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Alexander Archipenko papers

Creator:: Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964 Search this

Names:: Archipenko Art School (Woodstock, N.Y.) Search this; Archipenko, Angelica Search this; Archipenko, Frances Search this; Spies, Walter Search this

Extent:: 19.5 Linear feet

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Transcripts; Sound recordings; Scrapbooks; Photographs

Date:: 1904-1986; bulk 1930-1964

Summary:: The Alexander Archipenko papers measure 19.5 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1986, with the bulk of materials dating from 1930 to 1964. The sculptor's personal and professional life is documented by correspondence, financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, and photographs documenting his art, exhibitions, travel, teaching activities, and the Archipenko Art School. Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophies of art and the relationship between art and nature. The papers include drafts, notes, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, and notes, outlines, transcripts, and audio recordings of some of his lectures.

Scope and Content Note:: The Alexander Archipenko papers measure 19.5 linear feet and date from 1904 to 1986, with the bulk of materials dating from 1930 to 1964. The sculptor's personal and professional life is documented by correspondence, financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, and photographs documenting his art, exhibitions, travel, teaching activities, and the Archipenko Art School. Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophies of art and the relationship between art and nature. The papers include drafts, notes, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, and notes, outlines, transcripts, and audio recordings of some of his lectures.

Correspondence concerns both personal and professional matters. Among Archipenko's personal correspondents are relatives and friends in the Ukraine, his wife Angelica during her extended stays in Mexico and California, and other women. Professional correspondence is with dealers, curators, scholars, collectors, colleges and universities concerning exhibitions, sales and commissions, loans, and teaching and lecture engagements.

Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophy of art, art in nature, and theories concerning creativity and the universe. His papers include manuscripts, drafts, notes and supporting materials for his book published in 1960, Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958. Similar documentation of unpublished writings, as well as notes, outlines, and some transcripts of lectures and talks are also in the series.

Records concerning the Archipenko Art School are sparse, with only one photograph of students in Berlin, 1921. Surviving records include printed matter, a cashbook, student roster, and scrapbook containing photographs, printed matter, and a typescript copy of a statement by Archipenko, "How I Teach." Most of this material focuses on the New York and Woodstock schools, with only a few items concerning Chicago. In addition, files regarding Archipenko's teaching activities at schools other than his own include course descriptions, student rosters, grades, and printed matter.

Financial records consist of banking records, paid bills, and miscellaneous items. Paid bills include invoices and receipts for art supplies, shipping, and storage. Among the miscellaneous items are price lists, royalties paid by the Museum of Modern Art for Woman Combing Her Hair, and sales records.

Nine scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, lecture notices, advertisements and brochures of the Archipenko Art School, and a small number of photographs. Printed matter consists primarily of clippings about Archipenko and exhibition catalogs with related announcements and invitations. Miscellaneous items include books about Archipenko, catalogs of museum collections containing works by Archipenko, and reproductions. Of special interest is a brochure about the Multiplex Advertising Machine that bears a similarity to the Archipentura, an "apparatus for displaying Changeable Pictures" Archipenko invented circa 1924 and patented in 1927.

Photographs are of people, Archipenko's travels and miscellaneous places, exhibitions, works of art, events, and miscellaneous subjects. Five photograph albums mainly document travels. Slides and transparencies include black and white lantern slides probably used to illustrate lectures.

Arrangement:: The collection is arranged as 10 series. Lantern slides and glass plates are housed separately and closed to researchers, but listed where they fall intellectually within the collection.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1908-1964 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, OV 28)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1970 (4.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-5)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1940-1958 (6 folders; Box 5)

Series 4: Writings, 1923-1971 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 5-8, Film can FC 30)

Series 5: Teaching, 1921-1952 (0.8 linear feet; Box 9, Film cans FC 31-33)

Series 6: Financial Records, 1923-1971 (1.5 linear feet; Box 9-10)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1910-1961 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 22-25)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1913-1987 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 11-14, 26, OV 29)

