The papers of painter Frank Harmon Myers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1976, with the bulk of the records dating from 1908 to 1963. The records shed light on the artist's career in Ohio and California through biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, artwork, printed materials, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Frank Harmon Myers measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1976, with the bulk of the records dating from 1908 to 1963. The records shed light on the artist's career in Ohio and California through biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, artwork, printed materials, and photographic materials.
Biographical materials include Myers' resume, letters that confirm some of the courses he studied and taught, one membership list and meeting minutes of the Carmel Art Association, notes from a Myers art lecture on Sante Fe, one sales ledger, and drafts and notes of "And The Glory," a biography on Myers written by his wife, Ella Price Myers. Correspondence is a mixture of personal and professional letters, shedding light on Myers' freidnships, personal and professional relationship with his wife, and his travels. Correspondents include artists Sheldon Dixie and Albert Berne, poet and advertiser John Bunker, Myers' nephew Sheldon, and his son Frank. The series also includes a map that of the United States on which Myers traced his sketching trips, 1926 to 1950, a cartoon by Herman Wessel, and clippings related to John Weis. Printed materials include newspaper and magazine clippings concerning Myers' artwork, career, and exhibitions, a series of advertisements illustrated by Myers, two lithographs of his artwork, and some exhibition ephemera. Artwork consists of childhood drawings by Myers of Native Americans, holiday themes, and portraits; later sketches, mostly in charcoal and pencil, include figure and portrait studies, city scenes, and several still lifes; one 1916 landscape painting by Myers, cloth with a linoleum block design, paint samples from Myers' studio, and small sketches and doodles drawn on scraps of paper. Photographic materials depict Myers' artwork, portraits of the artist, his family and friends, and his home in Pacific Grove.
A fair amount of the collection's files include notes with contextual information written by Ella Price Myers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1891-1976 (Box 1; .2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-1973 (Box 1-2; 1 linear feet)
Series 3: Printed Materials, 1924-1963 (Box 2, OV 3; .5 linear feet)
Series 4: Artwork, circa 1908-1956 (Box 2, OV 4; .6 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographical Materials, 1910-1962 (Box 2; 4 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Frank Harmon Myers (1899-1956) was an impressionist painter and art educator who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pacific Grove, California. Myers was born in Cleves, Ohio, and moved to Cincinnati around 1907. His interest in art took off prior to his teenage years, illustrating a series of body-length portraits of Native Americans, several landscapes, and art with holiday themes. Myers studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati under Frank Duveneck, H. H. Wessel, and John Ellsworth Weiss; took a summer course at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Daniel Garber, Hugh Henry Breckenridge, and Joseph Thurman Pearson Jr.; and the School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau, France, under Jean Despujols and Gourguet. Myers began showing his art at the Closson Galleries circa 1920 and taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1921 to circa 1941. In 1932, Myers spent a year on sabbatical in Sante Fe, New Mexico, painting animals, people, ranches and farms, villages, and landscapes. He and his wife, Ella Price Myers, moved to Pacific Grove, California, in 1940 so that Myers could pursue painting full-time. His work was frequently exhibited at the Carmel Art Association from this point onwards, with additional solo shows at Pebble Beach Galleries, San Jose State College, M. H. De Young Museum, Crocker Art Gallery, and others. Myers paintings were featured in group exhibitions at The Salon, Paris, Harlow Galleries, New York, St. Louis City Museum, Missouri, Alright Museum, New York, and more. Myers served as president of the Carmel Art Association in 1953.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds one scrapbook of Frank Myers publicity, circa 1925-1945, lent for microfilming on reel D42. Loaned materials were returned to Ella Price Myers and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Ella Price Myers, Myers' widow, from 1960 to 1974. An addition was donated in 1994 by Myers' daughter-in-law Patricia Clarke Myers, ex-wife of Myers' only son Frank P. Myers.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Frank Harmon Myers papers, 1891-1976. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Washington (D.C.) -- Small business -- 20th century
Shaw (Washington, D.C.)
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
1888-1996
Summary:
The collection includes approximately 250,000 photonegatives, photoprints, color transparencies from the photographic business founded by Addison Scurlock in Washington, DC. Collection also includes business records and ephemera.
Scope and Contents:
Photographs includes portraits of famous African-American luminaries such as Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and many other artists, intellectuals, educators, entertainers, etc., as well as documentation of Washington, DC, including both the African-American community and national political life, and important photographs of Howard University; also commercial photography, including color materials.
Color separation materials include sets of black-and-white color-separation negatives, sets of matrices for the Kodak Dye Transfer process (full-color Dye Transfer prints are storied in a different series).
Business records: The photography studio records and Custom Craft records are in separate series, reflecting the fact that they were operated as separate businesses.
The collection includes all forms of photographs produced by the studio, such as prints in black-and-white and color, black-and-white and color negatives, color transparencies, black-and-white dye-transfer matrices, slides, etc.; as well as business documents, studio session ledgers, appointment books, business and personal correspondence, tax documents, and books, catalogs, and other publications. This material documents not only the photographic output of the business, both commercial and artistic, as well as the personal and business side of the enterprise.
Some photographs in the collection were not created by the Scurlocks. Some black-and-white and color prints seem to derive from assignments in the Capitol School of Photography, and are therefore student work. Also Custom Craft, the professional color processing service provided by the studio, made prints for other photographers, and samples for printing reference, as well as studio decor, have been retained in the collection. Custom Craft worked for such diverse photographers as artist Robert Epstein and well-known Washington photographer Fred Maroon, for example.
The collection numbers several hundred thousand photographic negatives, prints, and transparencies made by the Scurlocks and other staff photographers of the studio in its various Washington locations. The negatives are estimated at approximately 160,000-200,000 in number, and the prints of all sizes and types at nearly 57,000. The vast majority of the photographs are portraits of individuals, family groups, and organizations, as the primary business of the studio was portrait photography. They date primarily from the 1940s to 1990s. There are also a number of images, made for commercial clients, of building interiors and exteriors, and food. A small group of photojournalistic documentation also exists. The subjects also include architectural and industrial views, scenes in and around Washington, including children and street laborers, political events, social events, and 35mm slides of President Kennedy's funeral, 1964. There are also more personal artistic images, including still lifes with plants and flowers, and a few nudes; Robert's wartime service is also documented by his photographs, including European landscape photographs.
