The papers of art historian, educator, painter, and printmaker Albert Christ-Janer measure 56.3 linear feet and date from 1915 to circa 1993, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1930 to 1981. The papers include biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, teaching files, exhibition files, financial and estate records, printed material, scrapbooks and scrapbook material, photographs, artwork, and artifacts.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, educator, painter, and printmaker Albert Christ-Janer measure 56.3 linear feet and date from 1915 to circa 1993, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1930 to 1981. The papers include biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, teaching files, exhibition files, financial and estate records, printed material, scrapbooks and scrapbook material, photographs, artwork, and artifacts.
Biographical material includes address books; awards, certificates and diplomas; chronologies, biographies, and resumes; material relating to Albert Christ-Janer's death, including memorial services and a sound tape reel memorial; and information and blueprints for residences, among other materials.
Correspondence includes Christmas cards from other artists and professional correspondence, much of it relating to his work at various institutions, including Michigan State University, New York University, Pennsylvania State University, Pratt Institution, and foundations. Also included is Virginia Christ-Janer's correspondence regarding Christ-Janer's artwork and career, his death in Italy, as well as general correspondence and letters between Virginia and Albert. Additional correspondence is found within the Professional Files, Project Files, and Teaching Files.
Writings by Christ-Janer include articles, book reviews, essays, notes, and eleven notebooks. There are also a few miscellaneous articles and writings about Christ-Janer written by others. There are 38 annotated appointment notebooks and five of Virginia Christ-Janer's annotated appointment books. Annotations are about meetings, travel, and general thoughts.
Albert Christ-Janer's book projects are documented in the Project Files series. There are drafts, manuscripts, research, and correspondence relating to the research, writing, and publication of five of his books, including George Caleb Bingham of Missouri (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1940), Boardman Robinson (Unversity of Chicago Press, 1946), Eliel Saarinen (University of Chicago Press, 1948), and Modern Church Architecture, with Mary Mix Foley (McGraw-Hill, 1962), and Modern Hymns (1980). Project files also include files regarding proposed projects.
Professional files document Christ-Janer's work at various institutions, as a consultant, on juried art exhibitions, memberships in arts associations, activities at conferences and committees, and the development of art centers in cities and educational institutions. There is significant documentation of his work planning and developing an arts center in New York City and at New York University, as well as his positions at Pennsylvania State University, Pratt Institute, University of Chicago, and University of Georgia. Also found are materials relating to professional trips taken to El Paso, Italy, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe.
Teaching files consist of syllabi, lecture notes and course materials, class record books, and other documents for positions at New York University, Pennsylvania State University, Stephens College, University of Georgia, and other institutions. Exhibition files are comprised of lists, prizes and awards, and other scattered documentation of Christ-Janer's solo and group exhibitions.
Financial and estate records include five account books, miscellaneous bills and receipts, a will and estate taxes and financial papers, and files for gallery transactions, lists of galleries representing Christ-Janer, lists of museum and private collectors of Christ-Janer's artwork.
Printed materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements, published versions of Christ-Janer's books, books written by others and annotated by Christ-Janer, clippings, magazines, reviews, and printed material relating to Pratt Institute. There is one bound scrapbook and several files of loose scrapbook materials.
The scrapbooks series consists of one completed scrapbook concerning Christ-Janer's book on George Caleb Bingham, as well as several folders of general scrapbook files.
Photographs and slides depict Albert Christ-Janer, family, friends, artists, colleagues, exhibitions, and also include photographs compiled for published books.
