show at Egan Gallery, "Night Voyage" (February 10-March 28, 1953), included some of these newest works. After leaving Egan Gallery, his work was introduced to Chicago collectors in a solo show at the Frumkin Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: 10 Years of His Art" (April 10-May 7, 1953), which included nearly thirty pieces. Cornell's first museum retrospective was this same show held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (July 12-August 30, 1953).

As New York City continued to change, Cornell grew more nostalgic for the city he had explored since the 1920s. The impending closure of the Third Avenue El train prompted him to dream up a film project to capture its last days, resulting in "Gnir Rednow," a reworking of Stan Brakhage's 1955, "Wonder Ring." During this time, Cornell joined the Stable Gallery, run by Eleanor Ward, interacting often with Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Joan Mitchell, remaining there until the end of the 1950s. His astronomy-themed exhibition, "Winter Night Skies" (December 12, 1955-January 13, 1956), included his "Night Skies" series of work with celestial chart fragments, Greek mythological figures, and paint-splattered "windows" representative of star-filled night skies. In 1956, he became aware of ballerina Allegra Kent, and began a series of work devoted to her, the first of which was "Via Parmigianino (Villa Allegra)" (1956), which included a photostat of a painting by Parmigianino, "The Madonna of the Long Neck" (circa 1540). In late 1957, after two years, Cornell had his last show at Stable Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: Selected Works" (December 2-31, 1957), consisting of a series of "Sand Fountain" boxes and "Space Object" or "Celestial Navigation" works. The "Sand Fountain" boxes included different colors of sand meant to flow within, often from the tops into cordial glasses. His "Celestial Navigations" included galaxy-like compositions set within the boxes, with rolling, painted cork balls, metal rings, and constellation charts, sometimes hovering over cordial glasses or clay pipes. This last Stable Gallery show earned him his first published profile, written by Howard Griffin for the December 1957 issue of "Art News." Also in 1957, he won the Kohnstamm Prize for Construction at the Art Institute of Chicago's 62rd Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture.

Towards the end of the 1950s, Cornell spent less time creating new bodies of work, and focused more on revisiting previous series and reviewing piles of collected source material. In 1959, Cornell returned to making collages, frequently sourcing popular magazines. In December 1959, Cornell was awarded $1,500 for his "Orion" collage, entered in the Art Institute of Chicago's "63rd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture." Also in December, he was offered a show at Bennington College in Vermont, which he titled, "Bonitas Solstitialis: Selected Works by Joseph Cornell and an exploration of the Colombier" (November 20-December 15, 1959). The show included one of his newest "explorations" of collected material related to "colombier," or pigeon houses.

By 1962, Cornell was working diligently on new collages, using Masonite boards and colorful magazine clippings. He also began creating collages using nude images interspersed with constellation clippings or hazy blue dyes. As in previous decades and art movements, Cornell became acquainted with new artists, spending less time in the city and more time hosting visitors at his Utopia Parkway home. Visitors included artists Walter De Maria, Robert Whitman, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Robert Indiana. Tony Curtis also became a frequent visitor and friend, introduced by Richard Feigen in 1964. The early 1960s was also the first time Cornell put out an advertisement for assistants in the "Long Island Star-Journal," employing a number of young men and women who helped organize clippings and run errands. Cornell also met Joyce Hunter, a young runaway waitress at a city coffee shop, who would occupy his thoughts and diary notes for the next several years. When she was murdered at the end of 1964, Cornell paid for her funeral. He went on to make several "Penny Arcade" collages in memoriam to her, including, "Penny Arcade (re-autumnal)" (1964).

In 1964, Cornell began friendships with several women including artist Carolee Schneeman, who was his first assistant in the early 1960s. He also met artist Yayoi Kusama through art dealer Gertrude Stein. After becoming friends, she visited him often and they exchanged letters and notes. As he did with other artist friends, Cornell supported her by purchasing several of her early watercolor paintings, and they stayed connected until his death in 1972.

Cornell's life greatly changed in 1965 with the death of his brother, Robert. By this time, his mother lived with his sister in Long Island, and Cornell was alone in the Utopia Parkway house for the first time. He exchanged frequent letters and phone calls with his mother and devoted much time to thinking about Robert and Joyce, often aligning them in his diary notations. Cornell also created a series of collages dedicated to his brother's memory, incorporating photostats of Robert's hundreds of drawings into Cornell's work, as with the later collage, "The Heart on the Sleeve" (1972). Cornell's "Time Transfixed" series of collages were also dedications to Robert's memory, referencing Magritte and Robert's love of trains. He mounted an exhibition, "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" (January 4-29, 1966), at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, where he showed Robert's artwork alongside his newly created collage dedications.