Series 9: Miscellaneous, 1916-1966 (0.5 linear feet; Box 14, 16, Film can FC 34)

Series 10: Photographic Material, 1904-1964 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 14-15, 17-21, 26-27)

Biographical Note:: Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964) was the son of an engineer/inventor and grandson of an icon painter. Among the first modern sculptors of the 20th century to be associated with the Cubist movement, Archipenko was known for his innovative use of concave space. His major contribution was the realization of negative form through use of a hole to create a contrast of solid and void. His sculpto-paintings united form and color; begun in 1912, these polychromed constructions are among the earliest mixed-media works known, and sometimes incorporated objects. Eventually, his Cubist-inspired work evolved into the simplified, abstract shapes for which he is best known. Although known primarily as a sculptor, Archipenko produced paintings, drawings, and prints as well.

At age 15, Archipenko began studying art at the University of Kiev in his native city; he was expelled three years later for criticizing the teachers. He then went to Moscow where he worked on his own and exhibited in several group shows; his first solo exhibition was held in the Ukraine in 1906.

Archipenko made Paris his home from 1908 until the outbreak of World War I. Soon after his arrival, he enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts; this association lasted but two weeks, and marked the end of Archipenko's formal training. He continued to study art by spending large amounts of time visiting art museums and painting on his own. During this period, he began exhibiting in the Salon des Independents with the Cubists, and as a member of the "Section d'Or" participated in that group's exhibitions. His first one-man exhibition in Germany was held at the Folkwant Museum (1912) and his work was featured in the Armory Show (1913).

In 1912, at the age of 25, Archipenko established his first art school in Paris. He spent the war years working quietly outside of Nice, and soon afterwards circulated an extensive exhibition of his works throughout Europe. In 1921, Archipenko settled in Berlin, opened an art school there, and married sculptor Angelica Bruno-Schmitz, who was known professionally as Gela Forster.

Archipenko's reputation was solidly established and the majority of his ground-breaking work - adaptation of Cubist ideas to sculpture, sculpto-paintings and incorporation of negative space in sculpture - was accomplished prior to his 1923 arrival in the United States. One of his most innovative works executed in America was the Archipentura, invented circa 1924 and patented in 1927, a machine with rolling cylinders that displayed "animated paintings" using motion and light. Other creations of note are carved Lucite sculptures, illuminated from within, that were executed in the mid-1940s.

Upon settling in the United States in 1923, Archipenko opened his art school in New York City; a summer school was established in Woodstock, New York the following year. Within a few years, Archipenko purchased land near Woodstock and began construction of a home, personal studio, and buildings for the school. At various times during the 1930s, Archipenko resided in Chicago and Los Angeles, and operated schools while living in those cities. For many years during the 1940s, Angelica served on the sculpture faculty at the Escuela de Belles Artes in San Miguel Allende, Mexico.

In addition to running his own schools, Archipenko taught at a number of colleges and universities, where he ran workshops, and served as a visiting professor. He wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophy of art and theories of creativity, publishing several articles and a book, Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958 (1960).

Angelica Archipenko died in 1957. Three years later Archipenko married sculptor Frances Gray, a former student. During the early 1960s, the couple traveled extensively on a lecture tour that accompanied a solo exhibition to several German cities. Archipenko died in New York City, February 25, 1964.

The following chronology is excerpted from Alexander Archipenko: A Centennial Tribute by Katherine Janszky Michaelsen and Nehama Guralnik (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1986) and Archipenko: The Sculpture and Graphic art, Including a Print Catalogue Raisonne by Donald Karshan, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag (Tubingen, Germany, 1974).

1887 -- Born to Porfiry Antonovich and Poroskovia Wassilievna Machova Archipenko in Kiev, Ukraine, Russia. Father a mechanical engineer, professor of engineering, and inventor; grandfather an icon painter.

1900 -- Studied and copied Michelangelo drawings from a book given him by his grandfather during a long confinement following a leg injury.

1902-1905 -- Painting and sculpture student in Kiev art school; expelled for criticizing his teachers.

