The Jack Tworkov papers measure 9.7 linear feet and are dated 1926-1993. Tworkov's work as a painter and influential teacher, as well as his personal life, are documented by extensive journals and substantive correspondence that record his ideas about art and teaching, and illuminate his relationships with friends, colleagues, and students. Many sketchbooks, writings, interviews, photographs, and moving images are also included.
Scope and Content Note:
The Jack Tworkov papers measure 9.7 linear feet and are dated 1926-1993, with the bulk from the period 1931-1982. Tworkov's work as a painter and influential teacher, as well as his personal life, are documented by extensive journals and substantive correspondence that record his ideas about art and teaching, and illuminate his relationships with friends, colleagues, and students. Many sketchbooks, writings, interviews, photographs, and moving images are also included.
Biographical material includes Tworkov's citizenship certificate, awards, diplomas, a copy of Jack Tworkov: Video Portrait, produced by Electronic Arts Intermix, and a motion picture film, USA Artists: Jack Tworkov, produced by National Education Television.
Correspondence consists largely of incoming letters. It is both professional and personal in nature and often combines both spheres. Correspondents include artists Jennifer Bartlett, William H. Calfee, Giorgio Cavallon and Linda Lindeberg, Grace Hartigan, Helene Herzbrun (also named Helene McKinsey), Karl Knaths, Joe Summerford, Joan Thorne, and Adja Yunkers; cartoonist Robert C. Osborn; collectors Donald M. Blinken and David A. Praeger (who was also Tworkov's lawyer); illustrator Roger Dovoisin; critics Dore Ashton and Andrew Forge; critic and poet John Ashbury; galleries that represented Tworkov: Egan Gallery, Leo Castelli, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, Poindexter Gallery, Stable Gallery and Zabriskie Gallery; and many museums, arts organizations, colleges and universities.
Interviews with Tworkov include one with Ricky Demarco videotaped in 1979 and two conducted on video by Twokov's daughter Helen in 1975. The remaining interviews are sound recordings, one conducted by Grace Alexander for the show Artists in New York in 1967, one conducted by Michael Newman in 1980, and the remainder by unidentified interviewers. None have transcripts.
All writings are by Tworkov and include poems, an artist's statement, and documentation for two children's books by Tworkov illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. Two additional notebooks contain miscellaneous notes, teaching notes, and some specific to identified courses. Lectures exist as untranscribed sound recordings.
Tworkov's journals (33 volumes) span a period of 35 years, from 1947 until 1982, with the final entry dated a few weeks before his death. They record his reflections on painting, his challenges as a painter, aesthetics, the role of the artist in society, Jewish identity, painters he admired (especially Cézanne and Edwin Dickinson), politics, and teaching. They also recount everyday life: the comings and goings of friends and family members, social engagements, professional activities, illness, and travel.
The lone subject file concerns Mark Rothko and includes a photograph of Rothko and the guest list for the dedication of the Rothko Chapel in Houston.
Artwork consists of a small number of sketches by Tworkov in pencil and ink. Tworkov's sketchbooks (28 volumes) contain sketches and some finished drawings. Most are in pencil, but scattered throughout are a few pencil sketches embellished with colored marker or pastel, and a small number in ink.
Photographs are of people, places and events. Most photographs are of Tworkov alone and with others including Giogio Cavallon, though most friends and students are unidentified. Of note are views of Tworkov producing a series of prints at Tamarind Institute. Also found is an informal portrait of Wally Tworkov. Events recorded include the jurying of "Exhibition Momentum" in Chicago, 1956. Among the places shown are Tworkov's studios at Black Mountain College and in Provincetown. When known, photographers are noted; among them are Paul Katz, Herbert Matter, Arnold Newman, Renate Ponsold, Theo Westenberger, Dennis Wheeler, and Howard Wise.
A separate series of audiovisual recordings was established for those recordings that could not be readily identified to be arranged in other series. They consist of three videocassettes (2 VHS and 1 miniDV).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1933-1981 (Boxes 1, 9, 11, FC 13; 0.7 linear ft.)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1926-1993 (Boxes 1-5; 3.8 linear ft.)
Series 3: Interviews, 1978-1982 (Boxes 5, 9-10; 1 linear ft.)
Series 4: Writings, Notes, and Lectures, 1955-1982 (Boxes 5, 9; 0.5 linear ft.)
Series 5: Journals, 1947-1982 (Boxes 5-7; 2.0 linear ft.)
Series 6: Subject File, 1961-1977 (Box 7; 1 folder)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1952-1981 (Box 7, OV 12; 0.1 linear ft.)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1950s-1960s (Box 7: 3 folders)
Series 9: Sketchbooks, circa 1950s-1960s (Boxes 7-8, 11; 1.0 linear ft.)
Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1941-1981 (Boxes 8-9; 0.5 linear ft.)
Series 11: Audiovisual Recordings, 1961-1975 (Box 9; 0.1 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
New York School painter Jack Tworkov (1900-1982), best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings and as a highly regarded teacher, lived and worked in New York City and Provincetown, MA.
At age 13, Tworkov (born Yakov Tworkovsky) emigrated from Poland with his mother and sister to join his father already in the United States. In America, they chose to use the name of distant relatives, the Bernsteins, who were their sponsors. Eventually, Jack and his sister, Janice, reclaimed and shortened their name to Tworkov; later, she adopted the name of their hometown in Poland and became the painter Janice Biala.
As a high school student in New York City, Tworkov attended drawing classes. After graduating from Columbia University, where he had been an English major and considered becoming a writer, Tworkov instead turned to art. He studied with Ivan Olinsky at the National Academy of Design between 1923 and 1925, and from 1925 to 1926 attended painting classes taught by Guy Péne Du Bois and Boardman Robinson at the Art Students League. During his college years, Tworkov began visiting museums and became a great admirer of Cézanne. Tworkov's early paintings - still life, landscapes, and portraits - showed the influence of European modernism and Cézanne.
Tworkov spent his first summer in Provincetown while still a student and subsequently returned to study with Ross Moffet. In Provincetown he met and was greatly influenced by Karl Knaths and developed a lifelong friendship with Edwin Dickinson. By 1929, Tworkov was painting there year round. Over the years, Tworkov and his family continued to return for long stretches, and in 1958 he purchased a house in Provincetown.
During the Great Depression, Tworkov participated in the Treasury Department's Public Works of Art Project until 1934, and then moved to the easel division of the WPA Federal Art Project. He felt uncomfortable with the growing ideological and political influences on art and found it depressing to paint for the WPA rather than for himself, so he left the WPA in 1941. Tworkov, who had studied mechanical drawing while in high school, spent most of the War years employed as a tool designer and draftsman at an engineering firm with government contracts.
By the 1940s, Tworkov was painting in the Abstract Expressionist style. Between 1948 and 1953, he leased a studio on Fourth Avenue that adjoined that of his friend Willem de Kooning. During this time, they mutually influenced each other as they developed into mature Abstract Expressionists. At Yale in the 1960s, Tworkov became close friends with fellow student Josef Albers. Alber's influence on Tworkov resulted in a turn to geometric compositions of small, systematic, and repetitive strokes defined by a grid. He experimented with diagonal compositions, and later geometric work that featured large areas of color and soft texture.
Tworkov's first teaching experience was during 1930-1931 when he served as a part-time painting instructor at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. His teaching career began in earnest when he joined the faculties of Queens College, 1948-1955, and Pratt Institute, 1955-1958. During the summers he taught at various schools, most notably Black Mountain College's 1952 summer session. Tworkov was a visiting artist at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture, 1961-1963, and became chairman of its Art Department from 1963 until his retirement in 1969. In retirement he lived in Provincetown and was a visiting artist for both short and extended periods at various universities and art schools.
An avid reader of literature and poetry, Tworkov also wrote poems and essays. He published essays in It Is, Art Digest, and Art In America; his most notable piece, "The Wandering Soutine," appeared in Art News, November 1950. Tworkov also kept a journal for 35 years (1947-1982) that recorded his thoughts on a wide range of subjects concerning professional, personal, and philosophical issues, as well as details of everyday life.
Tworkov was among the founders of the Artists' Club or The Club in 1949, and for a decade actively participated in the stimulating discussions for which the group was known. In 1968 he helped to establish the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Its residency program enabled younger artists and writers to advance their careers and kept Provincetown's historic artists' colony active year round.
He was the recipient of the William A. Clark Award and Corcoran Gold Medal from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1963; Skowhegan School of Art's Painter of the Year Award, 1974; and Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from College Art Association, 1976. Tworkov was appointed to serve on the Massachusetts Art Commission, 1970-1971, and in 1981 was named a Fellow of The Cleveland Museum of Art and of the Rhode Island School of Design.
Following his second divorce in 1935, Rachel (Wally) Wolodarsky became Tworkov's third wife and their marriage endured. They had two daughters. Hermine Ford (b. 1939) is an artist married to fellow painter Robert Moskowitz. Helen Tworkov (b. 1943) is the founder of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and the author of a book about yoga.
