The papers of Los Angeles African American painter, sculptor, and arts administrator John Outterbridge measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1953 to 1997. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional and project files, Watts Towers Arts Center files, exhibition files, printed material, photographs, a scrapbook, and one motion picture film reel.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Los Angeles African American painter, sculptor, and arts administrator John Outterbridge measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1953 to 1997. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional and project files, Watts Towers Arts Center files, exhibition files, printed material, photographs, a scrapbook, and one motion picture film reel.
Biographical material includes life documents, awards, interview transcripts, a few sketches, teaching certificates, and a motion picture film reel entitled John Outterbridge: Black Artist.
The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters to John Outterbridge from family, artists, colleagues, museums, and universities. Notable correspondents include Maya Angelou, Johnny Otis, and Charles White.
Writings include teaching notes, an artist statement, nine typescript essays by Outterbridge, as well as papers written by students, and poems by various artists.
Professional and project files document Outterbridge's involvement in conferences, symposiums, membership records, and fellowships. There are grant and job applications, contracts, correspondence, project plans, and administrative records. There is documentation of the Metro Art for Rail Transit project and of his work as director of the Communicative Arts Academy. Outterbridge's directorship of the Watts Towers Arts Center (WTAC) are arranged in a separate series; files document administration, annual programs and events, and special projects.
Exhibition files are found for several exhibitions in which Outterbridge participated in the mid-1990s. Printed material includes clippings about John Outterbridge and the Watts Towers Arts Center, exhibition catalogs, announcements, books, and magazines.
There is one scrapbook that contains clippings, award certificates, and photographs of the Watts Towers Arts Center events. There are photographs of Johnny Otis, Nina Simone, and L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley.
Photographs are of John Outterbridge and his artwork, studio, family, friends, and events. Among those depicted in the photographs are Bob Marley and Gregory Hines.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1953-1997 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1, OV 6, FC 9)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-1997 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, OV 7)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1980-1996 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 4: Professional and Project Files, circa 1970-1997 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, OV 8)
Series 5: Watts Towers Arts Center, 1976-1997 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1992-1996 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 7: Printed Materials, 1968-1997 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Series 8: Scrapbook, 1968-1997 (0.5 linear feet; Box 5)
Series 9: Photographs, 1953-1995 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4-5)
Biographical / Historical:
John Outterbridge is an African American painter, sculptor and arts administrator in Los Angeles, California.
John Wilfred Outterbridge was born in Greenville, North Carolina in 1933. He attended Agricultural and Technical University in Greensboro, North Carolina and studied engineering for one year before joining the U.S. Army in 1953. He served two years in Europe where he started painting street scenes in his spare time. His paintings were liked and his Captain found a studio space for him, where he painted murals and artwork in offices, clubs, and American schools.
Outterbridge decided that he needed a formal education in art and after his discharge from the Army in 1955, he relocated to Chicago and enrolled first in the Chicago Academy of Art, and later in the American Academy of Art. He became active in the Chicago art scene and opened a gallery with artists John Pinkney, Elliot Hunter, and Jose Williams. While attending school, he also worked for a graphic arts firm running errands and as a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver.
Outterbridge married his wife Beverly in 1960 and they moved to Los Angeles in 1963. He worked at a production studio for a while and got an offer from another studio to become its art director. After a few years, Outterbridge took two years off and began experimenting with with other medium, such as found objects and sculpture.
Outterbridge then took a job in the art installation department of the Pasadena Art Museum where he met artists such as Peter Alexander, Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol while helping with their exhibits. In addition to working on installations, Outterbridge taught sculpture classes at the museum and at several colleges such as Pasadena City College, Claremont College, Cal State Dominguez Hills, and University of California at Irvine.
From 1969-1975, Outterbridge was the director of the Compton Communicative Arts Academy. From 1975-1993, Outterbridge was the director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, a focal point in Los Angesle for African American visual and theatrical arts and the sponsor of the Watts Towers Jazz Festival and Day of the Drum Festival. He retired in 1993 to dedicate more time to his art.
Outterbridge's art can be found at the California African American Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has received awards throughout his career including fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, Getty Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He received an honorary doctorate from Otis College of Art and Design in 1994.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has an oral history interview with John Outterbridge conducted by Allen Bassing in 1973.
A copy of the film John Outterbridge: Black Artist is available in the Samella Lewis papers, in the Rose Library at Emory University.
Provenance:
The John Outterbridge papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by John Outterbridge in 1997.
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 records of the National Arts Club measure 32.1 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1960. The collection documents the founding of the club, and it's governance, administration, exhibitions, and social activities
Scope and Content Note:
Records of the National Arts Club, spanning the period 1898 to 1960, document the founding of the organization, and its governance, administration, finances, exhibitions, and social activities. There are large gaps in the records and many of those surviving are incomplete, which can be explained by a 1932 resolution of the Board of Governors that "old files and letters and bills in the storeroom prior to 1922 may be destroyed at the discretion of the Secretary and Treasurer."
Minutes and reports of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee are fairly complete through 1949, but sparse thereafter. Records do not exist for all standing and special committees, and those remaining tend to be concentrated in the early twentieth century.
Correspondence of the officers, for the most part, is routine and relates to administrative matters. Financial records cover the period 1917 to 1950, with a large number of gaps.
A small number of records of the Arts Realty Co. (later known as 15 Gramercy Park, Inc.) are extant. These include lists of stockholders, correspondence concerning mortgage bonds, and minutes.
Membership records, arranged alphabetically, are available for the years 1931 to 1959, and there are rosters arranged by membership category, 1940-1952; in addition, printed membership lists were issued circa 1900-1951.
More than four hundred exhibitions are known to have been held in the galleries of the National Arts Club between 1899 and 1960. Catalogs for 124 National Arts Club exhibitions are available at the Archives of American Art; 69 titles are to be found among the Club's records and an additional 55 were microfilmed previously as parts of other collections. Other exhibition documentation includes printed matter such as invitations, entry blanks, publicity, and photographs (see Appendix A). For some exhibitions, supporting documentation such as correspondence with exhibitors and collectors, sales and consignment records, and shipping receipts have survived. These files are mainly confined to Books of the Year exhibitions, Arts and Crafts/Decorative Arts exhibitions, and a smaller number of exhibitions of Living American Etchers, 1928-1957.
General social events, activities sponsored by Arts Club committees, and special commemorative occasions are documented by invitations, programs, publicity, calendars of events, and photographs. The majority of this material is contained in seventeen scrapbooks, 1898-1940. Programs of the Men's Open Table, 1915-1950, are particularly well documented by the Chairman's correspondence and three volumes containing meeting notices with signatures of members in attendance.
In addition to printed matter relating to exhibitions and events, scrapbooks, 1898-1940, contain general publicity, clippings concerning members, and samples of National Arts Club printed matter such as form letters to the general membership, brochures, ballots, house rules, published membership lists, year books, and the like. Loose printed matter augments that preserved in the scrapbooks. These sources combined provide a fairly complete set of the Bulletin, but the number of year books is small, and there are catalogs of only slightly more than a third of the exhibitions identified.
Photographs, in addition to those recording exhibitions and events, include portraits of governors, officers, distinguished visitors, speakers, and performers; views of Gramercy Park and the interior and exterior of the clubhouse; and works of art in the permanent collection.
Miscellaneous material includes information on the National Arts Club's first home on West 34th Street, and the Tilden Mansion, its current clubhouse on Gramercy Park; histories of the organization; unpublished speeches presented at Club occasions; and copies of legal documents, including the Club's charter and act of incorporation.
See Appendix A for an annotated list of National Arts Club exhibitions, 1899-1960
Arrangement:
The records are arranged into the following series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Board of Governors, 1898-1960, undated
Series 2: Administration, 1898-1960, undated
Series 3: Financial Records, 1917-1952
Series 4: Membership, circa 1900-1962
Series 5: Arts Realty Co., 1909-1913, 1945-1956, undated
Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1890-1961, undated
Series 7: Photographs, 1899-1957, undated
Series 8: Printed Matter, 1893-1960, undated
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1898-1940
Historical Note:
The National Arts Club was founded by Charles de Kay, literary and art critic for the New York Times who believed there was a need for a club uniting all of the arts. In March of 1898, de Kay called together a number of civic leaders and men prominent in the art world who supported the idea, elected the first officers and incorporated the Club in 1899.
As stated in a circular issued by the Club, its specified purposes were: to promote the mutual acquaintance of art lovers and art workers in the United States; to stimulate and guide toward practical and artistic expression the artistic sense of the American people; to maintain in the City of New York a Club House...for social purposes in connection with the arts; to provide proper exhibition facilities for such lines of art, especially applied and industrial art, as shall not be otherwise adequately provided for in the same City; and to encourage the publication and circulation of news, suggestions and discussions relating to the fine arts.
During its initial months, the National Arts Club operated from a temporary office at 156 Fifth Avenue. In the search for a permanent site, considerable care was taken to select an auspicious location and accommodations, and in 1899 the first clubhouse was opened at 37 West 34th Street in leased quarters renovated expressly for the Club. Within a year, the gallery and restaurant required additional space, and there was a desire to provide overnight quarters for members visiting from out of town. In 1901 the Club created a corporation, Arts Realty Co., which issued shares to members and other investors for the purpose of raising funds to purchase the adjacent property (39 West 34th Street). This end was accomplished, and when it was decided to move the Club to another location, proceeds from the sale of the lease on 37 West 34th Street and the lot next door, augmented by additional funds subscribed by members, enabled Arts Realty Co. to acquire the Tilden Mansion at 15 Gramercy Park in 1905. Construction was begun immediately on a connecting studio tower to the rear (119-121 East 19th Street), designed by architect and Club President George B. Post. Upon completion, the Club bought the property from Arts Realty Co., issuing both First and Second Mortgage Bonds to individual subscribers. The Gramercy Park property has been occupied by the Club since 1906.