After Robert's death, Cornell relied more heavily on assistants, going through many part-time "helpers." In October 1966, Cornell's mother died, adding her to his constant thoughts and diaries. Though he was still grieving, he was given two major retrospectives in 1967. The first was at the Pasadena Art Museum, put on by James Demetrion and Walter Hopps, "An Exhibiton of Works by Joseph Cornell" (January 9-February 11, 1967). The second retrospective was at the Guggenheim Museum just three months later, "Joseph Cornell" (May 4-June 35, 1967), organized by Diane Waldman. After these shows, he was highlighted in the December 15, 1967 issue of "Life" in the article, "The Enigmatic Bachelor of Utopia Parkway."

In 1968, Cornell was given an "award of merit," which included a medal and $1,000, by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also given a medal and $1,000 by the Brandeis University Creative Arts Awards in the painting category, along with an exhibition. Days later, "The New York Times" announced Cornell the winner, along with Donald Judd, of India's first Triennale of Contemporary World Art. The Brandeis exhibition, "Boxes and Collages by Joseph Cornell" (May 20-June 23, 1968), was organized by William Seitz and concentrated on Cornell's more recent 1960s collages. Cornell was also included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's hundredth anniversary show, "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940 to 1970" (October 18, 1969-February 1, 1970), where twenty-two of Cornell's boxes were shown in their own gallery. At the end of 1970, Cornell was given a solo show at the Metropolitan, "Collages by Joseph Cornell" (December 10, 1970-January 24, 1971), which included forty-five of his newest collages.

Now preferring to stay closer to his home in Flushing, Cornell was more interested in sharing his art with young adults and children, than an adult audience. He hosted a group of high school students, sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's education department, at his home in conjunction with his collage show (1970-1971). He also showed his work in the art department of Queens College of the City University of New York. Cornell still hosted visitors on occasion, having Yoko Ono and John Lennon at his home at least once. Leila Hadley, Betsy von Furstenberg, and Anne Jackson also made frequent visits. With his deteriorating health, Cornell worried about what would happen to his work after his death and hired lawyer Harry Torczyner to help him plan his estate and get his affairs in order.

In 1972, Cornell had a show at the Cooper Union, a college in New York, specifically for children. He displayed his boxes and collages at child-height and had cherry soda and brownies at the opening reception on February 10. He then held a show at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, also for children: "Children's Preview of the Exhibition of Joseph Cornell – Collages and Boxes (April 18-June 17, 1972). In the winter of 1972, at the request of the Phoenix House drug treatment and prevention program, Cornell contributed to a charity project compiling limited-edition lithographic prints for a portfolio, which included artists like David Hockney, James Rosenquist, and Ellsworth Kelly.

On December 29, 1972, a week after turning sixty-nine, Cornell died of heart failure at his home. He was cremated and interred near the graves of his mother, father, and brother, overlooking the Hudson River in Nyack, New York.

Works Cited:

1. Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe. "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination." New Haven, Connecticut and London: Yale University Press, 2007. Exhibition Catalog.

2. McShine, Kynaston. "Joseph Cornell." New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980.

3. San Francisco Cinematheque and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "Joseph Cornell: Films." 2007. Exhibition Program. (Presented in conjunction with SFMOMA's exhibition of "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination").

4. Schaffner, Ingrid and Lisa Jacobs. "Julien Levy: Portrait of an Art Gallery." Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The MIT Press, 1998.

5. Solomon, Deborah. "Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell." New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.

Separated Materials:

The Smithsonian Archives of American Art houses the Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972.

Provenance:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection was donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum by Joseph Cornell's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth Cornell Benton and John A. Benton, in 1978, which prompted the creation of the Joseph Cornell Study Center. Additional materials were donated in installments by the artist's estate, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, from 1985 to 1997. Elizabeth and John A. Benton originally donated 66 linear feet of three-dimensional and non-textual source material and 50 linear feet of books to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which were subsequently transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Joseph Cornell Study Center in 1994 and 1995.

Restrictions:

Access to the collection requires an advanced appointment. Contact collection staff at least two weeks prior to preferred date, at AmericanArtCornellStudy@si.edu.