Artwork includes numerous drawings, sketches, one sketchbook, and 111 lithographs by Albert Christ-Janer. There are also sketches and drawings by Charles Massey, John D. Whiting, Edwin Zoller, and others. Miscellaneous artifacts include a business card die, exhibition medals and trophy, handmade paperweight, a block-printed piece of fabric, and three graduation hoods.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 14 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1930-circa 1986 (Boxes 1-2, 51, 53, 67, OV 54, OV 57; 2.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1937-1990 (Boxes 2-16, 51, 67, OV 55; 15.1 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1930s-1972 (Boxes 16-18, 51; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Appointment Books, 1939-1973 (Boxes 18-21; 2.9 linear feet)
Series 5: Professional Files, circa 1933-circa 1986 (Boxes 21-28, 51-52, 67-69; 10 linear feet)
Series 6: Project Files, 1937-circa 1981 (Boxes 28-34, 51, 69; 6.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Teaching Files, circa 1939-circa 1973 (Boxes 34-35; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 8: Exhibition Files, circa 1938-circa 1992 (Boxes 35-38; 2.7 linear feet)
Series 9: Financial and Estate Records, circa 1947-1992 (Boxes 38-40; 2.4 linear feet)
Series 10: Printed Material, 1915-circa 1993 (Boxes 40-49, 51-52, 69; 8.7 linear feet)
Series 11: Scrapbooks, circa 1936-circa 1952 (Boxes 49, 51; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 12: Photographs, circa 1937-circa 1986 (Boxes 49-51, OV 56; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 13: Artwork, circa 1933-circa 1970s (Boxes 50-52, 69, OV 58-66; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 14: Artifacts, 1923-circa 1986 (Boxes 50, 53; 0.9 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Christ-Janer (1910-1973) was a painter, printmaker, art historian, writer, and educator active at colleges and universities across the U.S.
Albert Christ-Janer was born in Appleton, Minnesota in 1910 and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University, and Harvard University. Christ-Janer wrote about American artists Boardman Robinson and John Caleb Bingham, and taught at a variety of institutions, including Stephens College, Cranbrook Academy, Pratt Institute Art School, and the University of Georgia. He was also an artist-in-residence at Tamarind Lithography Workshop in 1972.
Christ-Janer began his teaching career at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri in 1934, and soon became head of the art department. He moved to Michigan to accept the position of head of the art department and professor of art at Michigan State University in 1942. In 1945, he began working for the Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, serving as director of the educational program, director of the museum and library, and professor of art history.
In 1947, Christ-Janer moved to Chicago and worked at the University of Chicago and the Arts Center Association, Inc. In the 1950s, he served as director of Arts Center Development at New York University, director of the School of Arts at Pennsylvania State University, and on the Lake Erie College Board of Trustees. In 1958, he moved to New York and become dean of the School of Art and Design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, later becoming director. He left Pratt in 1970 to accept the position of Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Art at the University of Georgia, where he remained until his tragic death in 1973.
Christ-Janer was the author of several books: Art in Child Life (University of Iowa Press, 1938), George Caleb Bingham of Missouri (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1940), Boardman Robinson (Unversity of Chicago Press, 1946), Eliel Saarinen (University of Chicago Press, 1948), and Modern Church Architecture, with Mary Mix Foley (McGraw-Hill, 1962).
Albert Christ-Janer was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1950, awarded the Rockefeller Award in 1954, and the Guggenheim Award in 1960. He was also awarded multiple grants from the American Philosophical Society and the J. M. Kaplan Fund for research and work in lithography, as well as multiple Arthur Judson grants. In 1972 Christ-Janer was the Tamarind artist-in-residence at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Christ-Janer traveled often. In 1962 he was a guest of the Bonn government for two months to visit museums and schools of design in Germany. And in 1964, he was a guest of the governments of Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden for two months to study schools, museums, and cultural centers. In July of 1973, Christ-Janer was the official NASA artist for the Skylab III launch, and in October of 1973, he was the studio guest of the Norway-America Association and the Norwegian government in Oslo. From November to December of 1973, Christ-Janer was the scholar-in-residence at the Study and Conference Center of the Rockefeller Foundation (Centro Culturale delle Fondazione Rockefeller), at the Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio (Como), Italy.
Albert Christ-Janer was killed in an automobile accident in Bellagio (Como), Italy on December 12, 1973.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Albert Christ-Janer conducted by Dorothy Seckler, March 21, 1964.
Albert Christ-Janer's research materials for his book American Hymns Old and New (1980) are found at the St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, a center for the study of hymns.
Provenance:
The Albert Christ-Janer papers were donated by Virginia Christ-Janer in 1980-1981 and 1994.
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.
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.
