Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Massimo Vignelli, 2011 June 6-7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Massimo Vignelli conducted 2011 June 6-7, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Vignelli's home and office, in New York, New York.
Vignelli speaks of his youth and early start in art design and architecture; his early work at Catiglione architects at the age of 16; his father; his education; meeting his favorite architects; his influences; architecture and design magazines; organic and rationalist architecture in Italy; influence of Ignazio Gardella; Adolf Loos' idea of spoon to the city; European, American, and Italian architecture; education in Milan; his work with Venini Glass; Italian design; his early graphic work; design and vulgarity; marriage and working with Lella Vignelli; graphic design work at the Container Corporation; concept of design as a whole; his work on corporate identities; his establishment of Vignelli Associates; introduction and use of Helvetica in the United States; working with Knoll; choosing clients; design and culture; his work on St. Peter's Lutheran Church; design work for the United States National Parks newspaper design and layout; Unimark; timelessness and design; working with Poltrona Frau, Zero Labor design; major influences; his work for the United States Postal Service; connectivity and context in architecture; his clothing designs and historical perspectives on clothing; postmodernism; his work on the New York Subway; design work before and after computers; Japanese architecture and design; his work as a teacher; Oliviero Toscani and working for Benetton; America and international design; modernism and the office building; modern design and furniture; a timeline of his career; the Vignelli Center at RIT and archiving. Vignelli also recalls, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Giuseppe Terragni, Giuseppe Pagano, Domus, Gió Ponti, Metron, Bruno Zevi, Ignazio Gardella, Ray and Charles Eames, Giancarlo De Carlo, Venini Glass, Carlo Scarpa, Ralph Eckerstrom, Umberto Eco, Sansoni Publishing House, Vignelli Associates, Walter Kacik, Helvetica, Knoll, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, National Parks, New York Herald, Unimark, Lella Vignelli, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Poltrona Frau, Dieter Rams, Louis Kahn, Stendig Calendar, A to Z, Salon de Mobile, Michael Graves, Robert Venturi, Oliviero Toscani, Benetton, Herman Miller, Steelcase, and the Vignelli Center.
Biographical / Historical:
Massimo Vignelli (1931- ) is a designer in New York, New York. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 9 sound files. Duration is 6 hr., 52 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Correspondence is between Spohn and his colleagues, including two letters from Alexander Calder, eight letters from Mark Rothko, and twenty-eight letters from Clyfford Still.
See Appendix for an alphabetical list of correspondents from Series 2.2.
Appendix: Alphabetical List of Correspondents in 2.2:
Abend, George and Kitty Parker Abend (artists): 1950-1960 (4 letters)
Abingdon Square Painters: 1958 (1 letter)
Addison Gallery of American Art: 1958 (2 letters)
American Artists' Congress: 1938 (1 letter)
American Library of Color Slides: 1941 (1 letter)
Anderson, Claude J. K.: 1958 (1 letter)
Anderson, Wendell (poet): 1955-1956 (2 letters)
