The papers of African American graphic artist and arts educator Calvin Burnett measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1979, with the bulk of the collection dating from the 1960s to the 1970s. The papers contain biographical material, correspondence, writings, material related to his education and professional activities, personal business records, printed material, a scrapbook, and a small amount of photographs and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of graphic artist and arts educator Calvin Burnett measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1979, with the bulk of the collection dating from the 1960s to the 1970s. The papers contain biographical material, correspondence, writings, material related to his education and professional activities, personal business records, printed material, a scrapbook, and a small amount of photographs and artwork.
Biographical material consists of resumes, biographical notes/drafts, certificates from volunteer organizations, an interview transcript, and personal calendars.
Correspondence consists of letters and drafts of letters to and from Burnett. Some partial fragments of letters are housed with the undated correspondence.
Writings consist of two subseries and includes both materials related to Burnett's book, Objective Drawing, as well as notes, notecards, poetry, and some class assignments.
Education and professional activities also includes two subseries. Teaching and education files consist of materials related to Burnett's time as both a student and an instructor. These include class notes, assignments, course materials, correspondence, etc. Black Artists Union, committee work, and related materials include materials related to the Black Artists Union (BAU), the Committee on Urban Education (CUE), and the Committee on Minority Affairs, and their work. These items include memos, printed materials, reports, and other documentation.
Personal business records consist of correspondence, financial documents, printed material, and notes related to commercial art jobs, consultations, sales, loans, and exhibitions.
Photographs are of Burnett, other individuals, and works of art. Not all of the works of art appear to be by Burnett.
Artwork includes drawings and three small sketchbooks.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1947-1979 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1941-1979 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1950s-1970s (Boxes 1-2; 0.9 linear feet, OV 7)
Series 4: Education and Professional Activities, 1920-1970s (Boxes 2-5; 2.5 linear feet)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1947-1979 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1938-1979 (Boxes 5-6; 0.5 linear feet, OV 7)
Series 7: Scrapbook, 1937-1951 (Box 6; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1946-1972 (Box 6; 1 folder)
Series 9: Artwork, 1941-1942 (Box 6; 2 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Calvin Burnett (1921-2007) was an African American graphic artist, illustrator, and arts educator. He graduated from the Massachusetts School of Art (also known as MassArt; now the Massachusetts College of Art and Design) in 1942, and earned his MFA from Boston University in 1960. He later received another degree in arts education. Burnett taught at a number of institutions in the Northeast, including the DeCordova Museum and the Massachusetts School of Art, where he was the first African American to be appointed to the faculty, and where he taught for 33 years.
While on the faculty at the Massachusetts School of Art, Burnett was involved with the Black Artists Union, the Committee on Urban Education, and the Committee on Minority Affairs. Among their many functions, these groups advocated for more diverse representation in faculty and more funding for minority and disadvantaged students.
In 1966, Burnett published the book, Objective Drawing, about perspective. His interest in the subject and the idea for the book grew out of his teaching the perspective course at the Massachusetts School of Art (Oral history interview with Calvin Burnett, 1980 June 13-1981 January 6. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Transcript p.41).
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Calvin Burnett conducted by Robert Brown, June 13, 1980-January 6, 1981.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Calvin Burnett in 1990.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Calvin Burnett or his heirs. 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 papers of painter Ernest Briggs measure 2.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2013, bulk 1940-1983. The collection documents the life and career of this second generation abstract expressionist through biographical material; correspondence with artists and critics; writings and five diaries that chronicle the changing art world from 1950s-1970s; personal business records; printed material; and a significant amount of photographic material documenting the artist and his work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Ernest Briggs measure 2.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2013, bulk 1940-1983. The collection documents the life and career of this second generation abstract expressionist through biographical material; correspondence with artists and critics; writings and five diaries that chronicle the changing art world from 1950s-1970s; personal business records; printed material; and a significant amount of photographic material documenting the artist and his work. Papers dating from after Briggs's death were created and kept by Anne Arnold.
Notable correspondents include Hubert Crehan, Mary McChesney, Dorothy Miller, Clyfford Still, and Howard Wise. One outgoing letter to Clement Greenberg offers Briggs's criticism of Art and Culture.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-1984 (1 folder; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2001 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1960-19854 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Diaries, 1976-1984 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, 19460s-2000s (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1949-2013 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1-2, OV 4)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1900-1990, bulk 1940-1984 (0.8 linear feet; Box 2-3, OV 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Ernest Briggs (1923-1984) was a second generation abstract expressionist painter working in New York City and Maine. He was born in San Diego, California and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After returning home, Briggs studied at the California College of Fine Art in San Francisco from 1947-1951 under Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, David Park, and Mark Rothko. He moved to New York in 1953 and began exhibiting at the Stable Gallery. In 1956 Briggs was included in the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition, 12 Americans curated by Dorothy Miller. Briggs taught at Pratt Institute from 1961-1984. He was married to the sculptor Anne Arnold.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Ernest Briggs conducted by Barbara Shikler in 1982 and the papers of sculptor, Anne Arnold, Briggs' wife.