The papers of African American painter, printmaker, and educator Reginald Gammon measure 2.4 linear feet and 5.30 GB and date from 1927 to 2007, with bulk of the materials dating from 1960-2005. The collection consists of scattered biographical materials, including video and sound recordings of interviews; correspondence with artists, galleries, organizations, and museums; writings and notebooks; teaching files; printed materials; photographic material; and artwork in the form of sketches, drawings, and paint sketches.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of African American painter, printmaker, and educator Reginald Gammon measure 2.4 linear feet and 5.30 GB and date from 1927 to 2007, with bulk of the materials dating from 1960-2005. The collection consists of scattered biographical materials, including video and sound recordings of interviews; correspondence with artists, galleries, organizations, and museums; writings and notebooks; teaching files; printed materials; photographic material; and artwork in the form of sketches, drawings, and paint sketches.
Biographical materials include Gammon's academic records and diplomas, certificates, military records, an address book, and information about his memorial service. There is a folder on The Spiral Group which includes an exhibition catalog and photographs. There are video interviews, a conversation video, and two TV advertisements, all digital; one analog and one digital audio interview.
Approximately one-half of the collection consists of correspondence with other artists, museums, galleries and arts organizations. Correspondents include Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Vivian Browne, Thomas Frey, Joseph Greenberg, Harwood Art Center, Patrick King, Hughie Lee-Smith, Midtown Galleries, National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center, New Mexico African American Artists Guild, Harvey Overton, Schomberg Center, Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Museum, Western Michigan University, and Jonathan Wynberg, among many others.
Writings by Gammon consists of essays, a research proposal, notes, grant applications, and notebooks wherein Gammon jotted down thoughts and drafted letters.
Teaching files are related to Reginald Gammon's tenure at Western Michigan University. There are teaching certifications, lecture notes, one sound recording (sound cassette) of a lecture, student recommendations, and grade books, among other items.
Printed materials primarily consist of exhibition catalogs and announcements, including the catalog Ida Y Vuelta on Gammon's 1998 exhibition in Rodez, France. Other materials found in this series are clippings that feature Gammon and his work, periodicals, posters designed by Gammon, and source materials related to jazz. and limited subject files.
Photographic materials include prints, slides, digital photographs, and negatives depicting Reginald Gammon and his artwork, friends and family, and various studios and events.
Artwork includes pencil and ink sketches, drawings, and paint sketches. The series also contains storyboards for children's books as well as mockups for advertisements.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1936-2006 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 3, 5.29 GB; ER01-ER03)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 3: Writings and Notebooks, 1948-circa 2000 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 4: Teaching Files, 1969-1991 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1955-2005 (0.4 linear feet; Box 2, OV 4)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1927-2007 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2-3, 0.010 GB; ER04)
Series 7: Artwork, 1937-circa 1999 (0.5 linear feet; Box 2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Reginald A. Gammon (1921-2005) was a painter and art educator who worked in New York City, Michigan, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a member of Spiral, an African American artist's collective based in New York City, as well as a member of the New Mexico Afro-American Artist Guild. He taught in the New York public schools and at Western Michigan University.
Gammon was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1941, he received a scholarship to study art at the Philadelphia Museum College of Arts (then the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts) and the following summer worked in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard refurbishing battleships for the war effort. While working, he also attended school at night. He was drafted and served in the Navy from 1944-1946 with an African-American unit stationed in Guam. He lived in Philadelphia briefly after the war and moved to New York City in 1948. During his early years in New York City, Gammon worked at various jobs such as sorting mail for the post office and designing advertising copy. Around this time, he first met his future wife Janice Goldberger whom he married in 1972.
In 1963, Gammon was invited to join Spiral, a group of African American artists which included Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, Alvin Hollingsworth, Norman Lewis, Richard Mayhew, and Hale Woodruff. As a member of this group, Gammon participated in the 1965 exhibition First Group Showing: Works in Black and White. Spiral disbanded later that same year. In 1969, Gammon and Benny Andrews formed the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition. This politically active group of artists picketed the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of Modern Art to protest the exclusion of black artists and curators.