In addition to images taken by the Scurlock studio photographers, there are some prints, especially color, of images by other photographers who were clients, such as Fred Maroon, a prominent Washington photojournalist, and Robert Epstein, a teacher at the Corcoran School of Art. A print of one of Maroon's pictures had been displayed in the studio reception room at the time the studio was closed.
A large group of manuscript items, business documents, ephemera, and office and studio supplies constitutes a separate series from the photographs. An important adjunct to the photographs, a set of ledgers recording and identifying portrait sittings, highlights this group.
Nearly all of the photographs and documents stored in the studio and auxiliary storage locations were accepted for acquisition in order to form a complete history of this family business's production and operations over the better part of a century, whereas a selection of photographic apparatus and studio equipment was acquired by the Photographic History Collection: these items have been inventoried and catalogued separately.
Studio Portraits
The majority of the surviving photographic negatives and proof prints were made in connection with the studio's portrait work for a wide variety of clients. These portraits include images of famous people, such as political figures, entertainers, and noteworthy persons in a variety of fields, including scientists, writers, intellectuals, and academics. The majority of the figures depicted among both the famous and the not so famous are black. The greatest number of studio portraits, most of which are identified and dated, depict a general clientele who visited the studio for portrait sittings. Although the individual images in this vast quantity have limited research value in the usual sense, the aggregate represents a chronology spanning almost ninety years, which may be useful for demographic and genealogical information and as visual evidence of changing styles in clothing, hair, and accessories. It constitutes a panorama of a significant percentage of Washingtonians of the period, especially the black community.
Portraits of famous personages include George Washington Carver, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Duke Ellington, Marian Anderson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Mayor Walter Washington, and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, Mayor Marion Barry, DC Council members, statesmen such as Ralph Bunche, and many other noteworthy figures. Of particular interest is a signed group portrait of the US. Supreme Court with Chief Justice Berger presiding. There are also large- format portraits of Justice Thurgood Marshall and J. Edgar Hoover.
Group portraits include both formal sittings and the informal documentation of banquets, convocations, and similar events. This material includes groups at Howard University; Dunbar High School; the Post Office Clerks' Banquet; the Bishops' Meeting of the AME Church; a YMCA camp, cira 1947 1949; the 23rd annual conference of the NAACP, 1932, etc.
Howard University
Several thousand black and white negatives and prints, 1930s-1960s, depict the people, facilities, and events of Howard University, with which the Scurlocks had a long business relationship. There are various portraits, including Howard University Medical School, represented by 850 negatives and 100 prints. A group of law school and medical school images numbers some 800 negatives and 200 prints. In addition, there are class portraits, as well as images of famous guests speaking at Howard convocations, such as President Herbert Hoover.
Wedding Photography
An important aspect of any portrait studio's output is wedding photography, and the Scurlock studio was no exception. Bridal portraits, group pictures of wedding parties, and the complete documentation of weddings, in both black and white and color, constitute a significant part of the collection. African-American weddings predominate and provide important insights into this aspect of the society.
Exhibitions
The studio's work was shown in special public exhibitions over the years, and several of these are included in toto. The most important was an extensive retrospective display of 121 prints of Addison's work, both vintage and posthumous, prepared by Robert for the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1976. Others include: (1) a set of 32 black and white images made by Robert at the Ramitelli Air Base, Italy, while he was a major in the US Air Force during World War II; (2) a group of portraits from a Black History Month exhibit at Woodward and Lothrop; and (3) a set of sixteen vintage and modern prints which Robert displayed in an interview on the "Today" television show in the 1980s.
Commercial Work
This category includes architectural and industrial photography for commercial clients, food and still life photographs, etc. Much of this material is comparatively recent and was made in large format color, and includes transparencies and enlargements. It is possible that some of the prints represent Custom Craft work for other photographers rather than the camera work of Robert and George Scurlock. Thus far, prints by artist Robert Epstein have been identified as extra prints of his work from orders which he placed with the firm. At least one image by Fred Maroon has been identified.
A group of color prints constitutes copies of artworks, primarily in the National Portrait Gallery, for which the Scurlocks worked. Prints in 8" x 10", 11" x 14", 16" x 20" and 20" x 24" sizes are included, and undoubtedly negatives and transparencies corresponding to these subjects will be found.
Photojournalism
In addition to the formal studio portraits and pictures documenting formal events, the Scurlocks took candid photographs of the everyday life of their city, as well as extraordinary events of local and national significance, ranging from occasions such as John F. Kennedy's funeral and the 1968 riots to political rallies and demonstrations.
Capitol School of Photography
The collection includes a variety of materials, such as books and ephemera, which document the activities of the Capitol School of Photography, a sideline of the Scurlock business. Some of the photographs apparently represent student work. The most famous student of the school was Jacqueline Bouvier (later Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis), although no documentation of her association with the school has been located thus far. There are 45 photographs, circa 1950s, showing the photography lab, men retouching prints, students with cameras, etc.
Personal Photographs
A few photographs of the Scurlock family are included in the collection in various forms and formats, including enlarged portraits of Addison and Robert. A self portrait of Addison and Mamie Scurlock is included in the Corcoran Gallery of Art exhibition series. Other photographs which represent personal artistic expression, such as a few nude studies and floral and plant still lifes, are included.
Series 6 consists of photographic materials including color transparencies, slides, film, and proofs but occasionally includes notes, forms, and envelopes associated with the orders.