Provenance:
Ernest Briggs donated papers in 1980 with the bulk of the collection donated in 2015 by the Anne Arnold Estate, via Robert Brooks and Janice Kasper, executors.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Whipple, Fred L. (Fred Lawrence), 1906-2004, interviewee Search this
Extent:
4 audiotapes (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Transcripts
Audiotapes
Date:
1976
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conducts interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Whipple was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his central role in the modernization of the SAO and his outstanding contributions to science. For additional
information, see the following related collections in Smithsonian Archives: the records of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; the Fred Lawrence Whipple Papers; and
Record Unit 9542, Multiple Mirror Telescope videohistory interviews.
Descriptive Entry:
Whipple was interviewed on June 24 and 25, 1976 by Pamela M. Henson. The interviews cover his education; radar countermeasure work during World War II; role in the development
of national programs for astrophysics and space exploration; research program on comets, meteors, and interplanetary material; administration of SAO; development of Mt. Hopkins,
MMT, and optical tracking programs; and reminiscences of colleagues such as Imre G. Izsak, Craig M. Merrihue, and Carlton W. Tillinghast.
Historical Note:
Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906-2004), received the B.A. in mathematics with a minor in physics and astronomy from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1927 and
the Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1931. His early training focused on comet orbits. After teaching for a year at Stanford University,
he joined the staff of the Harvard College Observatory in 1931 and remained in Cambridge throughout his career. During the 1930s his work focused on double station meteor
research. From 1943 to 1945, he developed radar countermeasures for the U. S. Army Radiation Laboratory of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. After World War
II he worked on development of the Super-Schmidt cameras to photograph meteors and continued research on the influx of material from comets into the interplanetary medium.
His comet research culminated in publication of the Icy Comet Model in 1950. During the forties he also conducted studies of meteor hazards to spacecraft, inventing the meteor
bumper, and served on the Rocket and Satellite Research Panel. In the early fifties, with Wernher von Braun and Cornelius J. Ryan, he coauthored a series of popular articles
on the conquest of the space frontier.
His teaching career at Harvard University progressed from Instructor, 1932-1938; Lecturer, 1938-1945; Associate Professor, 1945-1950; Professor, 1950-1970; Chairman of
the Department of Astronomy, 1949-1956; to Phillips Professor of Astronomy, 1970-1977. Thus when Whipple was appointed Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
(SAO) in July 1955, he moved its headquarters to the Cambridge campus and continued as Professor and member of the Harvard College Observatory staff. He reorganized the Smithsonian's
observatory and reoriented its research program. Under his directorship, the staff grew from a handful to more than five hundred, including over sixty scientists.
At the request of the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences, Whipple began development of Baker-Nunn cameras to track artificial satellites during
the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958). With the help of Armand N. Spitz, he also developed the Moonwatch optical tracking program, which utilized teams of volunteers
observing satellites with hand-held telescopes. When Sputnik was launched in October of 1957, the Moonwatch teams were the only U. S. mechanism available to track the Russian
satellite. The SAO subsequently received large contracts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to operate the Satellite Tracking Program (STP), an optical
tracking system with Baker-Nunn camera stations located all over the globe. Whipple's satellite tracking work earned him the 1963 Distinguished Civilian Service Award from
President John F. Kennedy.
The Prairie Network, an optical tracking system designed to photograph meteorites and fireballs in order to calculate their orbits, created by Whipple and Richard E. McCrosky,
began observations in 1964. Coordination of STP camera observations with Jodrell Bank Observatory radio data on flare stars led to the first identification of radio noise
from any star besides the sun.
SAO relied on early computers such as the Mark IV, IBM 7090, and CDC 6400 for rapid processing of massive quantities of data. Baker-Nunn and Super-Schmidt camera data were
directly processed by automated means, which made possible the 1966 SAO Star Catalog, coordinated by Katherine L. Haramundanis. Whipple required direct publication from computer
tapes, a first for the U. S. Government Printing Office. Observations from the STP were progressively refined during the sixties through new laser tracking techniques and
advances in automated data processing, to provide improved geodetic and geophysical data. In the early sixties, stellar atmosphere models were developed with the aid of an
IBM 7090 and after 1966 a CDC 6400, in anticipation of far ultraviolet light data from orbiting observatories. Based on this experience in upper atmosphere research, Whipple
was appointed project director for the orbiting astronomical observatories from 1958 to 1972.