Gammon also taught at the Saturday Academy Program for New York public schools. He set up an informal studio so that children from Harlem could work with resident artists. This position and a recommendation from Hughie Lee-Smith led to an offer from Western Michigan University for a visiting lectureship that turned into a full-time teaching position in which Gammon served until 1991, when he retired as Full Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts and Humanities.
After his retirement from Western Michigan University, Gammon and his wife moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and he became involved in the New Mexico Afro-American Artist Guild and the Albuquerque United Artists, among other civic organizations. He regularly participated in exhibitions and art fairs sponsored by the Guild and served as their treasurer from 1999 until his death. He was artist-in-residence from 1992-2005 at the Harwood Art Center where he also maintained a studio.
Gammon was also one of the founding members of the New Grounds Print Workshop, where he completed his final collection of artworks - a collection of over 100 prints of historically significant gospel singers and jazz musicians. Gammon died on November 4, 2005.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2007 and 2008 by Reginald Gammon's widow Janice Gammon.
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.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records 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.
The papers of painter, printmaker, photographer, and educator Beverly Hallam measure 24.2 linear feet and 2.73 Gigabytes, and date from 1899-2013. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, writings, journals, teaching materials, printed material, photographs, film, video, and sound recordings, guest books, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter, printmaker, photographer, and educator Beverly Hallam measure 24.2 linear feet and 2.73 Gigabytes, and date from 1899-2013. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, writings, journals, teaching materials, printed material, photographs, film, video, and sound recordings, guest books, and artwork.
Biographical material includes family histories for both Hallam and Mary-Leigh Smart, as well as Hallam's family estate management, in addition to résumés and travel documents. Correspondence is both professional and personal, including extensive letters with the writer May Sarton. Personal business records include gallery and exhibition records, including some consignments, loans and price lists, as well as donation records. Writings include a master's thesis, artist statements, articles and lectures by Beverly Hallam, as well as student assignments and writings by others. Hallam's journals include travel and artwork journals, as well as heavily annotated and interleaved yearly planners. Teaching materials date back to Hallam's earliest lessons delivered while obtaining her bachelor's degree of education Massachusetts College of Art, and include her work at Lassell Junior College and her tenure teaching at Massachusetts College of Art.
The printed material series includes extensive clippings regarding Hallam's career as well as family history and the careers of notable friends and colleagues, in addition to those regarding regional artists and the art scene in Maine. Also included are invitations and catalogs for Beverly Hallam's exhibitions, and early research into polyvinyl acetate. Photographs include those of Beverly and her friends and family, as well as artwork and albums documenting installations for exhibitions throughout Hallam's career. Some albums more closely document the homes and estates of Surf Point belonging to Hallam and Smart, as well as Wild Knoll belonging to May Sarton. Also included are photographs Hallam created as illustrations for writing projects by Sarton.
The film, video, and audio recording series includes numerous home movies documenting Hallam's family life and her home at Surf Point, as well as some reels documenting her artwork and exhibitions and a few audio recordings most likely of artist talks. Guest books document attendance for select exhibitions in Hallam's career, as well as of her various homes. The artwork series is comprised of sketchbooks including those detailing Hallam's airbrush works, holiday cards drawn and designed by Hallam, and prints of later computer-generated works.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in eleven series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1899-2012 (1.0 linear foot: Box 1; 0.349 GB: ER01)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930s-2013 (4.3 linear feet: Boxes 2-6; 0.376 GB: ER02-ER11)
Series 3: Personal Business, circa 1952-2012, circa 1952-2012 (0.7 linear feet: Box 6; 0.066 GB: ER12-ER14, ER16)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1920s-2006 (1.4 linear feet: Boxes 7-8, 22; 0.001 GB: ER15)
Series 5: Journals, circa 1941-1999 (2.7 linear feet: Boxes 8-10)
Series 6: Teaching Material, circa 1944-1962 (0.7 linear feet: Box 11)
Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1920s-2010 (4.3 linear feet: Boxes 11-15, 22)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1900-2013 (4.7 linear feet: Boxes 15-20; 1.95 GB: ER17-ER30)
Series 9: Film, Video, and Sound Recordings, circa 1970s-1990 (2.6 linear feet: Box 17, FC25-FC47)
Series 10: Guest Books, 1954-2004 (0.8 linear feet: Boxes 17, 21)
Series 11: Artwork, circa 1940s-2008 (1.0 linear foot (Boxes 21, 23-24)