Series 1: Black and White Photographs:
Dates -- 1888-1993
Extent -- 105 boxes
Contents -- Series 1: Black and White Photographs: The materials are almost entirely black and white photographs, but in the subseries of clients, there may also be job envelopes, order materials, and other photographic material types that were included in the overall order. The series is arranged into two subseries, clients and subjects, and both are arranged alphabetically. The subseries clients documents the orders made by clients of the Scurlock Studio and individuals who were or could be identified but may or may not have actually placed an order at the Studio. The majority of the photographs in the clients subseries are formal portrait sittings but there are photographs of events, organizations, and businesses. The subseries subjects are photographs that were grouped into categories because no known client or individual in the image could be identified. The subjects cover a broad array of subjects but the majority of the subjects include unidentified people in formal portrait sittings and groups. In addition, not all photographs in this series were taken by the Scurlock Studio; there are photos by Abdon Daoud Ackad and other studios or photographers that were sent in to make copies. 1.1: Clients Black and white photographs1.2: Subjects Black and white photographs
Series 2: Color Photographs:
Dates -- 1930-1995
Extent -- 113 boxes
Contents -- Series 2: Color Photographs: The series color photographs consists of color photographs and hand-colored photographs, but there are also order envelopes and materials, and other photographic material types that were part of the order. The subseries are arranged as clients, subjects, weddings, and hand-colored photographs. Clients are arranged alphabetically by last name or the first word of an organization's name. Not all individuals, organizations, or businesses necessarily represent a client of the Scurlock Studio; if an individual or organization could be identified, the photograph was placed under the identified person or organization even if ther were not a known client of the Studio. The majority of the photographs are individual portrait sittings but also included are family portraits, businesses, organizations, and informal images. The subjects are arranged alphabetically, and document images of non-humans and humans that could not be connected to a known client. Weddings and hand-colored are arranged in alphabetical order with clients preceeding subjects. The were a large subject of the overall collection and the majority of weddings are color photographs but also included in the subseries are black and white and hand-colored photographs of weddings. The hand-colored photographs largely reflect the same subject matter of the subseries clients and subjects. In addition, not all photographs in this subseries were taken by the Scurlock Studio; there are photos by Abdon Daoud Ackad and other studios or photographers that were sent in to make copies. 2.1: Clients Color photographs2.2: Subjects Color photographs2.3: Weddings2.4: Hand-colored photographs
Series 3: Framed Prints:
Dates -- circa 1979
Extent -- 3 boxes
Contents -- Series 3: Framed Prints: The series framed prints includes three framed color photographs. The framed prints are arranged by the size, from smallest to largest, of the frame. The photographs are of two important political figures: Washington, D. C., Mayor Marion Barry and Senator Edward Brooke.
Series 4: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives:
Dates -- 1900-1994
Extent -- 320 boxes
Contents -- Series 4: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives: The material type of the series is black and white silver gelatin negatives. The negatives are arranged into twelve subseries. The materials document the clients and individuals whose photographs were taken by the Scurlock Studio and a wide variety of subject matters. The subjects represented are individual portrait sittings, organizations, events, businesses, commercial ventures of the Studio, and Washington, D. C. 4.1: Black and white negatives 4.2: Black and white negatives in freezers arranged by job number 4.3: Black and white negatives in freezer storage arranged by client 4.4: Black and white negatives in freezer storage arranged by subject 4.5: Black and white negatives in cold storage arranged by job number 4.6: Black and white negatives in cold storage arranged by client 4.7: Negatives in cold storage arranged by client with index cards 4.8: Negatives in cold storage arranged by subject 4.9: Black and white negatives for publication 4.10: Glass Plate Negatives 4.11: Customcraft Negatives 4.12: Banquet Negatives
Series 5: Color Negatives:
Dates -- 1964-1994
Extent -- 72 boxes
Contents -- Series 5: Color Negatives: The series color negatives primarily of color negatives but it also includes order envelopes and materials. The series is arranged into two subseries: clients and subjects. The subseries clients is arranged by job number, and the materials document the orders placed by clients of the Scurlock Studio and identified persons and organizations. The negatives depict individual portrait sittings, groups, and informal poses. The subseries subjects is arranged in alphabetical order, and the materials document negatives that could not be connected to a client of the studio. The negatives represent subjects such as art, buildings, commercial ventures of the Scurlock Studio, and unidentified people. 5.1: Color negatives arranged by client5.2: Color negatives arranged by subject
Series 6: Color Transparencies, Slides, and Other Formats:
Dates -- 1922-1994
Extent -- 40 boxes
Contents -- Series 6: Color Transparencies, Slides, and Other Formats: The series color transparencies, slides, and other formats consists of black and white and color transparencies, color slides, film, proofs, and order materials. The materials are arranged into four subseries: transparencies, slides, film, and proofs. The subseries are arranged by clients, in alphabetical order by last name, and then subjects, in alphabetical order. The materials document the orders placed at the Scurlock Studio by clients and identified individuals and organizations, and materials that could not be identified and are categorized by subjects. The subjects represented in the materials are primarily individual, family, and group portraits, and events and places. Cut but unmounted slides were typically placed in the subseries transparencies but a small number of cut but unmounted slides are included in the slides. The subseries proofs only contains a form of proof used by the Scurlock Studio that has a fugitive image, and other types of proofs printed on low quality paper or are water-marked and have a lasting image were included in the series Black and White Photographs and Color Photographs if the proof was either black and white or color. 6.1: Transparencies6.2: Slides6.3: Film6.4: Proofs
Series 7: Black-and-White Color Separation Negatives and Matrices:
Dates -- 1955-1957
Extent -- 7 boxes
Contents -- Series 7: Black-and-White Color Separation Negatives and Matrices: The materials in the series are black-and-white color separation negatives and a booklet about how to process black-and-white color separation negatives. The materials are arranged into three subseries: clients, subjects, and the booklet. The materials document orders placed at the Scurlock Studio by clients and individuals and organizations that could be identified but not connected to a specific order. The materials also document negatives categorized by subjects because there was no known client or identifiable individual or organization. The subjects represented are individual portrait sittings and groups, and unidentified people. 7.1: Clients Black-and-White Color Separation Negatives 7.2: Subjects Black-and-White Color Separation Negatives Booklet
Series 8: Scurlock Studio Business Records:
Dates -- 1907-1996
Extent -- 66 boxes
Contents -- Series 8: Scurlock Studio Business Records: The series Scurlock Studio Business Records contains paperwork pertaining to the administration of the business, the financial documentation of the business, the reocrds of sales, the advertising signs and promotions of hte business, the files kept on employees, and other materials kept at the Scurlock Studio. The series is arranged into six subseries: administrative file, financial, sales, advertising and marketing, employee and personnel, and office files. Each subseries is arranged differently according to the types of materials predominantly found in the subseries or in chronological order. The subjects represented in the series are mostly related to the financial records of the Scurlock Studio kept and the invoices of sales records. A wide variety of other subjects relating to the the business records of the Scurlock Studio can also be found including: session registers, construction plans, advertisements for specific holidays, and product information sent to the Studio. Some materials found in this series may be marked Scurlock Studio and Custom Craft, the color division of the Scurlock Studio, and were placed with this series because the Scurlock Studio was the primary business. Other materials with an unclear origin of either the Scurlock Studio or Custom Craft were placed in this series. 8.1: Administrative Files8.2: Financial8.3: Sales8.4: Advertising and Marketing8.5: Employee and Personnel8.6: Office Files