Archives of American Art: 1964 (4 letters)
Art Academy of Cincinnati: 1958-1959 (3 letters)
Art Association of Newport: 1958 (1 letter)
Art Career School: 1958 (1 letter)
Artists Equity Association: 1950 (1 letter)
Arts and Architecture: 1963 (1 letter)
Art Students League: 1958-1964 (2 letters)
Art Times: 1959 (1 letter)
Art Workshop of the Rivington Neighborhood Asociation, Inc.: 1958 (1 letter)
Ashton, Dore: 1969 (1 letter)
Ayer, Phyllis: 1956 (1 letter)
Bachels, Andrew: 1969 (1 letter)
Barnett, Rici: 1973 (1 letter)
Barron, John N.: 1966 (1 letter)
Beasley, David and Viola: 1963-1978 (11 letters)
Bender: Albert M. Bender Memorial Trust: 1947-1951 (2 letters)
Bethers, Peggy: 1940 (1 letter)
Blesh, Rudi: 1960 (1 letter)
Board of Education, City of New York: 1958-1965 (2 letters)
Booth, James W. (family friend): 1943-1956 (7 letters)
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture: 1966 (1 letter)
Brown, Lesley: 1955 (1 letter)
Burke, Bob: 1971 (1 letter)
Burnham, Janet B.: 1950 (1 letter)
Bute, Janey: 1971 (1 letter)
Calcagno, Lawrence: 1969-1977 (5 letters)
Calder, Alexander: 1970-1972 (2 letters)
California Palace of the Legion of Honor: 1964 (1 letter)
California School of Fine Arts: 1955-1964 (2 letters)
California: University of California at Berkeley: 1940 (1 letter)
California: University of California at Santa Clara: 1975-1976 (2 letters)
Carewe, Sylvia: 1969 (1 letter)
Carr, James F.: 1967 (1 letter)
Chase Manhattan Bank: 1971 (2 letters)
Chisholm, Stuart (landscape architect): 1925 (1 letter)
Clayton, Janice: undated and 1965-1974 (6 letters)
Clifton, Jim and Mary (owners of a Spohn painting): 1956 (1 letter)
College Art Association: 1949 (1 letter)
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: 1952-1970 (4 letters)
Cooke, Regina: 1955 (1 letter)
Cooley, Anne: 1941 (1 letter)
Corbett, Ed and Steff, and Rosamond Tirana: undated and 1951-1977(47 letters, including a 1962 wedding announcement for Corbett and Tirana, and a letter dated Mar 21, 1963 enclosing a photograph of Ed with an amputated foot)
Craig, Jeanne: 1963 (2 letters)
Crawford, Jane and Ernie: 1958 (3 letters)
Crehan, Hub and Anne: 1960 (1 letter)
Crewe, Sylvia: 1969 (1 letter)
Crews, Judson and Mildred (publishers of poetry magazine in Taos): 1952-1969 (4 letters)
Cumming, Ann (and Jennifer Sutcliffe): 1956 (1 letter)
Cunningham, Ben: 1950 (1 letter)
D'Arcangelo, Allan and Sylvia: 1965 (1 letter)
Dasburg, Andrew: 1961 (1 letter)
DePuy, John: 1964 (1 letter)
Diebenkorn, Richard: 1951 (1 letter)
Dilexi Gallery (L. James Newman): 1965 (1 letter)
Dixon, Budd (J.B.) and Peggy: 1954-1970 (5 letters)
Gallery of Modern Art, Taos, N.M.: 1972 (1 letter)
Garcia, Enos: 1954 (1 letter)
Georgiadis, Alex: 1951 (1 letter)
Gettell, Mrs. Richard Glenn: 1958 (an invitation to meet Col. George Lincoln)
Gluck, Heidi: 1977 (1 letter)
Gomez, Dorothy Massey (mother of anthropologist Bill Massey): 1950 (1 letter)
Gomez, Joe: undated and 1971 (2 letters)
Grant, Bob: 1953-1972 (2 letters)
Grant, Carolyn: 1969 (1 letter)
Great Neck Board of Education: 1960 (1 letter)
Grimm, Marjorie: 1973 (1 letter)
Grossmann, Nancy: 1966 (1 letter)
Guggenheim: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: 1953-1954 (2 letters)
Harwood Foundation: 1953-1956 (2 letters)
Harris, Roger: 1973 (1 letter)
Hawley, W. R.: 1977 (1 letter enclosing an exhibition catalog "Unemployed Wizards")