1906 -- First one-man show in the Ukraine. Worked in Moscow and exhibited in several group shows.

1908 -- Moved to Paris and enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Quit formal art instruction after two weeks, continued to study art on his own by visiting museums.

1910 -- Exhibited in the Salon des Independants with the cubists (also in 1911-1914 and 1919).

1912 -- Opened art school in Paris. "Section d'Or" formed in Paris with Archipenko among its members. The group exhibited until 1914, and briefly after World War I. First solo exhibition in Germany, Folkwant Museum, Hagen.

1913 -- Represented in the Armory Show. Executed first prints (lithographs).

1914 -- Began making sculpto-paintings.

1914-1918 -- Spent the war years working near Nice.

1919-1920 -- Began extensive tour exhibiting his works in various European cities (Geneva, Zurich, Paris, London, Brussels, Athens, Berlin, Munich, etc.).

1920 -- One-man exhibition in the Venice Biennale.

1921 -- First solo exhibition in the United States at the Societe Anonyme, Inc., New York; a symposium, Psychology of Modern Art and Archipenko, was held during the course of the show. Moved to Berlin and opened art school. Married sculptor Angelica Bruno-Schmitz [known professionally as Gela Forster]. First print commission.

1923 -- Moved to the United States and opened art school in New York City.

1924 -- Established a summer school at Woodstock, New York.

1927 -- "Archipentura" patented ("Apparatus for displaying Changeable Pictures and methods for Decorating Changeable Display Apparatus," nos. 1,626, 946 and 1,626,497).

1928 -- Became an American citizen.

1929 -- Bought land near Woodstock, New York, and began construction of school and studio buildings.

1932 -- Lectured on his theories of creativeness at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

1933 -- Taught summer session at Mills College, Oakland, California, and Chouinard School, Los Angeles.

1935 -- Moved to Los Angeles and opened art school.

1935-1936 -- Taught summer sessions at the University of Washington, Seattle.

1936 -- Moved to Chicago and opened art school. Associate instructor at New Bauhaus School, Chicago.

1938 -- Returned to New York; reopened art school and Woodstock summer school.

1944 -- Taught at the Dalton School, New York City.

1946-1947 -- Returned to Chicago; taught at the Institute of Design.

1947 -- Began making carved plastic sculptures with internal illumination.

1950 -- Taught at University of Kansas City, Missouri.

1950-1951 -- Lecture tour of the southern cities of the United States.

1951 -- Taught at Carmel Institute of Art, California, University of Oregon, and University of Washington, Seattle.

1952 -- Taught at University of Delaware, Newark.

1953 -- Elected Associate Member of International Institute of Arts and Letters.

1955-1956 -- One-man exhibition tours in Germany (Dusseldorf, Darmstadt, Mannheim, and Recklinghausen).

1956 -- Taught at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

1957 -- Death of Angelica.

1959 -- Awarded gold medal, XIII Biennale de'Arte Triveneta, III Concorso Internationale del Bronzetto, Padua, Italy.

1960 -- Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958 by Alexander Archipenko and Fifty Art Historians published by Tekhne (a company established by Archipenko for the purpose). Married Frances Gray, a sculptor and former student. Recovered plasters of early work stored by French friends since the end of World War I. Traveling exhibition in Germany (Hagen, Münster, and Dusseldorf).

1962 -- Elected to the Department of Art, National Institute of Arts and Letters.

1964 -- Dies in New York City.

Related Material:: Among the holdings of the Archives are the Donald H. Karshan papers relating to Alexander Archipenko, originally accessioned as part of the Alexander Archipenko papers, but later separated to form a distinct collection.

The Archives also has the National Collection of Fine Arts records relating to Alexander Archipenko.

Separated Materials:: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels NA11-NA12, NA16-NA18, and NA 20-NA22) including biographical material, correspondence, exhibition records, writings, printed material and photographs. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:: In 1967, the Alexander Archipenko papers, previously on deposit at Syracuse University, were loaned to the Archives of American Art for microfilming by his widow Frances Archipenko Gray. In 1982, Ms. Gray donated most of the material previously loaned and microfilmed to the Archives of American Art, along with additional items.