The telegraph service of the International Astronomical Union came to the SAO in 1965 under the coordination of Owen J. Gingerich and later Brian G. Marsden. It utilized
SAO's sophisticated communications network and led eventually to the creation of the Center for Short-Lived Phenomena by Robert A. Citron.
Development of an observatory site at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, began in 1966. Chosen by Whipple for its altitude and seeing conditions, the site was dedicated in 1981 as the
Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. On this site, in conjunction with the U. S. Air Force and University of Arizona, he developed the technically innovative Multiple Mirror
Telescope (MMT), which commenced observations in May of 1979.
In addition to his own research program on comets, meteors, and interplanetary materials, Whipple coordinated the SAO research programs in celestial mechanics, geodesy,
meteoritics, radio astronomy, neutrino searches, stellar atmosphere models, and the atomic clock project to test the theory of relativity. He encouraged NASA's lunar program
and development of the space telescope.
Whipple was distinguished both for his theoretical work in astrophysics and his technical innovations in such areas as tracking cameras, multiple mirror telescopes, and
meteor bumpers. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Whipple received the Academy's J. Lawrence Smith Medal in 1949 for his meteor research. He was awarded the Kepler
Medal by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1971 and the Joseph Henry Medal of the Smithsonian Institution in 1973. Through his work on numerous federal
and private boards, panels, and commissions, Whipple was influential in the development of national programs for research in astrophysics and creation of a space exploration
program.
Whipple retired from administration of SAO in 1973 but continued active research as a Senior Scientist from 1973 to 1977. Upon his retirement in 1977, he was appointed
Emeritus Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard.
National Press Photographers Association Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Photographic History Search this
Extent:
28 Sound tape reels (1/4"audio tapes, open reel)
0.66 Cubic feet (2 boxes )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tape reels
Interviews
Audiotapes
Oral history
Place:
Iwo Jima (Japan)
Date:
1957-1968
Scope and Contents:
Includes conversations with significant photographers and their experiences documenting historic events. Some of the material is associated with John Faber's book, "Great Moments in News Photography" (New York: T. Nelson, 1960). Includes Faber's interview with photographer Joe Rosenthal about his famed Iwo Jima photograph.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Unarranged.
Biographical / Historical:
National Press Photographers Association Oral Histories
Provenance:
Photographic History Collection, NMAH.,Transfer.,1997/10/08.,1981.0483.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and use on site. Reference copies are not available.
Rights:
CCollection 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.
The papers of art critic and photographer Max Kozloff measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1950-2015. The collection provides a glimpse into the work life of a prolific twentieth century American art critic through biographical material, correspondence with artists and critics, interviews, many unpublished writings, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art critic and photographer Max Kozloff measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1950-2015. The collection provides a glimpse into the work life of a prolific twentieth century American art critic through biographical material, correspondence with artists and critics, interviews, many unpublished writings, and printed material.
Notable correspondents include David Antin, Allan Kaprow, Phil Leider, Dore Ashton, Jasper Johns, Robert Motherwell, Susan Sontag, Linda Nochlin, Miriam Schapiro, and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1950-1970 (2 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1961-2014 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Interviews, 1993-2014 (4 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1950s-2015 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1965-2015 (8 folders; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
Max Kozloff (1933- ) is an art critic and photographer in New York City. He received his BA in Art History from the University of Chicago in 1953 and studied at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, from 1959-1963. Kozloff wrote the art column for The Nation from 1961-1968, was associate and contributing editor to Artforum from 1963-1974 and executive editor from 1974-1976. Kozloff has published numerous essays and books, among them, Renderings (1969), Jasper Johns (1972), The Privileged Eye (1987), New York: Capital of Photography (2002), and The Theatre of the Face (2007). As a photographer, he has held exhibitions both in New York and internationally. Kozloff is the recipient of various awards and prizes including two NEA grants and a Guggenheim fellowship.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Max Kozloff conducted by Annette Leddy in 2014.
Provenance:
Max Kozloff donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 2016.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art criticism -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Citation:
Max Kozloff papers, circa 1950-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
From new peoples to new nations : aspects of Métis history and identity from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries / Gerhard J. Ens and Joe Sawchuk