Heischman, R. L.: undated (1 letter)
Hill, Dorothy: 1967 (2 letters)
Hocks, Fred: 1952 (1 letter)
Howard, Ellen and Galen: 1957 (1 letter)
Howard, Robert Boardman and Adaline Kent (San Francisco sculptors): 1951-1955 (2 letters)
Howard, Madge Knight and Charles H.: 1946-1954 (21 letters)
Hultburg, John and Lynne: 1959-1974 (5 letters)
Huntsville Museum of Art: see Braunstein/Quay Gallery
Hurst, Tricia: 1977 (1 letter)
Hutchinson, Mrs. D. H.: 1925 (1 letter)
Illinois: University of Illinois at Urbana: 1952 (2 letters)
Jackson: Martha Jackson Gallery: 1965 (1 letter)
Jacobson, Art (artist) and Ursula: 1950-1960 (9 letters)
Jonson Gallery: 1969-1970 (2 letters)
Kadish, Reuben: 1958 (1 letter)
Kahl: Leone Kahl Gallery: 1964 (1 letter)
Karnes, Marion Watson: undated and 1947-1954 (80 letters from Spohn)
Keeney, James: 1963 (1 letter)
Kieve, Rudolph: 1971 (3 letters)
King, Vivie and Rufus: 1977 (1 letter)
Kingman, Dong: undated calling card
Kuhlman, Walt: 1957 (2 letters)
Kultberg, Lynne and John: 1965 (1 letter)
Labaudt, Lucien: 1943 (1 letter)
Labaudt, Marcelle: 1956 (1 letter)
Landgren, Paula: undated (1 letter)
Lannan, J. Patrick (The Susquehanna Corporation/ The Lannan Foundation): 1966-1971 (4 letters); see Personal Business Records for correspondence pertaining to the Foundation's support of Spohn, 1961-1962
LaPlante, John (Stanford University): 1949 (1 letter)
Lazarus, Rosalind: 1960 (1 letter)
LeBow-Gould Associates: 1958 (3 letters)
Lee, Martha: 1957 (1 letter)
Lehman, Margarett: 1957 (1 letter)
Letter Shop: 1956 (1 letter)
Library of Congress Copyright Office: 1932 (1 letter concerning the trisection of an arbitrary angle)
Lippincott, Janet (artist): 1955-1956 (5 letters)
Lockwood, Ward: 1952 (1 letter)
MacAgy, Douglas and Betty: undated and 1945-1973 (13 letters)
MacAgy, Jermayne (Jerry): 1945-1948 (2 letters)
Macdowell Colony: 1975 (1 letter)
Machcinski, Barbara: 1971 (1 letter)
MacIntyre, Carlyle F.: 1945 (1 letter)
Maes, Virginia: 1941 (1 letter)
Mare, Doris and Emil: 1969 (1 letter)
Marse, John J.: 1962 (1 letter)
Marter, Joan: 1977 (3 letters)
Martin, Agnes: 1958-1975 (3 letters)
Massey, Ellen DeSelms: 1940 (2 letters)
McCarthy, Francis Joseph (AIA): 1950 (1 change of address card)
McChesney, Mary (Fuller) and Mac: 1952-1977 (62 letters, including one dated May 21, 1968 decorated with a lizard skin, one dated Jun 08, 1973 enclosing a wooden Yalalag Indian good luck charm, and one dated May 26, 1976 enclosing a photograph of group and McChesney art work at Temko mansion in Berkeley)
McCormick, Herbert: 1951 (1 letter)
McDonald, Katharyn: 1963-1964 (2 letters)
Merlin Development Company: 1962 (1 letter)
Merrick, Barbara: 1975 (1 letter)
Meyer, Fleur Cowler: 1968 (1 letter)
Miller, Dorothy (Museum of Modern Art): 1952-1977 (8 letters)
Moore Dry Dock Company: 1942 (2 letters)
Murphy, Jack W. and Dori (owners of some of Spohn's work): 1951-1976 (7 letters)
Mygatt, Tony: 1954 (1 letter)
National Collection of Fine Arts: 1977 (1 letter)
Neininger, Urban and Jeanne: 1950-1976 (48 letters)
New Mexico Highlands University: 1958-1969 (3 letters)
New Mexico: Museum of New Mexico Art Gallery: 1952-1957 (3 letters)
New Mexico: University of New Mexico at Albuquerque: 1957-1970 (2 letters)
New York City Transit Authority: 1962-1963 (2 letters)
New York Saucer Information Bureau: 1962-1965 (2 letters)
New York University: 1958-1960 (3 letters)