Restrictions:: Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. research facility. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Lantern slides and glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

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:: Art -- Philosophy Search this; Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century Search this; Sculpture -- Technique Search this; Sculptors Search this; Art -- Study and teaching Search this; Cubism Search this

Genre/Form:: Transcripts; Sound recordings; Scrapbooks; Photographs

Citation:: Alexander Archipenko papers, 1904-1986, bulk 1930-1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:: Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:: AAA.archalex

See more items in:: Alexander Archipenko papers

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-archalex

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Corcoran Gallery of Art's Eastman Kodak Photographs of Asia

Creator:: Corcoran Gallery of Art Search this

Extent:: 0.16 Cubic feet (Flat box, Drop front, tan, 15 in. x 12 in. x 1.5 in.)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials

Date:: 1911-1928, unknown

Scope and Contents:: This collection consists of eight black and white photographic copy prints, made by Palm Press in 1987, depicting people and scenes throughout Asia, by photographers including Joseph Rock, Tamotsu Enami, Frederick Wulsin, Frederick Simpich, Wiele and Klein, and R. Senz and Company. The prints were originally a gift of the Eastman Kodak Company to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1990, with the images themselves from the collections of the National Geographic Society. The images previously featured in the exhibition "Odyssey: The Art of Photography at National Geographic from June 4 through August 28, 1988, to commemorate the National Geographic Society's centennial, and traveled in three exhibitions through 1991. They also appeared in the catalog Odyssey: The Art of Photograph at National Geographic by Jane Livingston with Frances Fralin and Declan Haun in 1988.

Following the dissolution of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the prints transferred to the collections of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

Arrangement:: Arranged alphabetically by photographer or firm name, thereunder chronologically.

Enami, Tomatsu:: Tomatsu Enami, who lived and worked during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was a photographer who owned and operated a studio in Yokohama during the 1920s and '30s. He had a family background in photography; his father was assistant to Kazumasa Ogawa, a pioneering Japanese photographer. He experimented with glass-plate film, stereoscopic views, and colored lantern slides, many of which depicted Japanese scenery of the Meiji Era.

Enami's work was popular, with his photographs displayed in American photo salons and appearing in publications, such as Japan Photography Yearbook and Asahi Photographic Annual, in the early 1930s. His studio was severely damaged in the bombings of Yokohama during World War II. Following the war, he continued working use glass-plate techniques due to a unavailability of other materials.

R. Senz & Company:: R. Senz and Company was a photographic business located in Bangkok. The history of the company is unknown.

Rock, Joseph:: Joseph Francis Charles Rock (1884-1962), or Joseph Rock, was a botanist, photographer, explorer, and linguist. He primarily studied plant species in Hawaii and China, both places of residence during his lifetime. Although Rock faced illness throughout his life and was never formally educated, he dedicated his life to substantial exploration and research, and documented his travels through photographs.

Rock was born in Vienna, Austria in 1884 and immigrated to the United States in 1905, residing in Hawaii from 1907-1920. During his time in Hawaii, he taught botany at the University of Hawaii and published numerous books and articles concerning the flora of the state. In 1920, he began his exploration of China under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which would end up lasting 27 years. While in China, Rock extensively explored Tibet worked for institutions like Harvard University and National Geographic. On a 1924 Tibetan expedition encouraged by Charles S. Sargent, the first director of the Arnold Arboretum, Rock collected 20,000 herbarium specimens. While traveling Rock engaged with local cultures and languages, especially that of the Naxi people. Rock's travels are documented through his personal photographs—images that Rock believed to be important visual evidence of his research. In 1949, due to the political situation in China, he returned to Hawaii, where he passed away in 1962.