Series 9: Custom Craft Business Records:
Dates -- 1951-1994
Extent -- 57 boxes
Contents -- Series 9: Custom Craft Business Records: The series Custom Craft Business Records consists of paper documents relating to the administrative, financial, sales records, employee and personnel, and other files about the affairs of the Custom Craft business's day-to-day operations. The materials are arranged into five subseries: administrative, financial, sales, employee and personnel, and office files. The materials within a subseries are ordered by types of documents that consisted of a large number of materials listed first and materials with few documents following the grouped materials in chronological order. The materials document the day-to-day business of Custom Craft. The subjects represented are documents relating to the administration of the business, journals kept to document finances, the order invoices, the files kept about employees, product information, and materials accumulated in the office. Some documents may list both the Scurlock Studio and Custom Craft and were kept with the business records of Custom Craft if the materials appeared to fit the activities, color photography, of that business. Other documents relating to the business affairs of Custom Craft may be in the series Scurlock Studio Business Records because these documents did not clearly indicate which business the documents belonged to; in these cases, the materials were put in the series Scurlock Studio Business Records because the business was the primary business of the Scurlocks. There business records seem to indicate that there was not always a clear differentiation between the two businesses. 9.1: Administrative9.2: Financial9.3: Sales9.4: Employee and Personnel9.5: Office files
Series 10: Capitol School of Photography:
Dates -- 1948-1954
Extent -- 4 boxes
Contents -- Series 10: Capitol School of Photography: The series Capitol School of Photography consists of paper documents, photographs, and transparencies. The materials are arranged in chronological order and document the administration of the Capitol School of Photography and the students. The subjects represented are administrative documents, student files, photographs by students, photographs of students and the space used for the School, and transparencies of the same subjects.
Series 11: Washington Stock:
Dates -- 1981-1994
Extent -- 2 boxes
Contents -- Series 11: Washington Stock: The series Washington Stock consists of order materials, orders, and published materials. The materials are arranged chronologically and document the orders placed for Washington Stock and how the materials were used and published. The subjects represented are orders, standard forms used by Washington Stock, and published materials.
Series 12: Background Materials and Publications:
Dates -- 1902-1995
Extent -- 18 boxes
Contents -- Series 12: Background Materials and Publications: The series Background Materials and Publications is composed of paper documents, published materials, and materials from exhibitions. The materials are arranged into four subseries: historical and background information, Scurlock images, reference materials, and exhibition materials. The materials document the Scurlocks, published Scurlock images, published materials lacking Scurlock images, exhibitions of Scurlock images, and other exhibitions of related material. The subjects represented are largely materials related to the Scurlocks' photography and personal interests. Images were placed in the subseries Scurlock images if the photograph was credited to the Scurlocks or was a photograph known to have been taken by the Scurlocks; it is possible that uncredited and less well known images taken by the Scurlocks are present in the subseries reference materials. 12.1: Historical and Background Information12.2: Scurlock Images12.3: Reference Materials12.4: Exhibition Materials
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 12 series.
This collection was processed with numerous changes in arrangement and numbering of boxes. Original box numbers have been retained in this finding aid for cross-reference purposes and to assist anyone with a record of photographs according to the original box numbers.
Biographical / Historical:
The Scurlock photographic studio was a fixture in the Shaw area of Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1994, and encompassed two generations of photographers, Addison N. Scurlock (1883-1964) and his sons George H. (1920- 2005) and Robert S. (1916-1994).
The turn of the twentieth century saw a mass exodus of African Americans from the South to northern cities in search of better employment opportunities and fairer racial treatment. Although many considered Washington to be the northern-most southern city, it still offered opportunities for African Americans leaving seasonal agricultural work and racial oppression in the South. In Washington, African Americans found stable employment with the U.S. government. In addition, Howard University offered African Americans teaching opportunities, college education, and professional training as doctors, dentists, nurses, lawyers, and ministers. By 1900 a substantial African-American middle class existed in Washington. Despite the fact that Washington was a historically and legally segregated city (and would remain so into the 1960s), this middle class population continued to grow and prosper.
After graduation from high school, Addison Scurlock moved from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., with his family in 1900. With a keen interest in photography, he sought out an apprenticeship at the white-owned Moses Rice Studio on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Rice brothers (Amos and Moses) had been in Washington working as photographers since the 1860s and had one of the more prominent and better studios in the city. There Addison learned portrait and general photography. In 1904, he left Rice and began his photographic career at his parents' home. By 1911, when he opened the Scurlock Studio, he had already captured the likeness of Booker T. Washington (1910; see Appendix B), most likely his most well-known portrait. Scurlock quickly identified his market: a self-sufficient African-American community which included students, graduates, and educators affiliated with Howard University; poets; writers; intellectuals; musicians and entertainers; politicians; socialites; fraternal and religious organizations and their leaders. The Scurlock Studio, located at 900 U Street, N.W., became a fixture in the midst of the thriving African-American business community. As with his white counterparts on Pennsylvania Avenue and F Street, N.W., Addison Scurlock inspired passers-by with window displays of his photographs of national leaders and local personalities.
During the 1930s, Addison Scurlock's two sons Robert and George apprenticed in the studio. In addition to portrait and general photography, the sons learned the techniques of retouching negatives and photographic prints, hand-coloring, hand-tinting, and mat decoration. George concentrated on the commercial side of the business while Robert concentrated on the portrait side. The Scurlocks' work changed with the times. From the early 1900s until Addison's death in 1964, the Scurlock Studio was the official photographer of Howard University. In the 1930s the studio began a press service and prepared newsreels on African American current events for the Lichtman Theater chain, which offered some of the few non-segregated venues in the city. Their press service supplied the African-American press with newsworthy photographs of current events, personalities, and social, political, and religious life. Clients included the Norfolk Journal and Guide, Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Cleveland Call and Post and the Washington Tribune and Afro-American. George and Robert ran the Capitol School of Photography from 1948 to 1952. Included among their students were African-American veterans under the G.I. Bill, Ellsworth Davis, who later worked as a Washington Post photographer and Bernie Boston of the Los Angeles Times. Perhaps their best-known student was the young Jacqueline Bouvier.