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, Series 13: Personal Library and Book Collection, and Series 14: Record Album Collection, are still undergoing processing and preservation and may not be available for research use. Record albums are unavailable for playback. Contact collection staff for full lists of publications and record albums.

Rights:

Unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Occupation:

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Assemblage (Art)  Search this

Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Found objects (Art)  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Celebrities  Search this

Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographic photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1900-1950

Photographs -- 1860-1870 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver albumen -- Cartes-de-visite

Photographs -- Daguerreotypes -- 1840-1860

Citation:

Joseph Cornell Study Center collection, 1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972. Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was generously provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Identifier:

SAAM.JCSC.1

See more items in:

Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Research and Scholars Center

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ih7d97fc249-474d-41bf-953d-5305df1e4c06

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-saam-jcsc-1

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d9a6019a-316f-4b01-9439-e38a426503f8

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref134

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c0939cf9-445b-4884-b650-6b12fc34fdc2

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref140

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep898549d3e-1b98-405a-be2b-27e10f51faa4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref147

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8678e9107-f7da-49b5-85d2-e6db983aa714

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref151

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84965a857-a5f2-4c6a-8d10-031230eb6d14

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref157

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cb8158e0-9c89-4afb-a071-10f5c4e318f1

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref159

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 2

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fb5b8554-8561-4bf5-add2-a9b0f165a90b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref168

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 3

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 3

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86ab1340b-b3a7-40f5-9b07-3806da520bd8

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref174

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 3

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 3

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d9c091ca-35ee-4cd3-9269-8e965b8229a0

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref187

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 5, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 5

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84622c9e8-8123-4f14-92c4-484692f24495

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref209

Collection Creator:

Marx, Harpo, 1888-1964  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 4

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1962

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Harpo Marx Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Harpo Marx Papers

Harpo Marx Papers / Working Box 1

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89bf036e9-04ba-4af7-b7ee-64f4f628c3d8

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1290-ref30

Artist:

Geneva M. Heron, born c. 1940  Search this

William E. Heron, born c. 1940  Search this

Sitter:

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, 2 Jun 1731 - 22 May 1802  Search this

Abigail Smith Adams, 11 Nov 1744 - 28 Oct 1818  Search this

Martha ("Patsy") Jefferson Randolph, 27 Sep 1772 - 10 Oct 1836  Search this

Dolley Dandridge Payne Todd Madison, 20 May 1768 - 12 Jul 1849  Search this

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, 30 Jun 1768 - 23 Sep 1830  Search this

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 1775 - 1852  Search this

Emily Donelson Donelson, 1807 - 1836  Search this

Sarah Yorke Jackson, 1803? - 23 Aug 1887  Search this

Angelica Singleton Van Buren, 1820 - 1878  Search this

Jane Irwin Harrison, 1804 - 1847  Search this

Julia Gardiner Tyler, 4 May 1820 - 10 Jul 1889  Search this

Sarah Childress Polk, 4 Sep 1803 - 14 Aug 1891  Search this

Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor Bliss, 1824 - 1909  Search this

Abigail Powers Fillmore, 17 Mar 1798 - 30 Mar 1853  Search this

Jane Means Appleton Pierce, 12 Mar 1806 - 2 Dec 1863  Search this

Harriet Lane Johnston, 9 May 1830 - 3 Jul 1903  Search this

Mary Ann Todd Lincoln, 13 Dec 1818 - 16 Jul 1882  Search this

Martha Johnson Patterson, 25 Oct 1828 - 10 Jul 1901  Search this

Julia Boggs Dent Grant, 26 Jan 1826 - 14 Dec 1902  Search this

Lucy Ware Webb Hayes, 28 Aug 1831 - 25 Jun 1889  Search this

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, 1832 - 1918  Search this

Mary Arthur McElroy, 1841 - 1917  Search this

Frances Folsom Cleveland, 21 Jul 1864 - 29 Oct 1947  Search this

Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison, 1 Oct 1832 - 25 Oct 1892  Search this

Mary Scott Harrison McKee, 1858 - 1930  Search this

Ida Saxton McKinley, 8 Jun 1847 - 26 May 1907  Search this

Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, 6 Aug 1861 - 30 Sep 1948  Search this

Helen Herron Taft, 2 Jun 1861 - 22 May 1943  Search this

Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, 15 May 1860 - 6 Aug 1914  Search this