Simpich, Frederick:: Frederick Simpich (1878-1950) was a writer, photographer, and traveler. In his early career, in the 1880s and 90s, Simpich was a news reporter in Shanghai, Manila, and San Francisco. After his newspaper endeavors, Simpich was employed by the United States Department of State, most notably serving as consul general in Guatemala in 1920. Later he joined National Geographic, where he worked for 22 years, including as assistant editor from 1931-1949. During his time with National Geographic, he collected and published detailed information on cities, states, countries, and other locations.

Wiele & Klein:: Wiele and Klein, or Klein and Peryerl (also spelled Preyerl) post-1930, was a photography business based in Madras, India in the first half of the 20th century. The company was founded by Hermann Wiele and Theodor Klein, who were originally from Germany. Wiele and Klein had a central location in Madras and a second studio in Bangalore, which likely catered to British military residents in the area.

Wiele and Klein engaged with a variety of photographic genres, including the manufacturing of postcards, which there was a large market for at the time. They experimented with stereoscopic views that they sold throughout South India. The company was based in India and employed some Indian photographers, but the majority of its business focused on Europeans who were living or traveling in India.

Wulsin, Frederick R.:: Frederick R. Wulsin (1891-1961) was an American anthropologist who traveled in Africa and China during the 20th century. After graduating from Harvard, Wulsin embarked on an expedition to Africa in 1913, where he collected specimens and performed research for Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. In 1923, Wulsin received funding from National Geographic to travel throughout northwestern China and Mongolia collecting plant and animal specimens. When Wulsin returned to the United States, he received a doctorate in anthropology and taught at Tufts University and Boston University. With the onset of World War II, Wulsin was recruited to study the human body and its ability to survive in harsh weather conditions by the Quartermaster General's Office.

During his time in China, he documented China's people and landscape, through note taking, collection of specimens, and photography. Wulsin gathered thousands of plant and animal specimens and took 2,000 photos, mostly on his favorite camera, a 4" x 5" Graflex. Some of his most well-known photographs were taken in Wangyefu, Mongolia.

Citation:: Corcoran Gallery of Art's Eastman Kodak Photographs of Asia. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Identifier:: FSA.A2018.08

See more items in:: Corcoran Gallery of Art's Eastman Kodak Photographs of Asia

Archival Repository:: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-fsa-a2018-08

Arthur d'Arazien Industrial Photographs

Creator:: d'Arazien, Arthur Search this

Extent:: 11 Cubic feet (28 boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Photographs; Dye destruction process; Photographic prints; Transparencies; Cibachrome (tm); Tear sheets; Color negatives; Color prints (photographs); Dye destruction photoprints; Silver-dye bleach process; Type c color prints; Chromogenic processes

Place:: Canada -- Industry -- 1940-1980

Date:: circa 1930-2002

Scope and Contents:: The collection includes Arthur d'Arazien's professional work in industrial photography from the late 1940's through about 1981; personal creative photography and other types of professional work were retained by Mr. d'Arazien or placed elsewhere. Thus this collection is a very cohesive, unified body of work, which documents primarily American (and some Canadian) business and industry during a period of expansion a golden age of American industry. Although it represents the photographer's creative and artistic style and skill, the subject matter is appropriate to the National Museum of American History from several viewpoints the visual documentation of industry and technology, as well as advertising, public relations, and business history.

The photographs include black and white negatives and prints from the negatives, as well as color negative and transparency materials, up to 8" x 10" in size. Probably the majority of the transparencies were made in the large size. The black and white materials include pictures of d'Arazien at work some made by famous Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, a colleague at the Famous Photographers School. A number of Dye Transfer prints mounted on illustration board were made by master color printer Don Browning.

In addition to frequently extensive caption information on all of d'Araziens original envelopes and enclosures, many enclosures for color negatives and transparencies bear d'Arazien labels with technical information or instructions for color printing, such as filter pack designations and local printing controls. These enclosures therefore have been retained in the collection, although usually they are not of archival quality.

Of secondary significance are 62 large color prints, mostly Type C, with a few Cibachromes, which were made from the original transparencies for exhibition purposes. Most were made either by K & L laboratories, New York City (stickers on back) or Eastman Kodak professional laboratories, Rochester, N.Y., and have been wet mounted to non archival Masonite. At the time of acquisition, several had faded and/or changed color. These are available for research and exhibition purposes, but are not expected to survive as long as the original transparencies.