Biographical / Historical:
Beverly Linney Hallam (1923-2013) was a painter, photographer, printmaker, and art educator in York, Maine. Hallam was born in Lynn, Massachusetts to parents Alice Linney Hallam and Edwin Hallam, who was an engineer. Beverly Hallam gravitated toward art making at a young age, and pursued a bachelor's degree in education from the Massachusetts College of Art. Shortly after graduation Hallam accepted a position at Lasell Junior College where she was Chairman of the Art Department until 1949. In 1948 she attended a summer study program at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. In 1953 she received her M.F.A. at Syracuse University where she wrote her thesis on the use of polyvinyl acetate as an artistic medium. For this and other early efforts she would be known as a pioneer for the medium of acrylic paint, which polyvinyl acetate would come to be known. From 1949-1962 Ms. Hallam was professor at the Massachusetts College of Art from 1949-1961 where she taught Painting, Drawing and Design, and Photography. She is particularly well known as a printmaker, and especially for her large-scale airbrush paintings of flowers.
Around the early 1960s with Hallam's departure from teaching, she relocated permanently to Ogunquit, Maine where she kept a studio and home known as Stonecrop, which is currently an art gallery by the same name. In 1971 Hallam and lifelong friend and companion Mary-Leigh Smart completed the construction of Surf Point, which served as both a home as well as a studio for Hallam. Surf Point was situated near the property known as Wild Knoll which was home to Hallam's close friend and correspondent, the poet and writer May Sarton, who lived there from 1974-1995. Sarton and Hallam Smart was a founder of The Barn Gallery, under the Ogunquit Art Association, for which both Hallam and Smart were board members. Smart also was also a collector and art consultant, passionate about Maine regional artists. In 1988 Mary-Leigh Smart established a Trust that would ensure their home and surrounding land would be turned into an artist residency upon their deaths, known as the Surf Point Foundation, modelled after the MacDowell Colony.
Related Materials:
The originals of some letters from May Sarton, 1954, and 1966-1994, included in this collection as photocopies, appear in the May Sarton papers held at New York Public Library's Archives and Manuscripts.
Provenance:
Material on reel 1428 was lent for microfilming in 1978. The majority of the collection was donated in 1992 and 1996 by Beverly Hallam, and in 2014 by the Beverly Hallam estate via executor Mary-Leigh Smart.
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. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alma Thomas paper is provided by The Walton Family Foundation and The Friends of Alma Thomas
The papers of painter and arts administrator Francis Sumner Merritt measure 5.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 1980. The bulk of the papers document his career as the founding director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Included are biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings and notes, professional files on Haystack and other institutions, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and arts administrator Francis Sumner Merritt measure 5.7 linear feet and date from circa 1930 to 1980. The bulk of the papers document his career as the founding director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Included are biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings and notes, professional files on Haystack and other institutions, printed material, and photographs.
Biographical materials contain scattered records relating to Merritt's personal life and career including a scrapbook and a print by Fiske Boyd. Professional files create the bulk of the papers and focus on Merritt's arts administration career at Haystack and other institutions including the Flint Institute of Art and Bradford Junior College. Among the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts material are planning materials, correspondence with many craft artists, financial records, student information, printed material, photographs for various sessions held at the school, and one sound recording concerning a trip to Nigeria.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1936-1977 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930-1978 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940s-1978 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Professional Files, 1940s-1980 (Box 1-5, 8; 4.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1939-1976 (Box 6-7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1949-1970s (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Francis Sumner Merritt (1913-2000) was a painter, designer, and arts administrator. He was the first director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.
Merritt was born in 1913 in Danvers, Massachusetts. He studied art at multiple schools, including Yale University School of Fine Arts and was a printmaker and painter. In addition to his art, Merritt taught painting at Colby Junior College, the Cranbrook Summer Institute, and Bradford Junior College. Merritt began his arts administrative career as director of the Flint Institute of Art in Detroit, Michigan. He was brought on to be the first director at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. In this position, he encouraged the international study of craft.