In 1952 Robert opened Washington's first custom color lab. Capitalizing on his knowledge of color processing, Robert was asked to take color portraits of both noted and ordinary individuals. In addition, the studio offered color views of important Washington landmarks and monuments. By the 1960s, Robert added magazine photography to his list of talents, publishing images in Life, Look, and Ebony. Robert continued photographing Washingtonians at his studio until his death in 1994.
According to George Scurlock, the Scurlock studio never had substantial competition in the African American community. Some Washington residents remember it differently, however. Dr. Theodore Hudson, a retired Howard University professor, recalled two other black photographers: Sam Courtney and a man named Sorrell. He said Courtney photographed events in the African American community...?
The collection represents the most comprehensive record of any long-lived, let alone African-American, photography studio, in a public institution. Other twentieth century studio collections exist, such as Robinson Studio, Grand Rapids; Hughes Company, Baltimore, Md. Among African American studio collections in public institutions are James Van Der Zee (New York City, 1912-80s), P.H. Polk (Tuskegee), and the Hooks Brothers (Memphis, Tenn., 1910-1975). The Scurlock Collection covers a greater time period and provides greater depth of coverage of African-American events and personages.
A number of articles have been written about the Scurlock family. Jane Freundel Levey, editor of Washington History magazine, believes that the family went beyond the artful use of light, shadow, and composition. She wrote, "Perhaps the most distinctive hallmark of the Scurlock photograph is the dignity, the uplifting quality of the demeanor of every person captured by photographs who clearly saw each subject as above the ordinary."
Constance McLaughlin Green, one of the leading historians of Washington, D.C., talks about African-American Washington as "the Secret City," a separate world with institutions of its own that remained virtually unknown to the white majority. Addison Scurlock and his sons captured that world on film and in doing so, documented that world in the course of running his business and perfecting his art. Steven C. Newsome, director of the Maryland Commission on Afro-American History and Culture stated that The Scurlocks' photograph "Gave us connections. They tell stories. They let us remember."
The collection includes photographs of the nationally famous Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Mary McLeod Bethune, Mary Church Terrell, Marian Anderson; the locally or regionally important: P.B.S. Pinchback, Judge Miflin Gibbs, Col. Jim Lewis, Ernest Just, Anna J. Cooper; and actors, artists, vaudevillians, and musicians such as Fredi Washington, Madame Lilian Evanti, Oakley & Oakley, and Duke Ellington.
Sources
George Scurlock. Interview conducted by David Haberstich and intern Lora Koehler at Mr. Scurlock's apartment, Aug. 2003.
Theodore Hudson, conversation with David Haberstich in the Archives Center, 2 February 2004.
Jane Freundel Levey, "The Scurlock Studio," Washington History, 1989, p. 44.
Robert S. Scurlock, "An Appreciation of Addison N. Scurlock's Photographic Achievements," The Historic Photographs of Addison N. Scurlock. Washington, D.C.: The Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, 1986 (exhibition catalog).
Materials at Other Organizations:
The Historical Society of Washington, DC holds Scurlock-related materials.
The Charles Sumner School Museumn and Archives holds Scurlock-related materials.
Materials in the National Museum of American History:
Cameras and other photographic apparatus, studio furniture, and miscellaneous ephemera from the Scurlock studio are in the History of Photography Collection (now Division of Work and Industry). An adding machine from the studio is in the Museum's mathematics collection. See accessions 1997.0293 and 2010.0157.
Provenance:
The Museum purchased the Scurlock Studio Records from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, through Judge Marjorie Lawson in 1997. During the period of negotiation between the museum and Robert Scurlock's heirs, his widow Vivian and brother George, the collection was on loan to the Museum and was housed primarily in a closed exhibition area on the second floor. Staff of the Archives Center took physical possession of the collection long before the transfer to the Museum was final. The studio records and photographs were housed principally in the 18th Street studio and in two rental storage facilities. The primary move of the collection to the Museum occurred in September 1995. An additional pickup occurred on February 12, 1996 (on tags). There was probably one additional pickup from the studio by David Haberstich and Caleb Fey on an unrecorded date.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Series 8: Business Records, Subseries 8.1: Studio Session Registers are restricted. Digital copies available for research. See repository for details.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0618
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Contributed in memory of Professor Sarah Webster Fabio (1928-1979), poet, educator, Black Arts Movement icon, and one of the Literary Corner's analysts.
The Literary Corner: Introduction to Afro-American Essays with Sarah Fabio and Thomas Schick (side a) / Introduction to African English Drama with Brooks Robinson (side b)
Title:
Cassette tape with two episodes of the Literary Corner radio program
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Contributed in memory of Professor Sarah Webster Fabio (1928-1979), poet, educator, Black Arts Movement icon, and one of the Literary Corner's analysts.
Patterson, Frederick D. (Frederick Douglass), 1901-1988 Search this
Patterson, Wilhelmina Bessie, 1888-1962 Search this
Extent:
6 Linear feet (9 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Programs
Clippings
Correspondence
Ephemera
Postcards
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1866 - 1990.
Summary:
The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 2010 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892.
Scope and Contents note:
The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 1990 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892. The collection is comprised of correspondence, photographs, clippings, and ephemera.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in four series:
Series 1: Dale-Patterson Family papers
Series 2: Charles Qualls papers
Series 3: Community Organizations
Series 4: Subject Files
Biographical/Historical note:
The Dale family came to Washington, DC in 1886 when John Henry Dale, Sr., a gifted self-taught man, obtained a position as clerk in the newly contracted Pension Bureau building at 5th and G Streets, NW. First they lived near 13th Street and Florida Avenue, NW, then moved to Howard Road in Anacostia. Dale built a house at 2619 Nichols Avenue, now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, drawing the plans and supervising the construction. The Dales and only one other family lived in this solidly built house for 100 years before it was sold to a church group and demolished.
General Note:
Finding Aid Note: This finding aid is associated with a MARC collection-level record.361883
Provenance:
The Dale-Patterson Family collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on April 07, 2013.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
The Dale-Patterson Family collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
The Negro Equalled by Few Europeans. Translated From the French. To Which Are Added, Poems on Various Subjects, Moral and Entertaining; By Phillis Wheatley, Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatley, of Boston, in New-England. In Two Volumes. Vol. II.
