The papers of abstract expressionist painter and playwright Paul Jenkins measure 11.1 linear feet and date from circa 1915 to 2010. Jenkins's career in New York and Paris is documented through biographical material, family papers, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material, photographs of Jenkins in his studio and at various events, and original artwork by Jenkins and others.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of abstract expressionist painter and playwright Paul Jenkins measure 11.1 linear feet and date from circa 1915 to 2010. Jenkins's career in New York and Paris is documented through biographical material, family papers, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material, photographs of Jenkins in his studio and at various events, and original artwork by Jenkins and others.
Biographical material and family papers consist of awards and certificates, calendars, marriage, divorce, and estate papers, and military service records. Also included are family papers and a scrapbook belonging to Jenkins's aunt, Louise Jenkins.
Correspondence, which makes up the bulk of the collection, is with family, friends, and fellow artists, including Alice Baber, Norman Bluhm, Willem de Kooning, and Lee Krasner Pollock, as well as art organizations, schools, museums, galleries, and gallery owners, such as the Art Students League of New York, New York University, Museum of Modern Art, Martha Jackson Gallery, Zoe Dusanne, and Peggy Guggenheim.
Writings includes scattered writings by Paul Jenkins, two of his travel diaries, and the guest book for an exhibition in Tokyo. Also found are a copy of Lili Krahmer Verame's China travel diary and the writings and research materials of others.
Personal business records consist of financial records, lease documents, price lists, travel documents, and papers regarding Jenkins's rental property. Also included are a file on the New York University medal designed by Jenkins and a file concerning a Karl Prantl statue.
Printed material consists of event programs, newsletters, bulletins, member reports, press releases, art exhibition announcements and catalogs, concert and theater announcements and programs, news and magazine clippings, and obituaries and memorial announcements.
Artwork contains miscellaneous sketches and collages by Paul Jenkins. Additional artworks include sketches, watercolors, and prints by other artists, as well as 8 oversize mixed media sketches by Frank Prince of Jenkins's Meditation Mandala Sundial sculptures.
Photographs of Paul Jenkins depict him in his studio, with family and friends, and at events. Photographs of family and friends include Esther Ebenhoe Jenkins, Alice Baber Jenkins, Norman Bluhm, Thomas Erma, Françoise Gilot, Matsumi "Mike," Carole, and Bunshi Paul Kanemitsu, and Frank Prince.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1915-1997 (Box 1; 9 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930-2010 (Box 1-9, 13; 9 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1950-2003 (Box 9-10; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1944-1990 (Box 10; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1952-2010 (Box 10-11; 0.6 linear feet)
Aeries 6: Artwork, circa 1935-2007 (Box 11-12, OV 14; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Photography, circa 1940-1998 (Box 12; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Paul Jenkins (1923-2012) was an abstract expressionist painter and playwright in New York, New York, and Paris, France. Jenkins was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1923, and moved to Youngstown, Ohio as a teenager. After serving in the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Naval Air Corps, Jenkins studied playwriting with George McCalmon at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). In 1948, he moved to New York City, where he studied with Yasuo Kuniyoshi at the Art Students League of New York.
Over the course of his career, Jenkins experimented with multiple techniques, including oil on primed canvas, flowing paints, acrylics, watercolor, and mixed media collages. After traveling extensively and meeting many artists, Jenkins ultimately became associated with the Abstract Expressionists. His work gained the attention of other members of the art world and he held solo exhibitions at venues such as the Zoe Dusanne Gallery in Seattle and the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York. Jenkins' paintings were purchased by both museums and private collectors, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Peggy Guggenheim.
In addition to his painting, Jenkins continued to explore other creative endeavors. He experimented with sculpture, producing works for events and permanent displays, including the Sculptors' Symposium at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and the Sculpture Garden of the Hofstra Museum. His plays, such as Strike the Puma, were published and performed off Broadway in New York City. Jenkins's art served as the backdrop for multiple stage productions, and in 1978, his paintings were featured in the Academy Award nominated movie An Unmarried Woman. Jenkins also collaborated on a number of book projects, including Anatomy of a Cloud, a collection of autobiographical collages and texts.
Throughout his adult life, Jenkins split most of his time between New York and Paris. He continued to create and exhibit new works until his death in New York in 2012.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are an interview of Paul Jenkins, August 1969, conducted by Albert Elsen, and an oral history interview, 1968, conducted by Colette Roberts.
Provenance:
The papers were donated 2007-2009 and in 2012 by Paul and Suzanne Jenkins.
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.
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
Correspondence, notes and writings, project files, printed material, photographs, and art work primarily concerning Aschenbach's involvement with the Vermont International Sculpture Symposia (1968, 1971), and other projects he participated in, most relating to sculpture and its role in the community.
Included are biographical material; correspondence, 1965-1975, primarily related to Aschenbach's coordination of the Vermont International Sculpture Symposia of 1968 and 1971, the Sculpture on the Highway project, ca. 1971, and to his association with the Vermont Marble Company. Correspondence with artists participating in the Symposia include Karl Prantl, Jasuo Mizui, Herbert Baumann, Erich Reischke, Barna von Sartory, Philip Pavia, Kenneth Campbell, Clement Meadmore, Isaac Witkin, Eduardo Ramirez, James Silva, and Rudolf Uher. Notes and writings include unmailed letters to Aschenbach, ca. 1973-1974, written by his wife, June.
Project files, 1968-1975, contain correspondence, notes and writings, printed material, invoices, receipts, mailing lists, reference material, biographical material on participating artists, and photographs for the Vermont International Sculpture Symposia, Danby Sculpture Works, Inc., Danby-Currier Memorial Sculpture Project and other sculpture projects. Printed material, 1957-1978, includes newspaper and magazine clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, newsletters, and annual reports.
Photographs consist of Aschenbach at work, his finished sculptures, and a few personal photographs. Works of art include a variety of Aschenbach's studies and sketches for sculptures, executed in watercolor, pencil, felt pen, woodblock and chalk, and an unbound booklet of anonymous wood engravings.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor; Vermont. b. 1921; d. 1994. Organized the Vermont International Sculpture Symposium in 1968 and 1971, which supported stone sculpture by several sculptors for installation in rest areas along the Vermont Interstate Highways 89 and 91.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Paul Aschenbach.
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.
Meditationen : Skulpturen : [Ausstellung], Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, 27. April bis 4. Juni 1978 / Herbert Baumann, Rolf Jörres, Karl Prantl
Use of original papers requires and appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Staempfli Gallery records, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien nebst ihren Gattungen und wichtigeren Arten : insbesondere den nutzpflanzen / unter mitwirkung zahlreicher hervorragender fachgelehrten begründet von A. Engler und K. Prantl; fortgesetzt von A. Engler.
Nicola Carrino - Toshikatsu Endo - Karl Prantl : die Schenkung Defet und andere Werke im Neuen Museum / Neues Museum, Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg. [Redaktion, Thomas Heyden]
Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien nebst ihren Gattungen und wichtigeren Arten insbesondere den Nutzpflanzen, unter Mitwirkung zahlreicher hervorragender fachgelehrten Begründet von A. Engler und K. Prantl