A show of American gold and silver work in October 1899 was the first exhibition held at the National Arts Club. Decorative arts, crafts, and industrial arts figured prominently in early exhibitions, as did designs for civic improvements. The monthly exhibition schedule emphasized contemporary American art, but also included some historical shows. Members of the public were admitted without charge to the galleries, where they could view such innovative and important exhibitions as Pictorial Photographs presented by the Photo-Secession (1902) and a group exhibition featuring the works of Robert Henri, William Glackens, George Luks, Arthur B. Davies, and Maurice Prendergast (1904). After about 1907, exhibitions grew more conservative, probably reflecting the personal tastes of Art Committee members rather than a formal opposition of the Club to nonrepresentational art. Increasingly, the exhibition schedule was filled by shows of members' work, the Club's permanent collection (mainly works by artist members, usually given in payment for life membership), the Annual Arts and Crafts exhibitions, Books of the Year exhibitions, and shows organized by various art societies.
In addition to exhibitions, the National Arts Club regularly featured a variety of cultural programs such as concerts, lectures, and dramatic presentations for members and guests. Parties, dinner, dances, and other social activities drew members to the Club, too. During its first years, some artist members expressed dissatisfaction with the high priority given social functions; by 1905, J. Carroll Beckwith, Walter Shirlaw, and Stanford White were among those who had resigned for this reason.
Within the National Arts Club there have been some smaller societies. The earliest of these were The Discus, a short lived dining and debating club, and The Vagabonds, a lunch group of writers, editors, printers and illustrators. The Men's Open Table, founded in 1910, met weekly for more than forty years for dinner followed by a talk, given by a fellow member or an outside, often professional, lecturer. A wide range of topics, not necessarily on the arts, were presented and discussed at the Men's Open Table. The American Institute of Graphic Arts is one of the organizations said to have developed from associations formed and discussions held at the Men's Open Table. A Women's Open Table, patterned after the men's, was established later.
The National Arts Club, unlike many other private clubs founded during the same era, admitted women members from its inception. Throughout its history, the Club's membership has been comprised of artists, musicians, writers, and performers, as well as collectors and supporters of the arts drawn from all parts of the country. Membership peaked at around 1,800 in 1920, declining throughout the Depression and again in the mid-1950s, and remaining at about 600 for the next two decades.
Missing Title
1898 -- Founding; occupied temporary office at 156 Fifth Ave.
1899 -- Incorporation; leased clubhouse at 37 West 34th St.; opened first exhibition, American Gold and Silver Work
1900 -- Constitution adopted
1901 -- First donations to permanent collection; Arts Realty Co. formed for the purpose of acquiring and financing the adjacent property (39 West 34th St.)
1905 -- Arts Realty Co. purchased Gramercy Park property (Tilden Mansion) on behalf of NAC; remodeling of clubhouse and construction of studio tower begun
1906 -- Plan for financing new clubhouse approved; second Mortgage Bonds issued; clubhouse and studio tower occupied; First Annual Books of the Year Exhibition
1907 -- Annual Members' Exhibition initiated; Bulletin began publication
1910 -- First meeting of Men's Open Table (established 1909)
1914 -- Essay contest, "A Critical Estimate of the Altman Collection"
1917 -- American Artists War Emergency Fund Committee issues art stamp
1923 -- Junior Artist membership category created
1930-1931 -- Essay contest, "Soul of America"
1940 -- Works by deceased artist life members deaccessioned from permanent collection; fund for refugee artists established
1962 -- Clubhouse designated New York City Landmark
1976 -- Clubhouse designated National Historic Landmark
1987 -- NAC records donated to Archives of American Art
Appendix A: Annotated List of National Arts Club Exhibitions, 1899-1960:
* = photographs included with records of NAC (See pp. 22-23 for reel and frame numbers)
+ = photograph in NAC album (See pp. 24 for reel and frame numbers)
x = catalog, checklist, or printed announcement included with NAC printed matter
s = copy of catalog in NAC scrapbook (volume number noted, see pp. 27-32 for reel and frame numbers of each volume)
Microfilm reel and frame numbers (e.g.: N134:416-419) are cited below for NAC catalogs appearing in other collections within the Archives of American Art.
DateExhibitionOct. 30 *, 1899 -- House Warming, Exhibition of American Gold and Silver Work
Nov. 13-18, 1899 -- Tenth Exhibition of the Woman's Art Club; Reception to Miss Cecilia Beaux (N134:416-419)
Nov. 27-Dec. 10, 1899 -- Art Pottery, American, Oriental, and European (N134:407-415)
Dec. 23-Jan. 8, 1899 -- Exhibition of Small Bronzes (N134:437-443)
Jan. 13, 1900 -- Exhibition of Photographs, works by members of the Society of Mural Painters
Jan. 29, 1900 -- Design for Street Refuge, shown by New York Municipal Art Society
Feb. 5-22, 1900 -- Exhibition of Embroideries and Native Rugs (N134:420-425)
Feb. 24-Mar. 10, 1900 -- John Leslie Breck Memorial Exhibition (N443:703-708; N551:719-724)
Mar. 24-Apr. 14, 1900 -- Pastel Exhibition, American Work
Apr., 1900 -- Old and Modern Japanese Prints
Apr. 14-21, 1900 -- Ernest Tarleton Memorial Exhibition
Apr. 21-May 3, 1900 -- Exhibition of Color Reproductions, American and European
May 10-21, 1900 -- American Art Leatherwork (N134:432-426)
May 24-30, 1900 -- Small Exhibition of Japanese Water Colors
May 31-June 14, 1900 -- William Hamilton Gibson Memorial Exhibition
June, 1900 -- New York Municipal Art Society Competition
Nov. 28-Dec. 19 x, 1900 -- Arts and Crafts (N134:421-431)
Jan., 1901 -- Birds and Beasts in Art
Feb., 1901 -- Art Leatherwork and Objects Relating to the Hearth
Mar., 1901 -- Works by the Society of Mural Painters
Apr., 1901 -- Books and Bookmaking
Apr., 1901 -- Howard Walter, Water Colors Taken in Europe
May, 1901 -- Glass in the Arts
May, 1901 -- Memorial to John A. Fraser, His Paintings
May-Nov., 1901 -- Arts and Crafts in the Liberal Arts Building, Pan-American Pacific Exhibition, Buffalo, N.Y.
June-Sept., 1901 -- Sculpture, Oil Paintings, Pastels, Water Colors, and Objects of Industrial Art by Members of the Club
Oct., 1901 -- Memorial Window for the Ames Family by John La Farge
Nov., 1901 -- Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by the Woman's Art Club
Dec., 1901 -- Objects Shown at the Pan-American Pacific Exposition
Jan., 1902 -- Ecclesiastical Art
Feb., 1902 -- Art Objects Relating to Civic Art, under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society
Mar., 1902 -- American Pictorial Photographs, shown by the Photo-Secession
Mar. 26-Apr. 21, 1902 -- Fourth Annual Exhibition of the National Sculpture Society (N551:725-729; N134:446-451)
May, 1902 -- Pictures of "Womanhood"
May, 1902 -- Memorial Window for Baltimore by D. Maitland Armstrong; Memorial Window for Wells College by Mrs. Ella Condie Lamb June Window in Stained Glass, Memorial to Julia Doane, Chicago, by John La Farge
Oct., 1902 -- Collection of Objects in Metal; Artistic Bird Cages lent by A. W. Drake, Esq.