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 15 Oct 1872 - 28 Dec 1961  Search this

Florence Kling Harding, 15 Aug 1860 - 21 Nov 1924  Search this

Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge, 3 Jan 1879 - 8 Jul 1957  Search this

Lou Henry Hoover, 29 Mar 1874 - 7 Jan 1944  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, 11 Oct 1884 - 7 Nov 1962  Search this

Bess Truman, 13 Feb 1885 - 18 Oct 1982  Search this

Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower, 14 Nov 1896 - 1 Nov 1979  Search this

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, 28 Jul 1929 - 19 May 1994  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson, 22 Dec 1912 - 11 Jul 2007  Search this

Pat Nixon, 16 Mar 1912 - 22 Jun 1993  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

109.2cm x 167.6cm (43" x 66"), Accurate

Type:

Painting

Date:

1971

Topic:

Ellen Louise Axson Wilson: Female  Search this

Ellen Louise Axson Wilson: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Mary Ann Todd Lincoln: Female  Search this

Mary Ann Todd Lincoln: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Lou Henry Hoover: Female  Search this

Lou Henry Hoover: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Dolley Dandridge Payne Todd Madison: Female  Search this

Dolley Dandridge Payne Todd Madison: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Dolley Dandridge Payne Todd Madison: Society and Social Change\Socialite  Search this

Frances Folsom Cleveland: Female  Search this

Frances Folsom Cleveland: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\University  Search this

Frances Folsom Cleveland: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington: Female  Search this

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt: Female  Search this

Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Martha ("Patsy") Jefferson Randolph: Female  Search this

Martha ("Patsy") Jefferson Randolph: Society and Social Change\Hostess  Search this

Martha ("Patsy") Jefferson Randolph: Politics and Government\Daughter of US President  Search this

Julia Boggs Dent Grant: Female  Search this

Julia Boggs Dent Grant: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Bess Truman: Female  Search this

Bess Truman: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Sarah Yorke Jackson: Female  Search this

Abigail Smith Adams: Female  Search this

Abigail Smith Adams: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Abigail Smith Adams: Literature\Writer\Letter writer  Search this

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe: Female  Search this

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams: Female  Search this

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Emily Donelson Donelson: Female  Search this

Angelica Singleton Van Buren: Female  Search this

Angelica Singleton Van Buren: Society and Social Change\Hostess  Search this

Jane Irwin Harrison: Female  Search this

Jane Irwin Harrison: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Julia Gardiner Tyler: Female  Search this

Julia Gardiner Tyler: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Sarah Childress Polk: Female  Search this

Sarah Childress Polk: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor Bliss: Female  Search this

Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor Bliss: Society and Social Change\Hostess  Search this

Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor Bliss: Politics and Government\Daughter of US President  Search this

Abigail Powers Fillmore: Female  Search this

Abigail Powers Fillmore: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher  Search this

Abigail Powers Fillmore: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Jane Means Appleton Pierce: Female  Search this

Jane Means Appleton Pierce: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Harriet Lane Johnston: Female  Search this

Harriet Lane Johnston: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist  Search this

Harriet Lane Johnston: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Martha Johnson Patterson: Female  Search this

Martha Johnson Patterson: Politics and Government\Daughter of US President  Search this

Lucy Ware Webb Hayes: Female  Search this

Lucy Ware Webb Hayes: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield: Female  Search this

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Mary Arthur McElroy: Female  Search this

Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison: Female  Search this

Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Mary Scott Harrison McKee: Female  Search this

Mary Scott Harrison McKee: Politics and Government\Daughter of US President  Search this

Ida Saxton McKinley: Female  Search this

Ida Saxton McKinley: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Helen Herron Taft: Female  Search this

Helen Herron Taft: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson: Female  Search this

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Florence Kling Harding: Female  Search this

Florence Kling Harding: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Florence Kling Harding: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher\Music  Search this

Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge: Female  Search this

Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt: Female  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt: Literature\Writer  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Humanitarian  Search this

Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower: Female  Search this

Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Female  Search this

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Literature\Editor  Search this

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Society and Social Change\Historic preservationist  Search this

Pat Nixon: Female  Search this

Pat Nixon: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Female  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Business and Finance\Businessperson  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\University administrator\University trustee  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Business executive\Radio  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Presidential Medal of Freedom  Search this

Lady Bird Johnson: Congressional Gold Medal  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

Owner: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

Object number:

73.2320.1

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/sm4d17ea5db-7da5-4ac6-abbd-d0bf3867ef43

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_73.2320.1

Donor:

Troutman, John William  Search this

Extent:

3.1 Cubic feet (10 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertisements

Correspondence

Photographs

Sheet music

Date:

1892-2004, undated

Summary:

Collected archival materials documenting the instruction, performance, and promotion of American Indian and Native Hawaiian music.