Tworkov remained physically and intellectually active after a diagnosis of bone cancer around 1980, and continued to paint until shortly before his death in Provincetown on September 4, 1982.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Jack Tworkov, one conducted by Dorothy Seckler, Aug. 17, 1962, and another by Gerald Silk, May 22, 1981. There is also a small collection of three letters written by Jack Tworkov to friend Troy-Jjohn Bramberger.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N70-38 and 62) including writings by Tworkov, notebooks, notes for teaching and talks, notes on art and miscellaneous subjects, poems, artist's statements, biographical data, the transcript of a 1970 interview with Tworkov conducted by Phyllis Tuchman, and a few letters and drafts of letters, 1950-1963. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Jack Tworkov lent the Archives of American Art papers for microfilming in 1970-1971. Jack Tworkov's daughters, Hermine Ford and Helen Tworkov, donated the rest of the collection in 2009, which included some of the material from the original loan.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Alice Yamin papers, 1927-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection is open for research. Use of unmicrofilmed material requires an appointment.
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:
Fendrick Gallery records, 1952-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Rafael Ferrer, 1990 Sept. 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Support for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian's Collections Care Pool Fund.
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.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference 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:
Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
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:
Leo Castelli Gallery records, circa 1880-2000, bulk 1957-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the partial digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The papers of pop artist, sculptor, performance artist, and art instructor Marjorie Strider date from 1965-1978, and measure 1.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence with colleagues and art institutions, six diaries, scattered business and financial records, notes, writings, teaching and lecture typescripts, printed material, and photographs of the "Peoples' Hole Project" of a summer class taught by Strider at the University of Iowa in 1970.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of pop artist, sculptor, performance artist, and art instructor Marjorie Strider date from 1965-1978, and measure 1.8 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence with colleagues and art institutions, six diaries, scattered business and financial records, notes, writings, teaching and lecture typescripts, printed material, and photographs of the "Peoples' Hole Project" of a summer class taught by Strider at the University of Iowa in 1970.
Biographical materials include an address book. Correspondence is primarily between Strider, colleagues, and art institutions concerning exibitions and art-related activities. Six diaries dated from 1968 through 1973 contain very brief daily entries. Business records are primarily financial, but also include contracts for a commissioned poster for the HKL, Ltd. Project "Ikebana International," and for a merger between the stockholders of Chick Pea Conspiracy, Inc. and Max's Kansas City, Inc.
A teaching file contains material relating to a 1970 summer class taught by Strider and Scott Burton at the University of Iowa contains the best documentation about Strider's ideas about art. Included here are notes outlining various assignments for street performances and avant-garde uses of public spaces, writings by students describing their assignments, miscellaneous printed material, and notes, writings, clippings, and photographs concerning the "Peoples' Hole Project."
Additional notes and writings include miscellaneous teaching and lecture typescripts, a list of artists' names, and miscellaneous notes. Printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, prospectuses, and press releases.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into 7 series arranged chronologically:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1968 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1966-1977 (Box 1: 25 folders)
Series 3: Diaries, 1968-1973 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 4: Business Records, 1965-1976 (Boxes 1-2; 56 folders)
Series 5: Teaching File from University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1970 (Box 3; 11 folders)
Series 6: Notes and Writings, 1970-1977 (Box 3; 9 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1966-1978 (Box 3; 6 folders)
Biographical Note:
Marjorie Virginia Strider was born on January 26, 1931 in Guthrie, Oklahoma and attended the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating, she spent two years working on window displays for the Robinson Shoe Company in Kansas City.
By the early 1960s, Strider was working as a painter-sculptor in New York City. Along with work by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, her work was included in one of the first exhibitions of Pop Art, "First International Girlie Show" at Pace Gallery in 1965. Strider also had solo exhibitions at Pace Gallery in 1965 and 1966, and at Park College, Parkville, Missouri, in 1968.
In 1969, Strider began teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York. During the summer of 1970, she taught at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
In the early 1970s, Strider's work evolved into assemblage, three-dimensional multi-media organic forms, street installations, films, and performance pieces, with a characteristic theme of forms breaking out from confined spaces. One of her more famous works, Big Box, 1973, consisted of a hand-constructed cardboard carton displaying an eruption of polyurethane pouring down the side. In 1973 and 1974, Strider had solo exhibitions at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York City.
Strider also participated in group exhibitions at the Felix Handschin Gallery in Basel, Switzerland in 1970, at Boston Museum in 1972, at New York's School of Visual Arts in 1973 and, in 1974, at the Virginia Museum of Art and Storm King Art Center.
Strider's works are in the collections of the Albright-Knox Museum, Des Moines Art Center, New York University, Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Marjorie Strider lives in Saugerties, New York.
Provenance:
Marjorie Strider donated her papers in 1978.
Restrictions:
Use or 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.
The papers of Don Eddy include a variety of materials that document the realist painter's work, working methods, exhibitions, and his place in the history of Photorealism.