Nov., 1902 -- Annual Exhibition by the Woman's Art Club
Nov., 1902 -- Paintings by Four Western Artists, Messrs. Duveneck, Steele, Meakin and Sharp, through the courtesy of the Cincinnati Museum Association
Dec., 1902 -- Designs Submitted for Competition for the Emblem of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Jan. s, 1903 -- Portraits of Napoleon, lent by John Leonard Dudley, Jr., Esq. (volume 4)
Jan., 1903 -- "Autumn," Stained Glass Window for the country residence of William C. Whitney, by John La Farge
Feb., 1903 -- Eskimo and Arctic Objects, with Paintings from the Arctic and Antarctic Circles by Frank Wilbert Stokes
Mar., 1903 -- Objects of Municipal Art
Apr., 1903 -- Examples of Ideal Art by American Artists
May, 1903 -- Sculptures by Rodin, Roche, and Rivere, belonging to Miss Lois Fuller
May, 1903 -- Portraits and other Paintings by American Artists of the Colonial and Early Periods
June-Oct., 1903 -- Summer Exhibition of Paintings, Water Colors, and Sculpture by Members of the Club
Nov., 1903 -- Jewelry and Precious Stones, Modern, Old and Oriental
Dec. 1-14, 1903 -- Thirteenth Annual Exhibition of the Woman's Art Club (N134:452-456)
Dec., 1903 -- Stained Glass Window, designed by Miss Mary E. Tillinghast
Dec., 1903 -- Sketches for the Sculpture at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, shown by the National Sculpture Society
Jan. 5-16 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Eminent American Painters (N134:426-464, and volume 4)
Jan. 5-16 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Robert Henri, William Glackens, George Luks, Arthur B. Davies, and Maurice Prendergast (volume 4)
Feb., 1904 -- Pictures by Contemporary American Artists
Mar. 2-15, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by American Figure Painters (N50:471-472; N134:460-461)
Mar., 1904 -- Annual Exhibition of Objects of Municipal Art
Apr. 5-15 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Some Boston Artists (N443:713-715, and volume 4)
Apr. 19-30 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Old Masters, lent by the Messrs. Durand-Ruel (N443:711-712; N134:462-464, and volume 4)
May 3-14 s, 1904 -- Oil Paintings, Water Colors, and Drawings by John La Farge, N.A. (volume 4)
May, 1904 -- Photographs of Paintings by Old Italian Masters, under the auspices of the Library Committee
Oct., 1904 -- Work of Holders of the Lazarus and Reinhart Scholarships executed while at the American Academy in Rome
Nov., 1904 -- "The Moral and Divine Law," painting by John La Farge
Nov., 1904 -- Exhibition by Members of the Nippon-Bijitsuin (Japanese Art Academy)
Jan., 1905 -- Exhibition by the Lyme Group of Painters
Feb., 1905 -- "Old Masters" and Aphrodite
Feb., 1905 -- Pictures by Some Boston Artists
Mar., 1905 -- Annual Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society of New York
Apr., 1905 -- Artistic and Commercial Posters, under the Auspices of the Municipal Art Society
Apr., 1905 -- Textiles and Ceramics
Oct., 1905 -- "Out of Doors" as Seen by Various Artists
Nov., 1905 -- Color Prints by S. Arlent-Edwards
Dec., 1905 -- American Indians as Seen by the Artist and the Artist Photographer
Jan., 1906 -- Birds and Beasts in Art
Feb., 1906 -- Miniatures
Mar., 1906 -- Fifth Annual Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society
Mar., 1906 -- Exhibition by the Alumni of Cooper Institute
Apr. 2-14 s, 1906 -- Municipal Art Society Exhibit of Poster Designs (volume 4)
Apr.-May, 1906 -- Exhibition by the Women's Art Club of New York
Nov. 8-18 s, 1906 -- Opening Exhibition [first exhibition in new quarters]: American Paintings from the Collection of Mr. William T. Evans (D45:29-34, and volume 4)
Dec., 1906 -- Books of the Year
Dec. 8-Jan. 1 s, 1906 -- Pictures by Some American Painters (volume 4)
Jan. 12-Feb. 1 s, 1907 -- Modern German Paintings from the Collection of Mr. Hugo Reisinger (N443:716-717, and volume 4)
Feb. s, 1907 -- Exhibition of Wood Engravings by Timothy Cole made for Century Magazine
Feb., 1907 -- Longfellow Memorial
Mar. 13-31, 1907 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society of New York
Apr., 1907 -- New York Society of Ceramic Artists
Apr., 1907 -- Paintings and Sculpture by Members
May s, 1907 -- Exhibition of Artists' Preliminary Sketches
May-Nov., 1907 -- Sketches by Members
Oct. 16-Nov. 16 s, 1907 -- Fall Exhibition of Sketches by Members (volume 4)
Nov. 20-Dec. 11, 1907 -- Arts and Crafts Exhibition (N29:1001-1026)
Dec., 1907 -- Second Annual Exhibition of the New Books of the Year
Jan. 4-25 s, 1908 -- Contemporary Art (N443:744-746, and volume 5)
Feb., 1908 -- First Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art
Nov. *, 1908 -- Third Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec., 1908 -- Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Jan., 1909 -- Second Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art
Jan., 1909 -- Small Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Contemporary Artists
Feb. 2-20 s, 1909 -- International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography (volume 1)
Feb. 23-Mar. 17 s, 1909 -- John W. Alexander Retrospective Exhibition (volume 5)
Apr., 1909 -- Exhibition of the New York Society of Keramic Arts
May, 1909 -- Spring Exhibition of Members' Work
July, 1909 -- Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Evans
Sept.-Oct., 1909 -- Three Centuries of New York, under the auspices of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration
Nov. 3-26 s, 1909 -- Fourth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year (volume 5)
Dec., 1909 -- Third Annual Exhibition of Arts and Crafts
Jan., 1910 -- William M. Chase Retrospective Exhibition
Feb., 1910 -- Exhibition of American Landscape Painting
Mar. 2-28 s, 1910 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Louis Mark, of Budapest (volume 5)
Apr. 6-30 s, 1910 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Alfred East, of London (N134:465-469, and volume 5)
May, 1910 -- Exhibition of Household Art, under the auspices of the Domestic Training Department of the Public Schools
May 4-Oct. s, 1910 -- Third Annual Exhibition of the Former Students of the Art Students League (volume 5)
Oct. 20-Nov. 1 s +, 1910 -- Third Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art (volume 5)
Nov.-Dec., 1910 -- Fifth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. * +, 1910 -- Fourth Annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Jan. 5-Feb. 3 s +, 1911 -- First Annual Artist Life Members' Exhibition (volume 5)
Feb. +, 1911 -- Exhibition of the New York Society of Keramic Arts
Feb. 11-Mar. 10, 1911 -- Circuit Exhibition of Contemporary Art (D12:437-439; N52:105-107)
Mar. 8-Apr. 5 * s +, 1911 -- Paintings and Drawings by Walter Shirlaw, N.A. (N52:967-973, and volume 5)
Apr., 1911 -- Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society of New York
Apr. 26-May * s +, 1911 -- Group Exhibition of Paintings: William R. Derrick, Reynolds Beal, Frederick J. Waugh (volume 5)
Oct. 25-Nov. 4 * +, 1911 -- Exhibition of Color Schemes and Model Rooms in Miniature
Nov. 8-30 * +, 1911 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 7-28 * +, 1911 -- Fifth Annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Jan. 3-28 s +, 1912 -- First Prize Exhibition of Artist Life Members (N443:754-756, and volume 6)
Jan. 31-Feb. 18 * s +, 1912 -- Otto Walter Beck Exhibition (volume 6)
Feb. 21-Mar. 10 s +, 1912 -- Etchings of E. T. Hurley (volume 6)
Mar. 13-20 s +, 1912 -- National Park Pictures Collected and Exhibited by the Department of the Interior (volume 3)
Apr. 4-21 s +, 1912 -- Paintings, Embroideries, and Tapestries from the Collection of Mr. Emerson McMillan (D45:462-468; N443:757-762, and volume 6)
Apr. 4-Mar. 12 s, 1912 -- Exhibition of Original Dickens and Thackeray Drawings by Harry Furniss (volume 3)
May 8-June 1 * s +, 1912 -- Sculpture Exhibition (volume 6)
June 4-8 +, 1912 -- Exhibition of Industrial Art, under the auspices of The School Art League and the Art Departments of the City High Schools
June-Oct., 1912 -- Summer Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Oct. 16-Nov. 12 +, 1912 -- Third Special Exhibition of the Society of Illustrators
Nov. 13-29, 1912 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 4-28 +, 1912 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 8-Feb. 9 +, 1913 -- Work of the Painter, Sculptor, and Architect Members (N443:763-767; N50:126-130)
Feb. 12-Mar. 9 * +, 1913 -- Exhibition of Works by the Late Frederick Warren Freer
Mar. 12-31 +, 1913 -- The Applied Arts of Germany
Apr. 2-27 +, 1913 -- Small Works by Six Painters: Richard E. Miller, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Charles W. Hawthorne, William Wendt, William Ritschel, and Elise Dodge Pattee
Apr. 30-June 1 +, 1913 -- Small Marbles and Bronzes (N551:732-737)
May-June, 1913 -- Summer Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture
Oct. 15-Nov. 9, 1913 -- Society of Illustrators
Nov. 12-28, 1913 -- Eighth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 3-28 * +, 1913 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 8-Feb. 1 +, 1914 -- Work of Painter, Sculptor, and Architect Members
Feb. 4-21, 1914 -- The Pastellists
Feb. 5-Mar. 21 x +, 1914 -- Contemporary Art
Mar. 11-29 * +, 1914 -- Hungarian Peasant Art (N134:470-479)
Apr. 1-May 2 +, 1914 -- Paintings by Eleven Western Artists
May 6-31 * +, 1914 -- Exhibition of Small Sculpture (N551:738-743)
June-Sept., 1914 -- Paintings
Nov. 4-27, 1914 -- Ninth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 3-28 +, 1914 -- Eighth Annual Exhibition of National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 7-31 +, 1915 -- Work of Painter Members (N551:744-746)
Feb. 4-25 +, 1915 -- Forty-eighth Annual Exhibition of American Water Color Society
Mar. 3-24 +, 1915 -- Portraits (N551:747-748)
Apr. 7-13 +, 1915 -- Sculpture
May 5-21, 1915 -- Exhibition of Municipal Art Society
June-Oct. *, 1915 -- Work of Painter Members
Oct. 13-30 +, 1915 -- Fifth Special Exhibition of the Society of Illustrators
Nov. 5-13 +, 1915 -- American Wood Engraving, under the auspices of the American Institute of Graphic Arts
Nov. 17-Dec. 3, 1915 -- Tenth Anniversary Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 8-30 +, 1915 -- Ninth Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 6-28 +, 1916 -- Work of Painter Members
Feb. 3-27 +, 1916 -- Forty-ninth Annual Exhibition of American Water Color Society
Mar. 2-25 * +, 1916 -- Loan Exhibition of Portraits of Academicians and Associates Selected from the Permanent Collection of the National Academy of Design (N551:749-752; N134:480-483)
Mar. 28-Apr. 14 +, 1916 -- One Hundred American Paintings by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (N443:768-770)