The Naomi Savage papers on Man Ray measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1913-2005. The collection provides an overview of Man Ray's career as a photographer and painter through correspondence, exhibition files, writings, notes, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Naomi Savage papers on Man Ray measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1913-2005. The collection provides an overview of Man Ray's career as a photographer and painter through correspondence, exhibition files, writings, notes, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Correspondence primarily consists of incoming letters from art historians, students, publishers, museums, and galleries interested in obtaining biographical information, scheduling exhibitions, or seeking permission to reproduce artwork. Correspondents include Theodora Greenbaum, Sam Hunter, and Roberta Kimmel. Also found is a letter to Man Ray from Isamu Noguchi.
Exhibition files document some of Man Ray's solo and group exhibitions held at museums and galleries in the United States and abroad, including Galerie Anderson Mayer, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Prakapas Gallery, Helen Serger, La Boetie, Inc., Ronny Van De Velde Gallery, Serpentine Gallery, Vered Gallery, and Zabriskie Gallery.
Writings and notes include typescripts of unpublished pieces on Man Ray and Surrealist photography and on Juliet Man Ray, miscellaneous writings, and Naomi Savage's list of Man Ray published work. Artwork consists of an artist's proof of a print by Paul Levitt.
Printed material houses news and periodical clippings on Man Ray and Juliet Man Ray, newsletters, reproductions of artwork, and miscellaneous printed material. Clippings provide documentation on Man Ray's early commercial photography for advertisements and fashion magazines as well as his experimental photographic work.
Photographs include portrait photographs of Man Ray and Juliet Man Ray. There are photographs of Man Ray and Juliet with family, friends, and colleagues, including photographs of Marcel Duchamp and Teeny Duchamp.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Naomi Savage Correspondence, 1939-1995 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Man Ray Exhibition Files, 1941-1997 (Box 1, OV 4; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1974-1998 (Box 1, OV 4; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 4: Artwork, circa 1963 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1913-1998 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1913-1991 (Boxes 1-3; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Photographer Naomi Siegler Savage (1927-2007) lived and worked in Princeton, New Jersey. While a teenager, Savage attended a photography class taught by Berenice Abbott and pursued this interest at Bennington College in Vermont. In California, Savage apprenticed with her uncle Man Ray, who was a close friend as well as mentor to his niece.
Influenced by Man Ray's experimental techniques with film, Naomi Savage pioneered the use of the photographic metal plate which produced a three dimensional form with a metallic surface. One of her best-known photographic engravings is a magnesium mural for the Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, depicting the national elective offices held by President Johnson and the various Presidents under which he served. In later years, Savage continued to experiment with the photographic process by using digital cameras, color photocopiers, and computer imaging.
In 1952, Savage had her first exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In addition to the Museum of Modern Art, Savage's work is also in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, the International Center of Photography in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
Naomi Savage was married to the painter, sculptor, and architect, David Savage. Naomi Savage died in Princeton, New Jersey in 2007.
Man Ray (1890-1976) lived and worked in New York and Paris, France and was best known for his painting and photography.
Man Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1890. His family later moved to Brooklyn, New York. During this period, the family changed their name to Ray and Emmanuel shortened his first name to Man, gradually using Man Ray as his combined single name. Man Ray attended Boys High School from 1904-1908 where he developed an interest in painting. After high school, he worked as a commercial artist and technical illustrator in New York City while attending classes at the Art Students League, Ferrer School, and National Academy of Design.
Influenced by European artists, whose Modernist works were being shown at the 1913 Armory Show and Alfred Stieglitz's "292" Gallery, and other such venues, Man Ray began to incorporate elements of Cubism in his paintings and drawings. In 1915, Man Ray met Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) and they formed a lifelong friendship and professional partnership. That same year, the Dada group, founded by a Tristan Tzara and other artists in Zurich, Switzerland also took root in New York; Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia were credited for starting the New York Dada movement.
By 1921, Man Ray moved to Paris and became part of the circle that formed the Dada group. He photographed many of the Dada poets and writers, including Louis Aragon, André Breton, and Paul Eluard. Man Ray's work for André Breton established his reputation as a portrait photographer of artists, writers, and other prominent individuals, including George Antheil, Salvador Dalí, James Joyce, Sinclair Lewis, Gertrude Stein, and Virginia Woolf. In that same period, Man Ray pioneered the photographic process of rayographs (named after him) and he also participated in the first Surrealist exhibition at the Galerie Pierre.
Man Ray moved to Los Angeles, California in 1940. There he met New York City-born Juliet Browner (1910-1991), a trained dancer and professional artists' model. They married in 1946 in a double wedding ceremony with their friends Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning. In 1951, Man Ray and Juliet Man Ray returned to live in the Montparnasse section of Paris.
In addition to an autobiography, Self-Portrait, published in 1963, Man Ray wrote a number of monographs and articles on photography that included Electricité, a portfolio of ten gravure prints of rayographs commissioned by the Paris electric company, Compagnie Parisenne de Distribution d'Electricité, 1931.
Man Ray received an honorary Master of Fine Arts degree from Freemont University, Los Angeles, 1948 and the gold medal for photography at the Venice Photo Biennale, 1962. In 1967, Man Ray received an award from the Philadelphia Arts Festival honoring its native son for his accomplishments.
Man Ray died in Paris in 1976. Juliet Man Ray survived her husband and continued to live in Paris until her death in 1991.
Provenance:
The Naomi Savage papers were donated in 2007 by Lourie Savage Bates, Naomi Savage's daughter. Naomi Savage was Man Ray's niece.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
An interview of Harlan W. Butt conducted 2009 July 27-28, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Butt's studio, in Ptarmigan Meadows, Colorado.