Biographical notes in a small notebook include chronological lists of all schools attended since kindergarten, employment history, and exhibition record; the same volume includes financial notes, names and addresses. Other financial records, also in a small notebook, record travel expenses. Family material concerns the memorial service for his father-in-law, AllenFrederick Behnke, at which Eddy spoke. Interviews may have been conducted as research for articles. Correspondence with Leda Cempellin concerns her writings and reserch about Eddy. Writings include an article and two theses about Eddy. Subject files concern arrangements by Galerie M. E. Thelen to exhibit Eddy's work at 5 venues in Germany, including "Documenta 5" (1972); and a surprise gift from artists to commemorate the Nancy Hoffman Gallery's 20th anniversary.
Printed material consists mainly of catalogs from Eddy's group and solo exhibitions and periodicals containing articles, reviews, and reproductions. The few printed items that do not mention Eddy concern Photorealism, friends or students. Books include: Conversazioni con Don Eddy/Converstions with Don Eddy by Leda Cempellin ; Don Eddy: The Resonance of Realism in the Art of Postwar America
by Virginia Anne Bonito; and L'imperrealismo "Fotographica" Americano in pittura: Rizonanze storiche nells East e nella West Coast . Miscellaneous printed items include reproductions of artwork by Eddy, newsletters, and a press kit concerning his 2000 solo exhibition at Duke University Museum of Art.
Artwork dates from the period when Eddy was studying at the University of Hawaii. His sketchbook contains mostly pencil drawings and includes some notes and brief writings. Photographs - along with some digital images, negatives, and 35-mm color slides - are mainly photographs taken by Eddy for inspiration and reference use, sometimes accompanied by drawings and brief notes. In additon there are a few viees of people, travel, exhibition installations, and artwork by Eddy.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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:
Don Eddy and Leigh Behnke papers, 1966-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Don Eddy and Leigh Behnke papers, 1966-2009, measure 7.2 linear feet. Photographic materials, printed material, and writings document the realist painters' work, working methods, and exhibitions. Also found are subject files, some professional correspondence and personal photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Don Eddy and Leigh Behnke papers, 1966-2009, measure 7.2 linear feet. Photographic materials, printed material, and writings document the realist painters' work, working methods, and exhibitions. Also found are subject files, some professional correspondence, and personal photographs.
Don Eddy's papers consist largely of photographic materials, writings, and printed material. Photographic materials include images of completed work and a significant amount of source material that documents Eddy's working methods. Also found are exhibition installation views, personal and travel pictures. Writings include a dissertation and two theses in which he figures prominently. Most printed material mentions Eddy or contains reproductions of his work.
The papers of Leigh Behnke, less voluminous than her husband's, are comprised mainly of photographic materials, printed material, and subject files. Among the photographic materials are images that served as source material and document her working methods. All printed material mentions Behnke or contains reproductions of her work. Subject files document projects, exhibitions, and miscellaneous topics.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Don Eddy papers, 1966-2009 (Boxes 1-6, 9-10; 5.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Leigh Behnke papers, 1974-2009 (Boxes 6-9; 1.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Don Eddy (b. 1944) and Leigh Behnke (b. 1946) are realist painters in New York City. They are married and both teach at the School of Visual Arts. Eddy is one of the thirteen original Photorealists.
Don Eddy was born in Long Beach, California. From around age ten until he left home to attend college, he worked at his father's auto body shop and became proficient in airbrush technique and color matching paint. Eddy studied with Jean Charlot at the University of Hawaii (B.F.A. 1967, M.F.A. 1969). His early paintings employed pictorial illusion and their subject matter came from material culture; part-time work as a tourist photographer in Honolulu prompted him to experiment with and think deeply about photography, leading him to the style that would come to be known as Photorealism. He was first recognized for paintings of automobiles done in acrylic using the spray technique learned at the auto body shop. From the 1970s and well into the next decade, Eddy's work was object oriented. Later, he produced "dream" paintings that included details from Old Master paintings, floating objects that introduced psychological elements and perceptual challenges. Over the next decade he simplified his imagery by pursuing still life and nature painting with complex, layered surfaces. Using photographs he takes himself as source material, Eddy continues to paint urban and nature scenes and has developed elaborate procedures for underpainting and overpainting. He teaches at the School of Visual Arts and is represented by Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York.
Leigh Behnke, a native of Hartford, Connecticut, moved to New York City to attend Pratt Institute (B.F.A. 1969) and later studied at New York University (M.A. 1976). Behnke paints in oil and watercolor using her own photographs and digital images as source material. Interests in architecture, interiors, history, memory, nature, and scientific concepts are reflected in her work. She combines images and employs multi panels (diptych and polyptych) as a device for focusing on perception and pictorial space, commenting on images, and redefining subjects from other vantage points. Behnke has taught at the School of Visual Arts since 1979. She is represented by Fischbach Gallery, New York, and Plus One Gallery, London.
Provenance:
Donated by Don Eddy and Leigh Behnke in 2009.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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:
Don Eddy and Leigh Behnke papers, 1966-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