Mar. 28-Apr. 14 +, 1916 -- Exhibition of American Printing
Apr. 19-May 6, 1916 -- Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society
Nov., 1927 -- Twenty-second Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 7-24 +, 1927 -- Fifth Annual Exhibition of Works of Living American Etchers (N552:13-18)
Jan., 1928 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 8-29 +, 1928 -- Small Paintings
Mar. 8-31 x, 1928 -- Exhibition of Decorative Arts
Apr. 4-20 +, 1928 -- Exhibition by Junior Artist Members of the Club
Nov., 1928 -- Twenty-third Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec., 1928 -- Small Paintings
Jan. 8-Feb. 8 + -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 13-Mar. 8 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition by Living American Etchers
Mar. + -- Richard M. Hurd Loan Exhibition of Italian Primitives
Apr. 3-26 + -- Exhibition by Junior Artist Members of the Club
May 1-Oct. 1 + -- Summer Exhibition by Painter Life Members
Nov. -- Twenty-fourth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 4-26 * + -- Exhibition of the Decorative Arts
Jan. 8-Feb. 1 +, 1930 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 5-28 x +, 1930 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of Living American Etchers
Mar. 5-28 +, 1930 -- Junior Artist Members' Exhibition
Apr. 16-Sept. 30 +, 1930 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings (N134:484-490)
Nov., 1930 -- Silver Anniversary Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 3-26 * +, 1930 -- Eighth Annual Exhibition by Living American Etchers
Jan. 7-Feb. 6 +, 1931 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Mar. 4-27 +, 1931 -- Exhibition by the Junior Artist Members
Mar. 13-Apr. 15 x, 1931 -- Auction Exhibition and Sale by Artist Members
Apr. 1-25 +, 1931 -- Members' Work of the New York Water Color Club
May 2-24 +, 1931 -- The Story of Gramercy Park in Portraits and Historical Objects of the Period, in connection with Gramercy Park Centenary Celebration
June 3-Oct. 1 +, 1931 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings
Oct. 21-Nov. 20, 1931 -- Twenty-sixth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Nov. 26-Dec. 26, 1931 -- Sixteenth Annual Exhibition by the Society of American Etchers (formerly The Brooklyn Society of Etchers)
Jan. 6-13 +, 1932 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 3-27 +, 1932 -- Exhibition of Drawings by Artist Members
Mar. 2-26 +, 1932 -- Paintings by Junior Artist Members
Mar. 13-Apr. 15 +, 1932 -- Auction Exhibition and Sale by Artist Members
Apr. 20-30 +, 1932 -- Exhibition by a Group of New York Art Schools
May 4-Oct. 1 +, 1932 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Small Paintings
Jan. 4-27 +, 1933 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Mar. 1-31 +, 1933 -- Junior Artist Members
Apr. 5-22 +, 1933 -- Society of Illustrators
May 3-Oct. 1 +, 1933 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings and Sculpture
Jan. 3-27 +, 1934 -- Members' Annual Exhibition
Jan. 31-Mar. 2 +, 1934 -- Memorial Exhibition of a Group of Former Painter and Sculptor Members: Max Bohm, Emil Carlsen, Charles Hawthorne, Robert Henri, Karl Bitter, Solon Borglum, Daniel Chester French, Edmund Quinn
Mar. 7-29 +, 1934 -- Junior Artist Members
Apr. 4-27 +, 1934 -- Society of Illustrators, Thirty-second Annual Exhibition
May 2-June 28 +, 1934 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings and Sculpture (N552:69-71; N134:491-494)
Nov.-Dec., 1934 -- Seventeenth Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Etchers (formerly The Brooklyn Society of Etchers) (N552:49-65)
undated -- Twenty-ninth Annual Exhibition of Fifty Books of the Year
Apr. 24-May 3 +, 1940 -- Flower and Still Life Paintings
May 8-June 1, 1940 -- Special Exhibition of Water Colors, Architectural Renderings, Type Compositions, and Color Reproductions by Edwin Hooper Denby, A.I.A., S.A.D.G. (N443:779-780; N134:509-510)
Dec. +, 1940 -- Twenty-fifth Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Etchers
Feb. 4-Mar. 1, 1942 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of the United Nations (N134:512-518)
June 12-Sept. 30, 1942 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:519)
Dec. 16-Jan. 22, 1942 -- Exhibition of Chinese and Indian Art (N134:520)
Mar. 31-, 1943 -- Exhibition of Junior Members (N134:521)
July 1-Sept. 30, 1943 -- Summer Exhibition of Smaller Paintings by Members (N134:522)
Feb. 17-Mar. 15, 1944 -- Exhibition of Studies by American Masters (N134:523)
Oct. 5-27, 1944 -- Exhibition of Enlarged Photographs of American Patriots as Seen in Sculpture (N134:523)
Jan. 10-Feb. 9 x, 1945 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Dec. 22-Jan. 4, 1945 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of the American Veterans Society of Artists, Inc. (N134:527-540)
May 21-30, 1946 -- The Traphagen School Exhibition of Costume Design, Illustrating the Development of American Fashion (N134:526)
Feb. 20-Mar. 7, 1947 -- Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Paintings (N134:541)
Apr. 20-May 2, 1947 -- Junior Members' Exhibition
Dec. 10-24, 1947 -- Ninth Annual Exhibition of American Veterans Society of Artists, Inc. (N121:721-733)
Feb. 23-Mar. 6, 1948 -- Forty-seventh Annual Exhibition of the New York Society of Ceramic Arts (N134:543)
Mar. 9-21, 1948 -- Annual Exhibition of Junior Members (N134:543)
Apr. 8-May 30, 1948 -- Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members, Past and Present (N134:543)
June 10-Sept., 1948 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:544)
Jan. 19-Feb. 9, 1949 -- Fifty-first Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists (N134:544)
Mar. 14-31, 1949 -- Exhibition by Members of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors (N134:545)
May 5-Sept. 15, 1949 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:546)
Oct. 15-Nov. 4, 1949 -- Fourth Annual Exhibition of the Photo-Engravers Society
Jan. 4-Feb. 1, 1950 -- Fifty-second Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists (N134:546-548 and 550)
Jan. 28-Feb. 19, 1950 -- Eighty-third Annual Exhibition of the American Water Color Society (N134:549)
Feb. 8-23, 1950 -- Exhibition of Creative Art Associates (N134:549)
Mar. 16-Apr. 2, 1950 -- Exhibition of Room Interiors Especially Designed by Members of the American Institute of Decorators, in collaboration with Members of the National Society of Mural Painters (N134:551)
May 7-28, 1950 -- Active Members' Exhibition (N134:551-554)
June 28-Sept. 15, 1950 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:555)
Feb. 26-Mar. 17 x, 1951 -- Paul Mommen
Mar. 24-Apr. 19, 1951 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Non-Members (N134:558-559)
May 5-31, 1951 -- Spring Water Color Exhibition (N134:560)
June 6-, 1951 -- Group Exhibition by Distinguished Artist Members: Gifford Beal, Louis Betts, Charles Clapman, Walter Farndon, Albert Groll, Eugene Higgins, Leon Kroll, Van Dearing Perrine, Keith Shaw Williams
Jan. 6-30, 1952 -- Fifty-fourth Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists (D176:917-919; N134:561)
Feb. 9-28, 1952 -- Annual Water Color Exhibition (N134:562)
Mar. 9-27, 1952 -- Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Distinguished American Artists (N134:572)
Jan. 4-18, 1953 -- Fifty-fifth Annual Exhibition by Painter and Sculptor Members and Guest Artists (N134:563)
Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 1953 -- Annual Water Color Exhibition (N134:564)
Feb. 15-Mar. 1, 1953 -- Open Exhibition of Oil Paintings (N134:565-568)
Mar. *, 1953 -- Art of Indonesia
May 3-24, 1953 -- Members' Exhibition of Smaller Paintings in Oil (N134:569-571)
Nov. 1-14, 1954 -- The American Artists Professional League, American Art Week (N121:258-259)
Oct. 2-19, 1955 -- Open Water Color Exhibition
Jan. 8-22 x, 1956 -- Fifty-eighth Annual Exhibition by Painter and Sculptor Members and Guest Artists (N134:573-575)
June 17-Sept. 7 x, 1956 -- Members' Summer Exhibition
Sept. 24-Oct. 8 x, 1956 -- James H. Walsh
Oct. 28-Nov. 10 x, 1956 -- Small Picture Exhibition by Members and Guests
Nov. 16-30 x, 1956 -- August Benziger
Dec. 5-22 *, 1956 -- Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition of Books of the Year
Jan. 6-27, 1957 -- Fifty-ninth Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
Feb. 1-15, 1957 -- Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Sixtieth Annual Exhibition (N134:576-577)
Sept. * x, 1957 -- International Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Jan. 10-24 x, 1958 -- Sixtieth Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
May 21-31 x, 1958 -- Water Color and Graphic Arts Exhibition by Members and Non-Members
Oct. 17-31 x, 1958 -- Twelfth Annual Exhibition of the Photo-Engravers Society
Nov. 22-Dec. 3 x, 1958 -- Metropolitan Young Artists Show
Jan. 11-26 x, 1959 -- Sixty-first Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
Dec. 9-Jan. 7 x, 1959 -- Metropolitan Young Artists Show
Jan. 15-28 x, 1960 -- Sixty-second Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
Apr. 18-May 1, 1960 -- Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Flower Painting Exhibition and Sale (D176:1128-1129)
June 8-29 x, 1960 -- Summer Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members
undated -- * Arts and Crafts Exhibitions
undated -- * x Annual Exhibitions of Books of the Year
undated -- * Ceramic Art Exhibition
undated -- x Water-Oils by Charles S. Chapman, N.A.
undated -- x Fine Art of the Caribbean
undated -- x Painters of the United States, 1720-1920, from the Permanent Collection of the Fine Arts Department, International Business Machines Corp.
undated -- * Pottery Exhibition
undated -- * Traveling Exhibition of Enlarged Photographs of Sculpture and Spring Exhibition of Small Sculpture by Members of the National Sculpture Society
undated -- * Exhibition of Small Sculpture
undated -- x Modern Tapestries from Vienna
undated -- x Annual Open Water Color Exhibition
undated -- x Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Flower Paintings Exhibition and Sale
These citations were compiled from Art Index, 1929-1960; The New York Times Index, 1898-1960; Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, 1898-1906; Nineteenth Century Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, 1898-1899; and Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, 1900-1960, using the format employed in Art Index. Citations are presented in chronological order, as it is anticipated that most researchers consulting the National Arts Club Records will be interested in a specific event or era in the Club's history, or are apt to be researching artists whose National Arts Club affiliation or exhibition activities were confined to a particular period.