Harlan Butt speaks of the influence of Asian art on his work; the use of text and imagery in his work; the use of pattern in his work; his undergraduate minor in weaving; the influence of Asian religion and mythology; series The Earth Beneath Our Feet , Garden Anagogies, and Snakes in Heaven; his childhood growing up in Hopewell, New Jersey, near Princeton; undergraduate work at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; discovery of Buddhism and Eastern religions; his mother's death when he was 20; studying with Stanley Lechtzin and Elliot Pujol at Tyler; graduate school at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; interest in Japanese tea ceremony; more exploration of Zen Buddhism; use of color in his work; studying with L. Brent Kington; reliquary series; move to Connecticut in 1974; second trip to Japan in 1984 to co-curate Kyoto Metal: An Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Art Metalwork; introduction to Japanese system of artisan apprenticeship; early efforts as a writer and poet; the influence of poet Gary Snyder; summer teaching position at Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; teaching job at San Diego [California] State University in the mid-1970s; rattles and pipes series; exploring the Western landscape; the power of the snake image; taking a teaching position at University of North Texas, Denton (1976- ); first trip to Japan in 1980; differences in artisanal/metalworking practices in Japan and the United States; teaching workshops at various craft schools, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina; Haystack School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine; and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, compared with teaching in a university; the pros and cons of the gallery system; work with the Nancy Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan; the challenge of commission work; National Parks Project, Denton Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas; the role of haiku and text in his pieces; series 1,001 Views of Mt. Mu; series Snakes in Heaven; the influence of his wife and children; trip to India and organizing Colour & Light: The Art and Craft of Enamel on Metal, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, 2001; trip to Australia; involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths, Enamelist Society, and American Craft Council; subtle issues of environmentalism in his work; his affinity for metalsmithing and enameling. He also recalls [Rudolf] Staffel, Robert Winokur, Italo Scanga, Jan Brooks, Mike Riegel, Rachelle Thiewes, Eleanor Moty, Albert Paley, Shumei Tanaka, Ken Glantz (Ken Chowder), Randy Thelma Coles, Sandy Green, Mickey McCarter, Gene Pijanowski, Hiroko Pijanowski, Toshihiro Yamanaka, Helen Shirk, Ana Lopez, and Sarah Perkins.
Biographical / Historical:
Harlan W. Butt (1950- ) is an artist, metalsmith, and educator in Denton, Texas. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a writer and independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound mini discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 19 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
The papers of painter De Hirsh Margules measure 5.5 linear feet and date from 1888-2001, with the bulk dating from 1923-1965. The papers contain biographical material, and business and personal correspondence, including letters from Alfred Stiegliz, John Marin, Henry Miller, Max Schnitzler, Charles J. Connick, Louis M. Eilshemius, Alex King, and Myron Lechay. Also found are writings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, works of art and audio recordings documenting Margules' personal life and professional career.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter De Hirsh Margules measure 5.5 linear feet and date from 1888-2001, with the bulk dating from 1923-1965. The papers contain biographical material, and business and personal correspondence, including letters from Alfred Stiegliz, John Marin, Henry Miller, Max Schnitzler, Charles J. Connick, Louis M. Eilshemius, Alex King, and Myron Lechay. Also found are writings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, works of art and audio recordings documenting Margules' personal life and professional career.
Biographical material consists of Margules' curriculum vitae, address books, war ration books, press credentials, passports, naturalization documents, membership and social security cards, and memorial material on De Hirsh and Blanche Margules.
Correspondence of De Hirsh Margules covers both personal and business matters. Family correspondents include his wife Blanche London, her parents, De Hirsh's mother Rosa and his sister Sam. There is correspondence with Jean and Harrison Horblit, friends and business associates of the Margules, as well as correspondence with his girlfriend, Marieli Kailin Mandel. Other correspondents include Alfred Stieglitz, John Marin, Henry Miller, Max Schnitzler, Charles J. Connick, Louis M. Eilshemius, Alex King, Myron Lechay, and two letters from New York Governor Herbert H. Lehman. There are single letters from Sasha Kolin; New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay; Lawrence F. O'Brien, special assistant to President John F. Kennedy; Buckminster Fuller. This last letter was not addressed exclusively to Margules. Other personal correspondence includes letters, postcards and greeting cards from family members and friends. Other business correspondents include galleries and museums such as Babcock Galleries, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Niveau Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Ferargil Gallery, Feigl Gallery, Guggenheim Museum, Worcester Art Museum and Walker Art Center.
Writings consist mostly of poems by De Hirsh Margules, sometimes appearing in multiple draft forms, as well as a longer work titled "Mulberry Bend." Also included within the series are notebooks filled with poems and works of prose, the latter expounding upon his theories and ideas. Writings by other authors range from poetry to works of prose, criticism and biography, including A. Lincoln Gillespie, Jr., Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin, David Weber, Aaron Frankel, James Grady, Dick Higgins, and Esther Gilman, among others. There are three illustrated writings by Alfred Jensen. Audio recordings contain a sound tape reel of De Hirsh Margules reciting his poems Rainbow and Mulberry Bend.
Printed material includes newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, exhibition announcements, catalogues and books. Scrapbooks include printed material, newspaper and magazine clippings, and exhibition announcements on the career of De Hirsh Margules. Also included are two scrapbooks by Blanche London Margules, representing newspaper clippings of her writing, among others.
Works of Art include an oil painting on wood and sketchbooks by Margules. Also included are six collages in a series by Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin titled "Eye Poems"; and text-based drawings/writings by A. Lincoln Gillespie, Jr.
Photographs, transparencies and slides include works of art by De Hirsh and Blanche London Margules. Also included are personal photographs of the Margules', their friends, family and students, and two folders of photographs of Marieli Kailin Mandel.
Arrangement:
The De Hirsh Margules papers are organized into 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1888-1978, undated (Box 1, 6; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1923-2000, undated (Box 1-3; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1936-1965, undated (Box 4; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-2001, undated (Box 5; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1922-1957, undated (Box 5, 7; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1926-1992, undated (Box 5, 7; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Works of Art, 1948, undated (Box 6, 7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 8: Audio Recordings, undated (Box 6; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
De Hirsh Margules (1899-1965) was a painter in New York, NY. Margules was born in Jasse, Romania and arrived in New York City at only ten months of age. His parents were in the Yiddish Theater; his father, Edouard was a playwright/director, and his mother, Rosa, was an actress. Margules received much of his art education outside of the conventional art institutional framework. Early on, he studied with Edwin Randby in Pennsylvania from 1917-1918, but it was really his neighbor, the painter Benno Greenstein, who encouraged Margules to pursue a career in the arts. From 1919-1921 he studied period architecture, design and decoration at the New York Evening School of Art and Design.
By 1922, Margules began working nights as a police reporter for the City News Association of New York, a job he would hold until 1942. However, he continued to study and paint during the day, this time working with Myron Lechay.