Content Description:

Collection documents the instruction, performance, and promotion of American Indian and Native Hawaiian music. Materials include photographs, correspondence, sheet music, magazines, instructional materials, advertisements, programs, promotional material, record albums, and ephemera. Materials continue to be added to this collection.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into seven series:

Series 1: Musicians and Bands, 1904-2004, undated

Series 2: Music, 1892-1953, undated

Subseries 2.1: Sheet Music, 1900-1958, undated

Subseries 2.2: Folios, 1892-1948

Series 3: Schools, 1906-1908, undated

Series 4: Hawaiian Instrument Instructional Materials, 1914-1948, undated

Series 5: Publications, 1920-1945, undated

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subject Categories; "Indians", "Wild West", "Hawaii", "Schools" NMAH.AC0060,

Underwood and Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, NMAH.AC0143

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 4: Songwriters, NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music,Series 5: Politics and Political Movements, NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 8: Geography, NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 9: Domestic and Community Life, NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 11: Entertainment, NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 16: Country, Western, and Folk Music NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 21: Musical Instruments, NMAH.AC0300

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 22: Native American, NMAH.AC0300

Duke Ellington Collection, NMAH.AC.0301

History of the Royal Hawaiian Band Collection, 1836-1980, NMAH.AC.0361

Program in African American Culture Collection, NMAH.AC.0408

Ruth Ellington Collection, NMAH.AC.0415

Lonesome Pine Specials, NMAH.AC.0487

Benny Carter Collection, NMAH.AC.0757

Richard Becker Collection of Alex Bradford Gospel Music Materials, NMAH.AC.0761

Ben and Ruth Liman Jazz Film Collection, NMAH.AC.0775

Fletcher and Horace Henderson Music and Photographs, NMAH.A.C0797

Shirley Leonard Papers, NMAH.AC0919

Donald J. Stubblebine Collection of Musical Theater and Motion Picture Music and Ephemera, NMAH.AC1211

International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection, NMAH.AC1218

McIntire Family Hawaiian Entertainers Collection, NMAH.AC1511

Provenance:

Collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution by John W. Troutman, 2021.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Music -- Hawaii  Search this

Genre/Form:

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Correspondence

Photographs

Sheet music

Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1512

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87eb373d1-79b4-4ad4-96ac-b6a345a5937b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1512

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1904-2004, undated

Scope and Contents:

Materials in Series 1 are not personal papers but papers and materials about, related to, or picturing the performer or group. The series may contain personal papers but most often these objects are postcards, programs, photographs, printed histories and articles, biographies or autobiographies. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order by name of performer.

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1512, Series 1

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8667051b7-7faa-443a-ad0d-5bbeaf5de1b5

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1512-ref1

Container:

Box 9

Type:

Archival materials

Audio

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection / Series 1: Musicians and Bands

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c7b5074f-4184-44b7-984e-14ba54daef1b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1512-ref104

Container:

Box 9

Type:

Archival materials

Audio

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection / Series 1: Musicians and Bands

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85d0c1206-bb31-407c-8a1d-e7fc4ce23388

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1512-ref111

Container:

Box 10, Folder 5

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1932, unidentified

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection / Series 1: Musicians and Bands

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep860f6b7a9-e067-4115-b8b7-c556ec5a547d

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1512-ref117

Container:

Box 1, Folder 11

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1982

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection / Series 1: Musicians and Bands

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a16a29b4-757d-4980-844b-95635a1fe797

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1512-ref12

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1892-1958, undated

Scope and Contents:

Series 2 is divided into two subseries including sheet music and folios and arranged in alphabetical order by title. Composers of this music are mostly non-native. Much of the music follows stereotypical representations of native cultures. The materials relating to native musicians or bands is included in Series 1.

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1512, Series 2

See more items in:

Native Peoples Musicians and Music Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep808f656a6-a27b-4d9d-ab5e-5ff7d94f4037

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1512-ref15