1898
National Art Club. -- Harpers Weekly -- 42:329, April 2.
1899
Club to advance art industries. -- Critic -- 34:349-51, April.
National Arts Club organized. -- New York Times -- (7-2), 29-288-2, April 26.
1909
Position as a factor in the encouragement of the fine arts. G. Teall. -- Craftsman -- 15:604-13, February.
Club officials rule a member may take a process server into club as a guest to serve papers on fellow member, case of R.S. Perrin vs. D. Whipple. -- New York Times -- 7:3, June 29.
1913
Lecture of Prof. Eucken on Art and Morality. -- New York Times -- 9:3, March 1.
Offers prize to member who writes best manuscript on "A Critical Estimate of the Altman Collection." -- New York Times -- 12:7, November 8.
Annual exhibition of Books of the Year; organization of American Institute of Graphic Arts planned. -- New -- York Times 9:3, November 13.
1914
Alexander de Yourevitch has visited Russian political exiles as agent from the Czar; arranges for Russian trade exhibit in New York; National Arts Club has agreed to cooperate. -- New York Times -- 20:2, March 27.
Dinner in honor of Shakespeare celebration, address by Henry Clews. -- New York Times -- 13:2, April 24.
Farewell dinner to Karl Vollmoeller and George Sylvester Viereck at National Arts Club by Alfred Rau. -- New York Times -- III, 7:3, May 7.
Exhibition of Books of the Year (editorial). -- New York Times -- VI, 514:2, November 22.
1915
Awards announced. -- New York Times -- 10:1, January 7.
Paintings exhibition. -- New York Times -- V, 11:13, January 10.
Poster exhibition. -- New York Times -- III, 2:5, March 28.
Thanksgiving dinner to east side waifs. -- New York Times -- 11:1, November 26.
1917
Annual exhibition; Gold Medal and $1000 prize awarded to Ben Foster. -- New York Times -- 10:6, January 4.
Memorial services for W.B. Howland. -- New York Times -- 7:3, March 3.
Offers prizes for best patriotic medal, poem, and song. -- New York Times -- 9:14, April 6.
Offers prizes to promote expression of American patriotism in art. -- New York Times -- IV, 13:2, April 15.
H.A.W. Wood speaks at distribution of prizes. -- New York Times -- 11:3, May 31.
"Road to France," $500 prize offered for appropriate music. -- New York Times -- 13:2, June 9.
American Artists' War Emergency Fund Committee announces that art stamp will be sold to aid artists reduced in circumstances through the war. -- New York Times -- 13:6, July 10.
Offers prize of $500 for best musical setting for D.M. Henderson's "The Road to France." -- New York Times -- VIII, 9:3, August 12.
Prize for music for war song by D.M. Henderson is awarded to Signe Lund. -- New York Times -- 13:3, November 1.
1919
Annual books exhibition. -- New York Times -- VIII, 686:1, November 23.
1921
Comment on suggestion by G. Bellows that proposed members should possess some work by living American artist. -- New York Times -- III, 20:3, February 6.
Elects governors. -- New York Times -- 9:2, April 13.
1922
Awards Agar prize to Christine Herter. -- New York Times -- 16:7, April 7.
Address by Ann Martin. -- New York Times -- 4:3, August 3.
1923
Annual exhibition of books; I. Zangwill speaks; protest by member. -- New York Times -- 6:1, November 8.
1924
Prize winners of annual exhibition. -- New York Times -- 4:15, January 10.
Honors J.G. Agar at dinner. -- New York Times -- 6:2, February 26.
1925
Mural panels of Old NY used for New Year's fete to be put on exhibition. -- New York Times -- 29:1, January 4.
Announces prize winners at Members' Annual Exhibition. -- New York Times -- VIII, 11:2, January 18.
Murals depicting history of NYC, painted for New Years' ball, to be given to Museum of the City of New York. -- New York Times -- 25:4, February 3.
Exhibition of lithographs, woodcuts, and linoleum prints. -- New York Times -- VIII, 11:13, April 12.
1926
Exhibition. -- New York Times -- 4:5, January 14.
Exhibition. -- New York Times -- 17:3, April 8.
Exhibition of photographs of recent buildings. -- New York Times -- VIII, 12:6, April 18.
15th century books brought from Germany by Dr. Otto H.F. Vollbehr on exhibition at the National Arts Club. -- New York Times -- 6:6, August 24.
15th century Book of Hours, worth $15,000, stolen from exhibition at National Arts Club. -- New York Times -- 1:2, August 26.
Feature article on exhibition. -- New York Times -- IV, 15:1, August 29.
Book of Hours mysteriously returned to Vollbehr by E.M. Garlock, attorney, acting for unnamed client who claims to have bought book from stranger. -- New York Times -- 19:1, September 12.
Editorial on return of book. -- New York Times -- 20:4, September 13.
21st annual book exhibit; addresses. -- New York Times -- 28:3, November 4.
History in connection with 20th anniversary celebration. -- New York Times -- VIII,18:6, November 7.
1927
New Year's Eve costume ball. -- New York Times -- 15:3, January 1.
Exhibition of American paintings. -- New York Times -- 25:5, March 3.
Exhibition of etchings. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:4, December 11.
1928
Exhibits. -- New York Times -- 30:2, January 12; -- New York Times -- IX, 13:2, January 29.
Awards in small painting exhibition. -- New York Times -- 27:2, February 10.
Exhibit. -- New York Times -- VIII, 15:3, February 12.
First exhibition of decorative arts. -- New York Times -- 28:4, March 15; -- New York Times -- IX, 15:4, March 18.
Exhibition. -- New York Times -- IX, 15:2, April 15.
1929
J. Lie, P. Manship, and C. Beach win prizes. -- New York Times -- 25:3, January 11.
Annual members' exhibition. -- New York Times -- X, 18:4, January 27.
Exhibition of crafts. -- New York Times -- X, 15:6, December 8.
Prize awarded to D.C. Nisbet. -- New York Times -- 23:5, December 29.
1930
Arts Club prizes announced. -- Art News -- 28:21, January 4.
Annual exhibition of painting and sculpture. -- New York Times -- VIII, 13:3, January 19.
Seventh annual exhibition. -- New York Times -- VIII, 13:1, February 16.
Annual junior art show. -- New York Times -- 3:5, March 15; -- New York Times -- X, 19:3, March 16.
Exhibition of prints by living American etchers. -- New York Times -- X, 18:1, December 14.
1931
New York season; Living American Etchers. -- Art Digest -- 5:14, January 1.
M. Gregg Memorial Prize awarded to I.G. Olinsky; medal to H.W. Watrous. -- New York Times -- 34:6, January 10.
Exhibitions. -- New York Times -- VIII, 12:7, February 22.
Exhibition of Junior Artist Members. -- New York Times -- IX, 13:4, March 15.
Hold exhibition of portraits and other objects relating to history of Gramercy Park. -- New York Times -- II, 1:7 and 18:4, May 3.
Annual exhibition of paintings by members. -- New York Times -- 30:6, June 4.
Awards to R.D. Bowden $3000 prize, offered by J.G. Agar for best book on "The Soul of America." -- New York Times -- 20:6, June 8.
1932
Annual exhibition of work by painter and sculptor members; prizes announced. -- New York Times -- 27:7, January 7.
Art Club prizes. -- Art Digest -- 6:10, January 15.
Forum on development of art talent in young artists. -- New York Times -- 13:8, January 18.
Arts Club prizes. -- Art News -- 30:20, January 23.
Opening. -- New York Times -- 16:7, February 4.
Prizes awarded to junior artists. -- New York Times -- 19:2, March 8.
Art auction totals $600. -- New York Times -- 19:5, April 14.
Members' exhibition of small paintings. -- New York Times -- 16:6, May 5.
National Arts Club book exhibition. E. Yost. -- Publishers Weekly -- 122:2382-3, December 31.
1933
R. Nickerson, new member, wins medal at annual painting and sculpture show; other awards. -- New York Times -- 18:2, January 5.
Annual members' exhibition. -- New York Times -- 13:2, January 13; -- New York Times -- IX, 12:6, January 15.
National Arts club prizes. -- Art Digest -- 7:15, January 15; -- Art News -- 31:7, January 28 Celebrates 119th birthday of S.J. Tilden. -- New York Times -- 17:6, February 8.
Exhibition by junior artist members. -- New York Times -- 15:2, March 2.
1934
Prizes for annual members' show announced. -- New York Times -- IX, 12:3, January 14.
Annual dinner. -- New York Times -- 17:4, January 18.
Prizes. -- Art Digest -- February 1, 8:19; -- Art Digest -- 8:13, May 15.
Memorial exhibition of eight of its deceased painter and sculptor members. -- New York Times -- IX, 12:6, February 4.