Oakland Museum (Terry St. John): 1970-1977 (33 letters)
O'Connor, Francis V.: 1979 (1 letter)
Ohio State University: 1958 (1 letter)
Oldfield, Otis: 1942 (1 letter of recommendation for Spohn for Albert M. Bender Grants-in-Aid)
Olmsted, Frederick: 1943 (1 letter)
Oregon: University of Oregon: 1974-1975 (2 letters)
Ortman, George: 1964 (2 letters)
Otto, Curtis, Roberta, and Adrienne: 1957 (1 letter)
Oxford University Press: 1949 (1 letter)
Parrett, Fred C.: undated and 1954 (2 letters)
Peale, Norman Vincent (office of): 1975 (1 letter)
Pepsi-Cola Annual Art Competition: 1947 (2 letters)
Peterson, Arline? and Pete: 1955-1957 (2 letters)
Petrovo, Miriam: 1961-1971 (11 letters)
Pitney, Peggy and Ed: 1948 (1 letter)
Queens College: 1958 (2 letters)
Ramsay, Anna R.: 1954 (1 letter)
Rankine, Vivie (Mrs. Paul Scott Rankine): 1964-1981 (5 letters)
Remington, Deborah: 1963 (1 letter)
Reminick, Harry: 1954 (1 letter)
Reynal, Jeanne: 1941 (an invitation to a reception for Arshile Gorky) and 1952 (1 letter)
Ribak, Louis and Bea: 1954-1976 (5 letters)
Richards, Tally: 1971-1980 (5 letters)
Ridiman, Bob: 1963-1970 (4 letters)
Rogoway, Marjorie and Rog: undated and 1953-1968 (15 letters)
Rosebury, Amy and Ted: 1954 (1 letter)
Rosen, Michael: 1970-1974 (4 letters)
Roswell Museum and Art Center: 1977-1978 (6 letters)
Rothko Foundation: 1971-1975 (4 letters)
Rothko, Mark and Mell: 1946-1958 (8 letters)
Rusnell, Wesley: 1972-1979 (13 letters)
Sachs Gallery: undated and 1968 (2 letters)
St. John's College: 1969 (1 letter)
Salzer, Oscar: 1955 (1 letter)
Sanders, Una and John: 1975-1977 (6 letters)
Sands, Louis: 1948 (1 letter)
San Francisco Art Association: 1939-1955 (19 letters)
San Francisco Museum of Art: 1949-1977 (18 letters)
Saxe, Suzanne: 1972-1973 (2 letters)
Scarpitta, Pat and Sal: 1968 (1 letter)
Schneiderwirth, Joan (friend of Ed Corbett): 1955 (1 letter)
School of Visual Arts: 1964-1970 (86 letters)
Schubart, Pauline: 1950 (1 letter)
Shoemaker, Peter (former student of Spohn): 1955-1958 (5 letters)
Shiras, Mary: 1958-1965 (10 letters)
Sihvonen, Oli: 1953-1977 (66 letters)
Slivka, David: 1954 (1 letter)
Smith, Hassel: 1948 (1 letter)
Spoerri, John: 1965-1977 (10 letters)
Stables Art Gallery (Leone Kahl, director): 1956-1965 (14 letters)
Stanford University: 1946 (1 letter)
Stephens, Dick and Carolyn: 1960-1965 (3 letters)
Stevens: Arthur Stevens Book Club: 1968 (1 letter)
Still, Clyfford: 1948-1968 (28 letters, including one dated Nov 1950 to Ed Corbett, and one dated Nov 29, 1963 enclosing a hand-drawn map to Still's home)
Strehler, Allen (Sociologist): 1954 (1 letter)
Summers, Al: 1952 (1 letter)
Sutcliffe, Jennifer (beautiful English girl who passed through Taos with Ann Cumming): 1956 (2 letters)
Sznajderman, Marius: 1967 (1 letter)
Taggart, Bill, Sandy, and Sean: 1968 (1 letter)
Taos Artist's Association (Taos Art Association): 1956-1964 (6 letters)
Taos Realty: 1968-1969 (3 letters)
Tatarsky, Hy and Muriel: 1952-1957 (2 letters)
Tatarsky, Stephanie: 1963-1964 (7 letters)
Taylor, Gene: 1925 (letter of introduction to Erskine Gwynne)
Temianka, Henri: 1941 (1 letter)
Tensan, Keith and Gene: 1957 (1 letter)
Terrain Gallery: 1960 (1 letter)
Terry Art Institute: 1951-1952 (7 letters)
Third Street Gallery (Helen Kaye, Director): 1950 (1 letter)
Thomas, Corine (owner of a Spohn painting): 1954-1957 (7 letters)