The collection contains Mr. d'Arazien's files of printed materials. These include reproductions which indicate how his photographs were used by clients. Included are annual reports, promotional pieces, magazine tearsheets from advertising and editorial uses, and other biographical items.

Series 1: Professional industrial photographs.

Photographs document primarily American business and industry (including some taken in Canada). Black-and-white negatives with prints from these negatives, also color negative and transparency materials. Most transparencies are 8" x 10". The photographs demonstrate the photographer's reputation as a master of dramatic lighting and the coordination of large-scale, complex industrial setups in factories, steel mills, and even outdoor settings. Also 65 color prints, mostly Type C with a few Cibachromes, made from the original transparencies for exhibition purposes, mostly wet-mounted to Masonite. Black-and-white photographs include pictures of d'Arazien at work--some by Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Series 2: D'Arazien's files of printed materials, some of which include photomechanical reproductions of his work, indicating how the photographs were used by clients; also annual reports, magazine tearsheets from advertising and editorial uses, and other promotional items, in addition to biographical materials.

2007 addendum: Transparencies, slides, prints and negatives of additional photographs by Arthur d'Arazien, including industrial subjects as well as travel, architectural, agricultural, portrait, art, still life and personal photographs. Also included are miscellaneous papers, mostly relating to d'Arazien's photographic work.

Arrangement:: The collection is divided into three series.

Series 1: Paper Documents

Subseries 1.1: Publications and Reproductions.

Subseries 1.2: Photographer's Labels, Envelopes, Etc.

Series 2: Photographs

Subseries 2.1: Color Phototransparencies

Subseries 2.2: Color Photonegatives and Color Photoprints

Subseries 2.3: Black and White Photonegatives and Photoprints

Subseries 2.4: Color Photoprints: Enlargements Mounted on Masonite

Material is arranged in each sub-series primarily by client names, in alphabetical order.

Series 3: Oversize prints

Biographical / Historical:: Arthur d'Arazien began his photographic career as an assistant to a famous theatrical photographer, documenting Broadway shows. A distinctive emphasis on dramatic lighting in his later work suggests the heavy influence of the theater. He did fashion and commercial photography, as well as photographing the 1939 World's Fair, for Underwood & Underwood Illustration Studios, East 44th St., New York City, in 1938 1939. He was described in a U.S. Camera Annual article as Aan architect whose interest in photography has caused him to make a profession of it.

D'Arazien taught aerial photography for the U.S. Air Corps Technical Training Command at Lowry Field, Denver, during World War II. He began his career in industrial photography with the De Laval Separator Company, New York City. His energy and creativity led to assignments which often were judged too difficult for lesser photographers. His growing reputation as an industrial photographer kept pace with the dynamic growth of the industrial and technological activities he was photographing during the 1950s through the 1980s.

Robert Vogel, former Curator of Mechanical and Civil Engineering for the National Museum of American History, wrote that d'Arazien: ...became internationally known for his dramatic color views of the American industrial scene at a time when our industry can be said to have been at the height of its powers....He was commissioned by the giants of steel, paper, chemicals, machinery, transportation, automobiles, mining, metal refining, textiles, and the other heavy (and medium) industries. ...He developed a number of special techniques for obtaining the grand, sweeping views that became his trademark, including multiple exposures to achieve dramatic lighting effects, elaborate lighting setups involving multiple flashes from several vantages employing a number of assistants intercommunicating by radio, complex arrangements with transportation lines and the various departments of the subject organization to produce the desired juxtaposition of elements in the photograph, and the like. His MO was anything but that of simply walking onto the scene and snapping the shutter; for many of his breathtaking views he appears to have been more producer and impresario than photographer.