Junior members exhibit. -- New York Times -- 17:1, March 8; -- New York Times -- IX, 9:7, March 18; Prizes awarded. -- New York Times -- 22:8, March 22.
Annual members' show. -- New York Times -- 17:2, May 3; Awards, -- New York Times -- 21:1, May 8; -- New York Times -- IX, 7:7, May 13.
Awards given by Arts Club. -- Art News -- 32:4, June 2.
Rare book exhibition planned. -- New York Times -- 19:4, September 18; Exhibition. -- New York Times -- 17:1, September 19.
1935
Annual exhibition of members' work opened. -- New York Times -- 17:5, January 10; -- New York Times -- 9:3, January 14.
Annual dinner; awards. -- New York Times -- 20:7, January 17.
Stag dinner; portrait of Victoria replaces painting of nude. -- New York Times -- 23:4, February 1.
Prizes, annual exhibition of painting and sculpture. -- Art Digest -- 9:21, February 1.
Members' annual exhibition. -- New York Times -- 18:2, February 8; -- New York Times -- VIII, 9:6, February 17.
Annual exhibition by junior artists. -- New York Times -- 18:5, March 9.
Arts Club plans a large bazaar. -- Art News -- 33:10, August 17.
Series of articles on traditions of club being written. -- New York Times -- II, 7:1, October 6.
Plans for annual book week. -- New York Times -- II and III, 8:5, October 13; exhibitors to be entertained by J.R. Gregg, president. -- New York Times -- 19:2, October 30.
To award two trips to Europe for mural decoration. New -- York Times -- 26:7, November 1; -- New York Times -- 19:5, November 14.
To hold "At Home" tea. -- New York Times -- II, 8:2, December 8.
Dinner. -- New York Times -- 14:8, December 11.
1936
Annual members' exhibition. -- New York Times -- 19:6, January 9; -- New York Times -- 13:8, January 11; -- New York Times -- IX, 10:1, January 19.
Exhibition of modern textbooks. -- New York Times -- 17:7, February 6.
Announces winners of trips to Europe. -- New York Times -- 21:2, February 11.
Exhibition by neighboring organizations. -- New York Times -- IX, 8:1, April 12.
Summer exhibit from permanent collection. -- New York Times -- IX, 7:4, June 21.
Exhibition of contemporary books; authors' night. -- New York Times -- VI, 9:2, November 8.
Plans for children's matinee at annual book exhibition. -- New York Times -- VI, 7:2, November 8.
Women's open table plans dinner. -- New York Times -- 16:4, November 23.
Exhibition of Society of American Etchers. -- New York Times -- XII, 9:2, November 29.
1937
Awards at members' exhibit. -- New York Times -- 24:3, January 27.
Exhibitions sponsored by Society of American Etchers. -- New York Times -- 21:3, February 3; -- New York Times -- X, 9:7, February 7.
Women's committee holds drama dinner. -- New York Times -- 13:1, February 15.
R.D. Kohn speaks, -- New York Times -- 25:7, March 11.
Jr. artists group exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:1, March 14; Awards. -- New York Times -- 23:6, March 25.
Photographic exhibition. -- New York Times -- X, 10:2, May 16.
Officers elected. -- New York Times -- 19:1, May 20.
H. Hamilton exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 6:7, September 26.
Book of the year exhibit. -- New York Times -- 23:6, November 4; -- New York Times -- VI, 4:3, November 28.
Mr. H.P. Crine elected life member. -- New York Times -- 9:1, November 28.
Members' exhibit. -- New York Times -- 28:3, December 9.
1938
Women's Open Table plans. -- New York Times -- 11:2, January 17.
Members' annual exhibit. -- New York Times -- , January 18 26:2; -- New York Times -- IX,9:3, January 23; Awards. -- New York Times -- 22:2, January 27.
Members studio receptions planned. -- New York Times -- VI, 2:7, January 30.
Dinner honoring Dr. W. Damrosch. -- New York Times -- 12:5, March 7.
Exhibit by art groups near NYC. -- New York Times -- 20:8, March 28.
Group show. -- New York Times -- X, 8:2, April 17.
Viennese ball. -- New York Times -- 22:6, April 21.
J.F. Talcott elected president; D.E. Waid executive committee chairman. -- New York Times -- 21:6, November 19.
Victorian ball. -- New York Times -- 18:1, December 17.
1939
Members' memorial exhibit. -- New York Times -- 15:1, January 13; -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, January 22.
Members' painting and sculpture exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, February 5.
Jr. Members' lecture. -- New York Times -- 10:2, February 6.
Painting exhibit. -- New York Times -- 18:1, March 1; -- New York Times -- X, 10:2, March 5.
Jr. Members party planned. -- New York Times -- 50:3, March 5.
Exhibit of neighboring art organizations. -- New York Times -- 13:2, April 17.
Wild West party planned to benefit Jr. Members Scholarship Fund; to close 40th anniversary celebration. -- New York Times -- II, 2:8, April 23; -- New York Times -- II, 3:1, April 30.
Jr. Members plan New Year's Eve Olympian Ball. -- New York Times -- 30:2, December 19; -- New York Times -- II, 1:2, December 31.
1940
Art by deceased life members to be sold. -- New York Times -- 17:2, January 5.
Group show; awards. -- New York Times -- 21:2, January 11.
Group show. -- New York Times -- 24:2, January 24; -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, January 28.
Non-members exhibition. -- Art News -- 38:15, February 3.
Exhibits: ceramics. -- New York Times -- 17:4, February 16; Ceramics and flowers. -- New York Times -- 15:5, February 19; Ceramics. -- New York Times -- II, 5:2, February 25; Exhibits: Jr. members. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:2, April 14; Group show awards. -- New York Times -- 21: 5, April 25.
Pan-American Ball held. -- New York Times -- 21:5, April 20.
Fund campaign for refugee artists started. -- New York Times -- 8:2, July 31.
Establishes artist refugee fund. -- New York Times -- 19:1, August 1.
Benefit exhibit plans. -- New York Times -- 20:8, October 2; Exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 5:4, October 6.
County fair planned. -- New York Times -- II, 3:3, October 6.
Refugee artists show their work. -- Art News -- 39:10, October 12.
Annual book exhibit opens. -- New York Times -- 3:5, November 3.
Testimonial luncheon for foreign authors in U.S. -- New York Times -- 45:2, November 10.
National Arts Club dramatizes books at the 35th annual new books of the year exhibition. -- Publishers Weekly -- 138:2046, November 30.
1941
Annual members' exhibit. -- New York Times -- 24:8, January 10; Comment. -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, January 12; Awards. -- New York Times -- 24:6, January 23.
Annual prizes. -- Art Digest -- 15:13, February 1.
Benefits concerts planned. -- New York Times -- 39:1, February 23; -- New York Times -- 20:7, March 28.
Annual exhibit awards. -- New York Times -- 28:3, March 11; Comment. -- New York Times -- I, 10:3, March 16.
Group shows. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:1, March 30; -- New York Times -- IX, 8:2, May 25; -- New York Times -- X, 13:5, May 25; -- New York Times -- IX, 7:5, June 15.
Book exhibit. -- New York Times -- 1:6,November 9.
1942
Group show. -- New York Times -- X, 10:1, January 18.
Group show. -- New York Times -- 14:4, February 4; Private preview. -- New York Times -- 15:4, February 5; Comment. -- New York Times -- IX, 9:6, February 8.
Jr. members to honor servicemen at Hallowe'en party. -- New York Times -- 16:3, October 30.
37th annual show of new books. -- Publishers Weekly -- 142:2044, November 14.
To sponsor Chinese and Indian art exhibit in NYC. -- New York Times -- VIII, 9:1, December 13; Exhibit. -- New York Times -- 42:5, December 17.
1945
Holds Xmas fair. -- New York Times -- 13:3, November 16.
1946
Contemporary American painting exhibit planned. -- New York Times -- 23:6, February 20.
Jr. members and young non-members exhibition. -- Art News -- 45:67, May.
Annual book show plans. -- New York Times -- 21:2, November 1; Show, W.L. Laurence speaks. -- New York Times -- 13:1, November 12.
Annual book show. -- Publishers Weekly -- 150:2731, 2718, November 9.
Packaging the book. P. Boswell. -- Art Digest -- 21:3, November 15.
Choosing best book jackets, 41st annual book show. -- Art News -- 45:8, December.
1947
Preview exhibit. -- New York Times -- 21:5, January 9.
Forming symphony orchestra. -- New York Times -- 27:1, September 19.
1948
Ninth annual exhibition of American Veterans Society of Artists. -- Art Digest -- 22:19, January 1.
Conservatives score at the 50th annual exhibition of painting and sculpture. -- Art Digest -- 22:17, February 1.
Fiftieth annual exhibition. -- Art News -- 47:49, March.
Book fair opens in NYC. -- New York Times -- 30:7, December 9.
1949
Summer annual. -- Art Digest -- 23:14, August.
Dinner honors Mrs. F.D. Roosevelt. -- New York Times -- 39:5, October 11.
1950
Fifty-second annual exhibition of oils and sculptures. -- Art Digest -- 24:12, January 15.
Members' summer exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 24:18, August.
Fair plans. -- New York Times -- 44:8, November 1.
1951
Members-guests annual. -- New York Times -- II, 19:1, January 14.
53rd Annual Exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 25:18, January 15; -- Art News -- 49:47, February.
Non-members annual. -- New York Times -- 21:5, March 30.
Open competition for non-members. -- Art Digest -- 25:18, April 15.
Summer painting exhibition series opens. -- New York Times -- 42:8, June 7.