Tirana, Rosamond: undated and 1958-1962 (10 letters); see Corbett, Edward for additional letters
Van Duren, Allan and Betsy: 1953 (1 letter)
Van Ingen, Pat: 1973 (2 letters)
Varda, Yantoo?: 1949 (1 letter)
Visual Arts Gallery: 1967 (2 letters)
Vollmer, George A.: 1945-1948 (3 letters)
Von Herberg, Charlotte: 1950-1958 (2 letters)
Wakefield, Ruth Cravath: 1943 (1 letter of recommendation for Spohn)
Wandell, Walt and Doreen: 1958 (1 letter)
Wasley, Emily (aunt) and Sarah Rhoads (cousin): 1946-1955 (14 letters)
Wehrer, Anne: 1974 (1 letter)
Whaley, Bill: 1974 (1 letter)
White, Minor: 1963 (1 letter)
Who's Who In American Art: 1952-1969 (5 letters)
Who's Who In The Midwest: 1959 (1 letter)
Who's Who In The West: 1959 (1 letter)
Willard, Charlotte: 1960-1967 (3 letters)
Williams, Matilda A.: 1958 (1 letter)
Wilmans, Margery and Steve: 1974 (1 letter)
Winston, James W.: 1941 (1 letter)
Wise: Howard Wise Gallery: 1962 (1 letter)
Woelffer, Emerson and Diana: 1955-1958 (5 letters)
Wood, Ralph: 1960-1970 (5 letters)
Wright, Dorothy: 1926 (1 letter)
Wurlitzer: Helene Wurlitzer Foundation: 1954-1957 (3 letters)
Young-Hunter, Mrs. John: 1959 (1 letter)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use of unfilmed 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:
Clay Spohn Papers, circa 1862-1985, bulk 1890-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
A high percentage of the items are dated circa 1975-1988, the years when Stewart was a graudate student at New York University. Items continued to be added after his dissertation was completed. Material added after 2004 largely concerns posthumously published writings. On occasion, these files have been referred to and possibly cited as Jack Stewart's "Mass Transit Art Graffiti collection."
Published posthumously, Graffiti Kings: New York Mass Transit Art in the 1970s by Jack Stewart was based on his dissertation. Of particular note are the interviews (on 30 sound cassettes, 3 sound tape reels, and in digital format), transcripts, lengthy lists of graffiti writers' names/"tags," and Profile of a Common Offender compiled by the New York City Police Department. Interviews consist mainly of graffiti writers looking at slides and identifying graffiti and their writers. Also found in an interview with an official of the New York City Transit Authority. Many of the recordings have transcripts. Some of the transcripts identify slides that were being viewed during the conversation. Other transcripts do not appear to have recordings associated with them in the collection. Some transcripts are handwritten, some are typewritten, and others are simply notes from conversations. Where transcripts have been identified as directly documenting recordings in the collection it is noted in the folder listing.
Also among the research files on graffiti is a copy of the first known instance of graffiti appearing in advertising - a Volvo ad showing the car parked in front of a graffiti covered wall.
Arrangement note:
Some files are grouped by subject or record type. Paper records are arranged alphabetically. Transcripts and interview recordings are arranged chronologically.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. This collection is copyright restricted.
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:
Jack Stewart papers, 1926-2010. 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. This collection is copyright restricted.