Francis Merritt was married to Priscilla Merritt, with whom he had two sons. He died in Belfast, Maine in 2000.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts records, 1950-1969, and an oral history interview of Francis Sumner Merritt conducted 1979 May 25-June 25, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
Francis Sumner Merritt donated his papers in two accessions in 1980 and 1994.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Maine -- Deer Isle Search this
An interview of George Earl Ortman conducted 1963 Sept. 19-Nov. 5, by Richard Brown Baker, for the Archives of American Art.
Ortman speaks of critics' reviews of his work; his reactions to the early abstract expressionists; his family background and early experiences; his education; the California environment and its influence on him; his U.S. Navy service; the art scene in San Francisco in the 1940s; other artists he was acquainted with; coming to New York; influences on contemporary artists; pop art; establishing a reputation as a printmaker; studying under William Hayter; his time spent in France; development of his style; problems of making a living in art; his work in theatrical design; realism versus abstraction; his teaching career; exhibits he has had. He recalls Eleanor Ward, Howard Wise, Willem de Kooning, Nathan Oliveira, Gandy Brodie, Hans Hofmann, and Joan Mitchell.
Biographical / Historical:
George Earl Ortman (1926- ) is a painter, sculptor, and printmaker from Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 52 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
An interview of Harvey K. Littleton conducted 2001 March 15, by Joan Falconer Byrd, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Littleton's home, Spruce Pine, N.C.
Littleton speaks of his family background including the work of his father [Jesse Talbot Littleton] at Corning Glassworks, and his early experiences with glass at Corning. He discusses his studies at the University of Michigan in physics and his switch to sculpture; his studies at Cranbrook Academy, in 1941, and his teachers Marshall Fredericks and Carl Milles; his studies on industrial design; becoming a potter; and working at Corning Glassworks, in the summers, inspecting hand-blown coffee pots and top-of-the-stove ware. He discusses his service in the 849th Signal Intelligence Unit in North Africa and Italy during WWII; studying with Norah Braden, at the Brighton School of Art, in England; the importance of, "A Potter's Book," by Bernard Leach; teaching pottery at night, in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the beginnings of the Ann Arbor Potters Guild; making his own potters' wheels; serving on the board of Penland School of Crafts; the development of "American" art and the impact of the GI Bill on the creation and expansion of art departments; the "master-slave apprentice system"; "the genius of Shoji Hamada"; the properties of porcelain; artist communities at Penland and Cranbrook; the influence of Bill Brown, director of the Penland School of Crafts; art education and the impact of the MFA; Black Mountain College, Pilchuck Glass School, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; problems with the European educational system; the importance of Erwin Eisch's work on his development; his relationship with galleries and museums, particularly the Museum of Modern Art, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and American Craft Museum; and consignment laws. He also comments on the founding of the Midwest Designer Craftsmen; his involvement with the American Crafts Council (ACC) and the distinction between "the indigenous craftsman" and the "artist-craftsman"; American Crafts Council fairs; his printmaking; his techniques of sandblasting; teaching vitreography; and his plans for opening a print gallery. He recalls Charles Eames, Peter Voulkos, Shoji Hamada, Robert Turner, Dante Marioni, Fritz Dreisbach, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Harvey K. Littleton (1922- ) is a glass artist, potter, sculptor, and printmaker from Wisconsin and Spruce Pine, N.C. Joan Falconer Byrd (1939-) ia a professor in the art department of Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 10 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.
Topic:
Glass artists -- North Carolina -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Aris Koutroulis conducted 1976 Jan. 10, by James Crawford, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Aris Koutroulis (1938- ) is a painter and printmaker from Detroit, Mich.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 18 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Painters -- Michigan -- Detroit -- Interviews Search this
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copy requires advance notice. One box of letters from Jim Nutt are ACCESS RESTRICTED; use requires written permission.