Arthur d'Arazien describes the growth of his spectacular style as an eager response to new subjects, challenges, and photographic materials:

...knowing that color was the coming thing in corporate advertising, I pursued that line. I did lots of experimenting; every assignment gave me an opportunity to try something new, such as combination day and night exposures on a single sheet of film, multiple flash bulbs to light large interiors, multiple exposures on the same film, such as...moving objects ...automobiles, trains...to build up excitement in a picture. Colored gels to change colors. I even used old fashioned flash powder to light ...steel mills, because there were no flashbulbs powerful enough to light these dark, cavernous interiors: this idea was borrowed from the Air Corps night time aerial photography with magnesium flash powder.

A skilled painter and metal sculptor as well as photographer, d'Arazien came from a family of artists. His photographs were made primarily on assignment from industrial corporations for advertising, editorial, and public relations purposes, but have been exhibited and collected as works of art in the Smithsonian Institution (Division of Photographic History), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum. His work was included in the Photography in the Fine Arts exhibitions organized by Ivan Dimitri, and he was a founding faculty member of the Famous Photographers School, Westport, Connecticut, in the early 1960's.

D'Arazien married Margaret Scott and has two sons. He had a studio in Waterside Plaza, New York, and made his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, until moving to Naples, Florida, upon his retirement in 1988. The collection was brought to the Smithsonian's attention by his son Steven, and was donated to the Archives Center before this move. In anticipation of this gift, Mr. d'Arazien spent several months inspecting his collection, eliminating duplicate and technically unsuccessful images, and captioning photographs.

Sources American Aces, U.S. Camera Annual 1939. Clipping in scrapbook no. 1, box 24, first page.

Robert M. Vogel, memorandum, undated, but written after a December 1987 visit to d'[Arazien's home. In Archives Center collection control file.

Letter to the author, 26 February 1992, in collection control file.

Provenance:: Collection donated by Arthur d'Arazien, December 24, 1988.

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research but the majority of the collection 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.

Rights:: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:: Industry -- Photographs -- 1940-1980 -- Canada Search this; Industry -- Photographs -- 1940-1980 -- United States Search this; Steel industry and trade -- 1940-1980 Search this; Agriculture -- Photographs -- 20th century Search this; Travel -- Photographs -- 1930-2000 Search this

Genre/Form:: Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film; Photographs -- Chromogenic -- 1900-2000; Dye destruction process; Photographic prints; Transparencies; Cibachrome (TM); Tear sheets; Color negatives; Color prints (photographs); Dye destruction photoprints; Silver-dye bleach process; Photographs -- Color prints -- 20th century; Type C color prints; Chromogenic processes

Citation:: Arthur d'Arazien Industrial Photographs, ca. 1930-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:: NMAH.AC.0314

See more items in:: Arthur d'Arazien Industrial Photographs

Archival Repository:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0314

Online Media:

Dallas -- Mockingbird Farms

Landscape architect:: Fields, Paul Search this; Fultan, Duncan T. Search this

Provenance:: Founders Garden Club of Dallas Search this

Collection Creator:: Garden Club of America Search this

Type:: Archival materials

Place:: Mockingbird Farms (Dallas, Texas); United States of America -- Texas -- Dallas County -- Dallas

Scope and Contents:: The folder includes worksheets, building and landscape plans, blog excerpts, and other information.

General:: Mockingbird Farms operates as a community of friends, the result of a unique combination of a private home and a community garden. The home was built in 1990 and the garden was later established in 2008 after a neighboring plot of land became available. Rather than being subdivided into individual plots, the garden is managed as a single shared plot (humorously referred to as the "communist plot") that also serves as a gathering space for social events as well as a community garden. The members of the garden community share in experimenting with gardening techniques and communicate with each other through a private blog that allows them to coordinate planting and harvesting efforts and to plan social gatherings.; Persons associated with the garden include: Paul Fields, Lambert Landscape Company (landscape architect, 2000, 2008); and Duncan Fultan (landscape architect, 2009).

Related Materials:: Mockingbird Farms related holdings consist of 1 folder (15 35mm slides (photographs); 6 photographic prints)

Collection Restrictions:: Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:: Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.