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:
Jack Stewart papers, 1926-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Jack Stewart papers are dated 1926-2010 and measure 9.9 linear feet and 7.31 GB. A significant portion of the collection concerns Stewart's dissertation, "Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway" (New York University, 1989), related research, writings, and exhibitions on the subject. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, printed and digital material, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials document his career as a painter, muralist, designer, educator and administrator.
Scope and Content Note:
The Jack Stewart papers are dated 1926-2010 and measure 9.9 linear feet and 7.31 GB. A significant portion of the collection concerns Stewart's dissertation, "Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway" (New York University, 1989), related research, writings, and exhibitions on the subject. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, printed and digital material, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials document his career as a painter, muralist, designer, educator and administrator.
Biographical materials include a "Video Archive" in digital format, consisting mainly of Jack Stewart being interviewed on several occasions by Nancy Gold for her television show, "What It Takes." In addition to discussions about Stewart's career, the shows include examples of his paintings and murals along with views of him at work.
Correspondence mostly documents Stewart's artistic career and work as an educator and administrator; there is some personal correspondence, as well. Of particular note are letters to Rodman Townsend who commissioned a mural about the human brain; they discuss the details of the project and its evolution, brain research, and subsequent exhibitions of related paintings. Illustrated letters and greeting cards with original artwork are from Violet Baxter, Lorrie Goulet, Wolf Kahn, Clare Romano, Anthony Toney, and Sam Weiner. Herbert Brooks Walker sent several pieces of mail art and, while in Italy, collected graffiti information for Stewart. Letters Stewart wrote to his mother span decades; the best represented periods are the years he served in the U.S. Army and studied at Yale University.
Writings and notes consist of Stewart's dissertation ("Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway"), miscellaneous writings and notes, and art and architecture notebooks. Dissertation documentation includes the manuscript, drafts, and related records. Among the miscellaneous writings and notes - published and unpublished - are shorter pieces, articles, student papers, and teaching notes. Of particular interest are notes/instructions for a performance piece titled "Endless Subway," "Memories of Steffan Thomas" and "My Recollection of Charles Egan." Also found are minutes of Cooper Union adjunct faculty meetings (1965-1966), and reports written when provost of the Rhode Island School of Design. Art and architecture notebooks (5 volumes) were compiled while at Yale University.
Research files on graffiti contain many sound recordings and some transcripts of interviews with graffiti writers, voluminous lists of graffiti writers' names/tags, correspondence, notes, photographs, and a wide variety of printed material. Some of the material is in digital format. Stewart began collecting these materials as his interest in graffiti developed. They were used for his dissertation and material continued to be added after the dissertation was completed.
Printed material mentioning Stewart or containing reproductions of his work includes exhibition catalogs, posters, and newsletters.
Artwork by Jack Stewart consists of drawings, paintings, and one etching; also found are designs and plans for tables, murals, and other projects. Drawings include figure studies, heads, and landscapes; most are in pencil and some in ink. The small number of paintings are oil on canvas (removed from stretchers), and gouache on paper and board. Sketchbooks (44 volumes) contain mostly pencil drawings and sketches, and a few studies for paintings and murals. Two volumes include writings about travels and events; of particular interest are "Notes on Kline's funeral May 1962," "Visit to Roman Bronze Art Foundry," and "Notes on My Development."