Members work. -- New York Times -- II, 6:4, June 17.
Summer exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 25:19, July.
1952
Fifty-fourth annual exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 26:19, January 15; -- Art News -- 49:47, February.
Members and guests annual. -- New York Times -- 59:2, January 6; Awards. -- New York Times -- 16:2, January 17.
Watercolor annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 14:4, February 8; -- Art News -- 51:56, March.
Non-members painting annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 16:5, March 10; -- New York Times -- 27:3, March 13.
Small pictures by members; awards. -- New York Times -- 25:5, April 9.
Exhibition of small oils. -- Art Digest -- 26:18-19, April 15; -- Art News -- 49:47, February.
1953
Theatre in an art gallery. A. Scheff. -- Theatre Arts -- 37:92, January.
Members-guests annual; awards. -- New York Times -- II, 11:2, January 11.
Non-members painting annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 21:5., February 19.
Members work; awards. -- New York Times -- II, 13:2, May 10; -- New York Times -- II, 8:5, June 21.
1954
Painting and sculpture annual by members and guests. -- New York Times -- 25:5, January 26.
Fifty-sixth annual exhibition. -- Arts Digest -- 28:17, February 1.
Members and non-members annual; contemporary watercolors; awards. -- New York Times -- 27:5, February 11; Review. -- New York Times -- II, 14:2, February 14.
Grand national annual members' competition. -- Art News -- 53:63, May.
1955
Painting and sculpture annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 23:1, January 12.
Fifty-sixth annual exhibition. -- Arts Digest -- 28:17, February 1.
Paintings annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 18:4, March 1.
Annual exhibition of American oil paintings. -- Art Digest -- 29:26, March 15.
Poet P. MacKaye honored on 80th birthday. -- New York Times -- 28:2, March 16.
1957
Arts Club honors Neuman; WNYC. C. Durgin. -- Musical America -- 77:12, April.
Art Clubs of America. -- Artist -- 53:67, June.
1958
At founding [sixtieth anniversary]. -- New York Times -- 49:2, November 27.
First annual metropolitan young artists show; awards. -- New York Times -- 49:2, November 27
1959
Stadium Concerts founder Mrs. C.S. Guggenheimer gets scroll from Mayor Wagner and National Arts Club medal. -- New York Times -- 9:2, March 12.
1960
Tenor competition awards. -- New York Times -- 47:8, November 15.
Provenance:
The National Arts Club donated its records to the Archives of American Art in 1987. Although a limited amount of printed matter was available at various libraries and on microfilm through the Archives of American Art, scholars have not had access to unpublished records of the Club until this time.
In November 2017 an addition to the Officers' Correspondence was donated by Elizabeth G. Knudsen, granddaughter of Edmund Greacen, former Arts Committee Chair.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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 Piri Halasz are dated circa 1950-2017, and measure 1.6 linear feet and 0.179 GB. The collection consists of correspondence with Clement Greenberg and a number of well-known artists; writings including article and book manuscripts, drafts of lectures, talks, and born-digital presentations; interview transcripts and sound recordings; exhibition reviews; research; biographical material; photographs; and printed material documenting Halasz's activities as an art critic, writer and curator.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Piri Halasz are dated circa 1950-2017, and measure 1.6 linear feet and 0.179 GB. The collection consists of correspondence with Clement Greenberg and a number of well-known artists; writings including article and book manuscripts, drafts of lectures, talks, and born-digital presentations; interview transcripts and sound recordings; exhibition reviews; research; biographical material; photographs; and printed material documenting Halasz's activities as an art critic, writer and curator.
The series titled "Greenbergiana" contains various materials related to Greenberg, including an interview Halasz conducted with Greenberg in 1991, a questionnaire filled out by artist Pat Lipsky Sutton concerning Greenberg's ideas about her work, and items concerning his death and memorial services.
Correspondence contains letters from Anthony Caro, Helen Frankenthaler, Clement Greenberg, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, Anne Truitt, and others. There is a folder of greeting cards, some with original artwork, from artists of her acquaintance. Also found is correspondence with publishers about articles submitted by Halasz for consideration. Photographs are of Halasz and colleagues.
Writings include drafts of published and unpublished articles about Pablo Picasso, Ad Reinhardt, Abraham Rattner, Jennings Tofel, Larry Poons, Stanley William Hayter, Morris Louis, Manhattan museums, Randy Bloom and other subjects. There are transcripts of lectures and talks given by Halasz, and transcripts of interviews she conducted with Stanley William Hayter and Randy Bloom. The series also contains a manuscript for her 1985 novel, The Artist's Widow and supplemental material related to her book, A Memoir of Creativity, 1956-2008. Born-digital material includes two PowerPoint presentations related to Halasz's lectures.
"A Year in the Life of Present Modernism," an exhibition curated by Halasz, was held in 1997-1998 at the Tribes Gallery, New York City. Documentation includes printed material, photographs, and biographical information about Halasz and participating artists.
A small amount of biographical material includes curricula vitae, identifications cards, drawings by Halasz, and photographs of Halasz at various stages in life.
Interviews include one transcript and nineteen sound recording on cassettes of artists, relatives of artists, historians, and curators. All interviews were conducted by Halasz as research for various writing projects. Interviewees include artists Randy Bloom, Frank Bowling, Stanley William Hayter, Larry Poons, Peter Reginato, Ann Walsh, and James Walsh.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series:
Missing Title
Series 1: "Greenbergiana," 1989-1996 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1968-2007 (Box 1, 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Related Materials, 1966-2013 (Boxes 1-4, 1.1 linear feet; ER01, 0.179 GB)
Series 4: "A Year in the Life of Present Modernism," 1996-1998 (Box 2; 1 folder)
Series 5: Biographical Material, circa 1950-2017 (Box 4; 1 folder)
Series 6: Interviews, 1979-2004 (Box 4; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Piri Halasz (b. 1935) is an art critic, writer, lecturer, teacher, curator, and blogger who focuses on the New York art scene and politics from the 1940s to the present. She corresponded with a number of well-known artists; her long-standing association with Clement Greenberg is represented in her correspondence, articles and interviews.
Halasz, a native New Yorker, attended Barnard College where she majored in English literature. After her graduation in 1956, Halasz worked at Time magazine for six years as a researcher, primarily in business news, before being promoted to writer. For the next six years, she wrote articles covering a range of subjects including obituaries, celebrities, books, current trends, and world affairs. Her 1966 cover story for Time, "Swinging London," was a cultural snapshot of mid-1960s London that resulted in an invitation to write A Swinger's Guide to London. Published by Coward McCann in 1967, it was republished in 2010 as part of the Authors Guild "Back in Print" program.
In 1967 Halasz was assigned to write the art page of Time. Her 1969 article about Helen Frankenthaler attracted the attention of Clement Greenberg and they became close friends. Greenberg encouraged her to leave Time, which she did in 1969.
She returned to Columbia in 1974 to pursue graduate studies in art history and obtained her PhD in 1982; a substantial section of Halasz's dissertation was devoted to Greenberg's philosophy. Halasz has since pursued a career as an art critic, writer, lecturer, teacher, curator, and blogger. In 1996 she launched "From the Mayor's Doorstep," an online column of art criticism and politics which became a blog in 2010.
Halasz has taught at Columbia University, Hunter College, C. W. Post Center Long Island University, Molloy College, and Bethany College. She has published articles, primarily on art, in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Arts Magazine, Art in America, ARTnews and NYArts.
Her self-published book, A Memoir of Creativity: Abstract Painting, Politics and the Media, 1958-2008 (iUniverse, 2009), is an insider's view of the publishing industry, the New York art scene and an explication of her theory of "multi-referential imagery. This theory posits that abstract painting refers to imagery that is unconsciously significant to the artist which then triggers recognition in the viewer.
Ms. Halasz lives and works in New York City.
Provenance:
Donated 2010 and 2017 by Piri Halasz.
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.
Occupation:
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of New York video artist and painter Robert Wiegand measure 10.9 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1953 to 1994. Found within the collection are biographical materials, correspondence, art project and exhibition files, printed abd digital materials, video art, photographs, and industrial and miscellaneous video recordings. About one-half of the collection is comprised of video recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York video artist and painter Robert Wiegand measure 10.9 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1953 to 1994. Found within the collection are biographical materials, correspondence, art project and exhibition files, printed and digital materials, video art, photographs, and industrial and miscellaneous video recordings. About one-half of the collection is comprised of video recordings.
Biographical materials include school yearbooks, video and paper documentation from his 1991 wedding, and photograph and video documentation of his funeral and memorial service in 1994. Also found are resumes and Wiegand's SoHo live/work artist permit from 1976.
Correspondence is comprised primarily of letters written by Wiegand, some in digital format, and a handful of letters received. Outgoing letters mainly concern Wiegand's video production work for hire and other personal financial matters. Letters received relate primarily to Wiegand's painting sales, and are from James McLeon, Vivian Browne, Susan Larson, Burt Chernow, and Alexandra Rose. Additional correspondence can be found in the project files.
Project files include documentation of the 1968 inagural "10 Downtown" exhibition, the City Walls mural project, a multimedia art work created through the Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT) project called Changes, the products of the 1978 trip to India, including the video work Snapshots of an Indian Day, the "Madama Butterfly" video production produced by Wiegand, and the artist panel series ArtistsTalkonArt. The files contain a wide variety of documentation, such as correspondence, event flyers and press materials, photographs, slides, and videos.
Printed materials include exhibition and event announcements and catalogs, clippings and reviews, magazine publications, and published books that contain Wiegand's work. There is also one scrapbook compiled by Wiegand for his 5th One Man Show of Paintings at the Phoenix Gallery in New York City.