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:
Ray Yoshida papers, circa 1895-2010, bulk 1950-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of the Ray Yoshida papers received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
The Richard Haas papers measure 6 linear feet and are dated 1937 to 2012, bulk 1970-2012. His work and career as a muralist, printmaker, and educator are documented by correspondence, writings, printed material, sketchbooks, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Richard Haas papers measure 6 linear feet and are dated 1937 to 2012, bulk 1970-2012. His work and career as a muralist, printmaker, and educator are documented by correspondence, writings, printed material, sketchbooks, and photographs.
Haas's correspondence relates to commissions, exhibitions, lectures, publications, teaching, and other professional activities. Correspondents include clients, galleries, professional organizations, critics, artists, architects and others. Also found is small amount of personal correspondence. Writings and notes by Haas include artist's statements, notes, lectures, a travel diary, papers and class notes from his undergraduate and graduate student days. Writings about him are a New Museum exhibition catalog text and a student paper. Subject files relate to Haas's professional activities and interests. They document exhibitions and projects, relationships with galleries, membership and participation in various organizations, and routine business matters. Sketchbooks (17 volumes) contain drawings, sketches, and a few watercolors, along with scattered writings and notes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1990, 2009 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2008 (Box 1; 1 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1954-2012 (Box 2; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 4: Subject Files, 1970-2011 (Boxes 2-4; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1956-2012 (Boxes 5-6; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Artwork, 1954-2005 (Box 6; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Sketchbooks, 1976-2009 (Box 6; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1937-2006 (Box 6; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Richard Haas (b. 1936) is a mural painter of "architecture of illusion," his term describing the trompe l'oeil architectural subjects for which he is best known. His work as a printmaker also focuses on architecture, with iconic buildings of New York and other cities serving as subject matter. Hass is also an educator who has taught painting and printmaking at University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, Bennington College in Vermont, and School of Visual Arts in New York City.
During World War II, the Haas family moved from Spring Green, Wisconsin to Milwaukee. As a teenager, Richard spent two summers working with his great uncle, a master stone mason employed by Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. He proved to be less interested in stonework than in exploring Wright's library and watching the young architects draw. He considered becoming an architect, but eventually concluded the artistic side of architecture was more attractive than the day to day work of an architect.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (B.S., 1959), Hass worked as an art teacher in a Milwaukee high school. He attended graduate classes at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where visiting artist Jack Tworkov was his teacher. At the University of Minnesota (M.F.A., 1964), Haas studied with Peter Busa and Malcolm Myers. As an assistant professor at Michigan State University from 1964 to 1968, Haas's colleagues included Angelo Ippolito and Charles Pollock, and he met a number of important artists and critics who visited the campus. Haas moved to New York City in 1968 and soon accepted a part-time position teaching printmaking at Bennington College. He commuted weekly between New York and Vermont for the next decade.
During the 1960s Haas was a Color-field painter. He also continued making etchings and lithographs, and by 1970 several galleries were selling his architectural prints. His first outdoor mural, painted in the So Ho section of New York City in 1975, attracted attention and commissions followed. Mural commissions include: Boston Architectural Center (1977); Edison Bothers Store, Inc., St. Louis (1984); Home Savings of America, multiple locations in Florida and California (1990-1991); City of Huntsville, Texas (1991); Federal Building and Courthouse, Kansas City, Kansas (1994); and Yorkville Mural, New York City (2004.)
Haas, who began exhibiting while still a student, has participated in a large number of group shows and enjoyed many solo exhibitions. He was elected a National Academician, National Academy of Design, was granted a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has been a MacDowell Fellow. Among other honors, Haas has received the American Institute of Architects Medal of Honor, New York City Municipal Art Society Award, Doris C. Freedman Award for Public Art, and the Jimmy Ernst Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Mr. Haas, who works in New York City, is represented by David Findlay, Jr. Gallery. His wife, Katherine Sokolnikoff, is a sculptor and arts administrator; they live in Yonkers, New York.
Related Material:
An interview of Richard Haas conducted January 13 and March 16, 2009, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts oral history project, at Haas' studio, in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated by Richard Haas in 2012.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Harvey K. Littleton, 2001 March 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Glass artists -- North Carolina -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Aris Koutroulis, 1976 Jan. 10. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Robert Broner, 1974 May 3-8. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