Photographic materials consist mainly photographs, but also include digital images and 35-mm color slides. Images of Stewart include views of him with paintings and working in his studio. Identified individuals with whom he appears are: Regina Stewart (wife), Brandon Stewart (son), Lil Stewart (mother), Ninalee Craig, Irving Sandler, and students in Urbino, Italy. Photographs of artwork document murals such as Raw Material (composed of shirt labels), and Versailles Hotel in Miami Beach; among the paintings documented are State of the Union, Icons of Western Art and Revelation XVI-16 (both with keys to individuals portrayed). Exhibition openings and installations are shown in photographs, color slides, and video recordings. Also found are photographs of the World Trade Center site taken by Stewart in December 2001.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1926-circa 2009 (Boxes 1,11; 0.6 linear foot, ER01-ER02, 3.92 GB)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1944-2009 (Boxes 1-2; 0.7 linear foot)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1947-2003 (Boxes 2-5; 3.1 linear foot)
Series 4: Research Files on Graffiti, 1972-2010 (Boxes 5-7,11; 2.8 linear foot, ER03-ER05, 3.18 GB)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1945-2002 (Boxes 8, 11, OV 13; 0.7 linear foot)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1990-2003 (Box 8; 0.2 linear foot)
Series 7: Artwork, 1946-2000 (Boxes 8, 11, OV 12; 0.3 linear foot)
Series 8: Sketchbooks, 1951-2004 (Boxes 8-9; 1.3 linear foot)
Series 9: Photographic Materials, circa 1950s-2010 (Boxes 10-11; 0.4 linear foot, ER06-ER07, 0.208 GB)
Biographical Note:
Jack Stewart (1926-2005) was a painter, muralist, designer, educator and administrator in New York City. After developing an interest in graffiti in the 1970s, Stewart eventually wrote a dissertation on the subject, "Subway Graffiti: An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway" (New York University, 1989) and was recognized as an expert on mass transit art.
Jack Stewart began studying art at the High Museum School in his hometown of Atlanta when he was 10 years old. At age 14, he began a 4 year apprenticeship with painter and sculptor Steffen Thomas. After serving in World War II, he enrolled at Yale University (B.F.A. 1951) as a sculpture student, but soon switched to the painting department where he studied with Josef Albers and Willem de Kooning. After graduation, Stewart began receiving mural commissions and enrolled in classes at Columbia University School of Architecture (1951-1953). His interest in architecture was tied to understanding how to work effectively with architects on mural projects. Later, Stewart developed an interest in graffiti which he pursued through graduate study at New York University (M.A., 1975 and Ph.D., 1989).
Stewart created murals in ceramic tile, mixed media and stained glass. In addition to mosaic murals, he designed tables with mosaic tops. As an outgrowth of his mosaic work, Stewart developed a technique for laminating stained glass onto plate glass that, by eliminating the need for lead, opened new design possibilities. Mural commissions included work for Hamilton Hotel in Chicago, Versailles Hotel in Miami Beach, Public School 28 in New York City, and several ocean liners. The most unusual mural, Raw Material commissioned by Cluett Peabody and Company, was composed of shirt labels embedded in acrylic.
Beginning in 1950 Stewart participated regularly in group shows and enjoyed solo exhibitions mainly in the New York City area. He also showed in Philadelphia, Georgia, Rhode Island, Mexico and Italy, and was included in exhibitions circulated by the American Federation of Arts.
Stewart taught at the college level for nearly thirty years, including: The New School (art and architecture, 1953-1958); Pratt Institute (interior architectural design, 1955-1960); The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (painting, drawing, human anatomy, art history, 1960-1976; Art Department Chairman, 1971-1976); International Center of Mythymna, American Division, Lesbos, Greece (summer school, 1962-1965); Columbia University (M.F.A. program instructor, 1966-1976); and New York University (drawing, 1967-1975). In 1976 he was appointed Vice President and Provost of the Rhode Island School of Design.
Stewart was active in several professional organizations. He served as New York Artists Equity Association Secretary (1986-1987) and President (1987-1989); President of the National Society of Mural Painters (1996-2000); member of the advisory board of the Steffen Thomas Museum and Archives, Buckhead, GA (1997- 2000s); and President of the Fine Arts Federation of New York (2003-2004). The National Academy of Design elected Jack Stewart an Academician in 1995.
Jack Stewart and Margot Schwarzhaupt, an artist, were married in 1947; they had one son, Brandon. Painter and arts administrator, Regina Serniak, became Jack Stewart's wife in 1976.
Jack Stewart died in New York City in 2005.
Related Materials:
Jack Stewart papers, 1926-2015, are located at Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.
Provenance:
Donated in 2010 by Regina Stewart, widow of Jack Stewart.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. This collection is copyright restricted.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