In 1927 Margules took a leave of absence from the City News Association to travel to Paris. He studied at the Musée du Louvre, and painted landscapes in Montmartre, Paris; Fontenay-près-Vézelay, Burgundy; and Tunis, Africa. In 1929 Margules returned to New York and met artist/dealer Alfred Stieglitz, who quickly became his most trusted friend and advisor. It was through Stieglitz that Margules was introduced to John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Rosenfeld, Stuart Davis and Jan Matulka. While Margules would benefit from his relations with all of these artists, it was John Marin who would become his most important mentor. He felt that Marin was the only one who could help him with the formal problems he was having with painting.
Margules lived most of his life in Greenwich Village and was a well-known member of the colorful and vivacious arts community. He was commonly recognized by his affable demeanor, but mostly it was his attire, particularly the dark blue beret that he was rarely seen without. To his friends he was known simply as "the Baron."
De Hirsh Margules has been called an abstract realist. He used saturated colors and bold textures in the construction of his abstract landscapes, but more specifically it was his interest in the concept of "time painting" or "time perspective" that propelled his work. It was through the physical rendering and representation of his subject matter that he explored the psychological concepts of time. From 1936-1937 Margules established "Another Place," an exhibition space set up in his New York City apartment at 43 West 8th Street. Over a two year period there were fourteen solo-exhibitions by Margules and other artists.
He taught painting in 1951 at Ball State College in Muncie, Indiana, and at the New York Equity Workshop in 1952. In 1951 Elaine de Kooning wrote a piece about his working methods in the December edition of Art News.
De Hirsh Margules died from a heart attack in 1965. He was 65 years old.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives in 2005 by Elita Agee.
Restrictions:
The De Hirsh Margules papers are open for research. Use 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
This collection, which measures 3.02 linear feet and dates from circa 1900 to 1986, documents the lives of painter and educator Leon Berkowitz and his first wife, poet Ida Fox Berkowitz, and provides insight into the cultural and artistic climate in 1940s and 1950s Washington D.C. through correspondence, notes, sketches, photographs, printed material, and audio cassettes.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection measures 3.02 linear feet and dates from circa 1900 to 1986. In addition to documenting the artistic development of Leon Berkkowitz and, to a lesser extent, Ida Fox, the collection provides insight into the cultural and artistic climate in Washington D.C. during the 1940s and 1950s.
The collection includes correspondence, primarily between Leon and Ida Fox Berkowitz, notes, sketches, personal photographs, printed material, and a cassette tape. There are notes on Leon Berkowitz's philosophy of painting, reports from a 1940s U.S. Army art therapy project in which he participated, and scattered correspondence, financial records, and promotional materials from the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts and WCFM radio. Also found here are lecture notes and administrative materials relating to Leon's Berkowitz's teaching career, papers he wrote for several education courses, his master's thesis, sporadic business records concerning shipments and sales of paintings and gallery exhibitions, and drafts of catalogs.
Series 4: Exhibitions, 1944-1985, undated (box 2, 4, 10 folders)
Series 5: Washington Workshop Center for the Arts, 1940s-1950s (boxes 2-3, 14 folders)
Series 6: Other Projects, 1944-1985 (box 3, 4 folders)
Series 7: Notes and Writings, 1940s-1971, undated (box 3, 8 folders)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1950s, undated (box 3, 5 folders)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1900-1970s (box 3, 5 folders)
Series 10: Interview on Audio Cassette, [1974?] (box 3, 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Leon Berkowitz (1911-1987), a painter associated with the Washington Color School, was born in Philadelphia (the 1919 birth date given by Berkowitz in Who's Who in American Art is incorrect). He met and married his first wife, Ida Fox, between 1935 and 1937. Berkowitz received a B.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942 and an M.A. from George Washington University in 1948.
From 1943 to 1945, he served as a private in the U.S. Army, participating in a psychiatric program involving art therapy at Camp Lee, Virginia. Berkowitz taught art at Eastern and Western high schools in Washington, D.C. from 1945 to 1956 and taught at Western again in the late 1960s. In 1969 Berkowitz became chairman of the Corcoran School of Art's painting department and taught there until his death.
In 1945, the Berkowitzes founded the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts with Helmuth Kern. The Center, an important part of the city's cultural life during the 1940s and 1950s, offered courses in art, music, theatre and dance. Many of the artists who later became prominent in the Washington Color School taught at the center, including Morris Louis, Ken Noland, Gene Davis, Jacob Kainen and Jack Perlmutter. The center also sponsored a retrospective for Willem de Kooning in 1953. The Berkowitzes and Kern were also active in establishing the shortlived (1949-1953) cooperative radio station WCFM.
The center collapsed in 1956, shortly after the Berkowitzes' departure on a sabbatical painting trip to Spain. They spent much of the next decade abroad, including a two-and-a half year stay in Wales and a visit of several months to Jerusalem. During this period, Berkowitz expanded his interest in light, creating paintings by priming canvases with a white ground, then using multiple layers of thin oil paint washes.
Berkowitz had his first one-man museum show at the Corcoran in 1966. Ida Fox died during the 1970s and Berkowitz then married his second wife, Maureen. He continued to paint and exhibit until his death from cancer in 1987.
Poet Ida Fox (1913-197?) was born in Philadelphia. She married Leon Berkowitz between 1934 and 1937 and moved with him to Washington, D.C. where she attended American University from 1942 to 1945. During World War II she worked as a statistician for the U.S. government. In 1945 she cofounded the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts. Fox became its director in 1947, resigning the position in 1955 to accompany her husband to Spain. She published poetry in several literary and artistic periodicals, including a series, "Painting Thru a Poet's Eye," inspired by works of art. In 1970 she published a collection of poetry, In the Wind: An American Poet in Wales (St. David's, Wales: Antiphon Press, 1970), illustrated by Arthur Okamura.
Related Material:
Also available in the Archives of American Art are two audio cassettes of a transcribed oral history interview with Leon and Ida Fox Berkowitz, June 5, 1979.
Provenance:
Leon Berkowitz donated the papers of his first wife, Ida Fox, in 1987. After his death in 1987, his second wife, Maureen Berkowitz, donated his papers to the Archives of American Art. In addition to these two accessions, one folder of material on Leon Berkowitz was donated in 1979. This material was microfilmed on reel 2786.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed material requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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.