Video artworks created by Wiegand, often made in collaboration with his wife Ingrid, include Georges, Julie, Moran, Omar is El Uno, Nat, Walking (interstices), Face-Off, and How to tell an artist with Dr. Sheldon Cholst. Photographs include a combination of personal and professional photographs, although most of the materials are slides of artworks and events. Of note are slides from the "Bicentennial Banners" exhibition that Wiegand was invited to participate in and that was on display at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum in 1976.
The last series contains over 4 linear feet of all other video recordings and includes industry productions, independent projects, performance documentation, work samples, and works by others. Notable among these productions are documentation of Pamela Stockwell's reenactment of the Tomkins Square Park riots of 1988 and footage of performers Carolee Schneemann, Trisha Brown, Laura Foreman, and Leonard Horowitz, among others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1953-1994 (Boxes 1-2, 11; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence and Letters, 1962-1990 (Box 2; .3 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)
Series 3: Project Files, 1968-1992 (Boxes 2-3, 11; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1959-1990 (Boxes 3-4, 11; .7 linear feet)
Series 5: Video Art, 1970-1982 (Boxes 4-5; 1 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1953-1994 (Boxes 5-6; 1 linear feet)
Series 7: Other Video Recordings, 1968-1992 (Boxes 6-10; 4.7 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Nelson Wiegand (1934-1994) was a painter and video artist who worked and lived in New York City. Robert Wiegand's interest in art extended well beyond the point of creation, and throughout his life he worked not only as painter, but also as a teacher, advocate, and documentarian of the arts in New York City.
Born in Long Island in 1934, Wiegand attended the State University of New York, College of Buffalo and received a degree in arts education. He returned to New York City and became active in the artist community in SoHo. He was one of the co-founders of the SoHo Artists Association, an artists' organization formed to advocate for legalizing artist loft live/work spaces in lower Manhattan in the 1960s.
Wiegand married his first wife Ingrid in 1964, and they collaborated on many creative endeavors. They adopted two children from India, Indira and Pratap (also known as Peter), and separated in 1990. He married painter Lynn Braswell in 1991.
As a painter, Wiegand's work was highly geometric and influenced by the Abstract Expressionist movement. He exhibited paintings in one-man shows in New York City at the Phoenix Gallery and at the Levitan Gallery. In 1968, Wiegand participated in the first "10 Downtown" exhibition, where artists exhibited in their own studios in a move to overcome exclusive gallery representation practices. After painting a few exterior house murals, Wiegand co-founded City Walls, a New York City mural project that was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Through this project he became responsible for a handful of the murals in lower Manhattan. In 1968, Wiegand collaborated with Lloyed Kreutzer, a Bell Labs physicist specializing in lasers, to create the installation work Changes as part of Experiments In Art and Technology's (EAT) 1968 competition bringing together artists and engineers. It was then shown at Wiegand's studio in 1969. Wiegand was also one of the co-founders of ArtistsTalkOnArt, an artist run non-profit organization that continues to program weekly artist panel discussions in Soho, NY. It was co-founded in 1974 by Wiegand, Lori Antonacci, and Douglas Sheer, with Irving Sandler, Cynthia Navaretta, Bruce Barton and Corinne Robins joining the first board of directors in early 1975.
Wiegand became interested in video in the 1960s after using it as a documentary tool in the successful effort to legalize loft living in lower Manhattan. He then began creating video artworks, many of which were collaborations with his wife Ingrid. They received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1977 to produce a documentary on middle class life in India called Snapshots of an Indian Day. It was shown at The Kitchen and Anthology Film Archives before being acquired by the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY. In 1980, with the help of his students from the Global Village Intensive Video Workshop, Wiegand directed, shot, and edited the Brooklyn Opera Society's production Madama Butterfly at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and Tea House, and the production aired on WNYC-TV 13 as part of its Other Voices: New York series.
From 1971 to 1980, Wiegand ran his own commercial video company, Wiegand Video, where he produced corporate and industry training films. From 1980 to 1987, he worked as a project manager and producer for Square Twelve Productions, continuing to produce commercial work. His clients included the American Society for Mechanical Engineers and International Business Machines.
Wiegand also taught art and video production at the Staten Island Academy from 1961-1971, studio and television production at the New School for Social Research from 1980 to 1984, and field production at the Lehman College City University of NY. He also taught in the New York City C.E.T.A. program in media training and was a visiting media production instructor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Towards the end of his life, Wiegand changed careers and became a social worker. Robert Wiegand died in New York City in 1994, just after his 60th birthday.
Separated Materials:
Twenty sound cassettes of interviews and lectures were removed from the collection and returned to the organization that created them, ArtistsTalkOnArt. A few video cassettes are still found in the collection from that series.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Lynn Braswell, Robert Wiegand's widow, in 1998 and 2000, and in 2014 by Ingrid Wiegand, Robert Wiegand's first wife.
Restrictions:
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Video recordings
Citation:
Robert Wiegand papers and video art, 1953-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by by a grant from the Mellon Foundation through the Council of Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program.
The papers of painter, printmaker, and sculptor Peter Krasnow (1886-1979) and his wife, writer Rose Krasnow (1885-1984), measures 6.9 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1984. Papers include biographical materials, a sound recording, correspondence, essays, poetry, short stories, notes, transcripts of lectures and radio talks, five diaries of Peter Krasnow, personal business records, exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, magazines, five sketchbooks, sketches and drawings in multiple media, prints, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, printmaker, and sculptor Peter Krasnow (1886-1979) and his wife, writer Rose Krasnow (1885-1984), measures 6.9 linear feet and date from 1914 to 1984. Papers include biographical materials, a sound recording, correspondence, essays, poetry, short stories, notes, transcripts of lectures and radio talks, five diaries of Peter Krasnow, personal business records, exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, magazines, five sketchbooks, sketches and drawings in multiple media, prints, and photographs.
Biographical materials include documentation of Rose Krasnow's service as a member of the Army Air Forces Ground Observer Corps, programs and other materials from various memorial services, a sound recording with commentary on a Peter Krasnow exhibition, and documentation of a project to publish Rose Krasnow's poetry.
Correspondence consists of Peter and Rose Krasnow's personal and professional correspondence as well as a small amount of third party correspondence. Personal correspondence with friends and family involves health, work, daily events, and other life updates. Professional correspondence with art dealers, curators, gallery and museum directors, collectors, and colleges and universities concerns exhibitions, sales, loans, and donations of artwork. Primary correspondents include Leslie Burton and Harriet Blades, Dan Budnik, Grace Clements, Conrad Crocker, Dudley Howe, Lilly Weil Jaffe, Grace L. McCann Morley, Dale and Elaine Owen, Aimée Brown Price, Ernest and Ina Raboff, Irving Stone, and Edward Weston. There are also numerous scattered letters from artists, writers, curators, critics, museums, arts associations, and Jewish organizations.
Writings and notes are by Peter Krasnow, Rose Krasnow, and others. Writings by Peter Krasnow include a draft autobiography, essays, lectures on wood sculpture, typescripts, notes, and writings on art. Writings by Rose Krasnow include essays, plays, poetry, and short stories. Writings by others consist of essays, lectures, notes, plays, poetry, short stories, and typescripts. Other writers include Grace Clements, Fidel Danieli, Robert DeLuce, Alfred S. Drake, and Philip Noer. There are also five handwritten personal diaries by Peter Krasnow.
Personal business records include Rose Krasnow's bank book from 1980, Peter Krasnow's naturalization certificate and passport, an inventory of paintings on index cards, tax applications for the Peter Krasnow Arts Foundation, materials relating to Peter Krasnow's estate and the purchase of his artwork, and various receipts.
Printed materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, bound books, magazines and journals, a Chicago Society of Artists block print calendar, and two printed posters from Peter Krasnow's exhibit at the Galerie Pierre in 1934.
Artwork is mostly by Peter Krasnow, and includes five sketchbooks, sketches and drawings, watercolors, preliminary studies in oil, and prints.
Photographs include personal photographs, photographs of major sculpture projects in progress, and artwork. Personal photographs are of Peter and Rose, family members, and friends, as well as a few scattered images of landscapes and architecture, possibly travel photographs. There are also photographs of Edward and Flora Weston. There are three photograph albums, one contains images of Krasnow's relief sculptures for the Sinai Temple's Kohn Chapel. Two photograph albums were compliled by Susan Ehrlich for Peter and Rose Krasnow. Also found are photographs of works of art. Some of the photographs in the papers were taken by Dan Budnik.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1942-1983 (Boxes 1, 6; 7 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930-1984 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1916-1980 (Boxes 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries, circa 1955-1968 (Box 2-3; 5 folders)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1914-1982 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1922-1981 (Boxes 3-4 and OV 9; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1918-1980 (Boxes 4-6 and OV 7-8, 10; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1918-1973 (Box 5; 5 folders)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1914-1981 (Boxes 5-6; 0.6 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Peter Krasnow (1886-1979) was a painter, sculptor, and printmaker who lived and worked primarily in Southern California. His wife, Rose Krasnow (1885-1984), was a prolific writer of poems, short stories, and plays.
Peter Krasnow was born on August 20, 1886 in the Ukraine, Russia to Jewish parents. His father's work as an interior designer inspired Krasnow's interest in art.
In 1907, Krasnow emigrated to the United States, first living in Boston. He moved to Chicago in 1908 to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, where he met his future wife, Rose Bloom. To support himself during his studies, Krasnow worked as a security officer and performed other manual jobs. He graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916 and married Rose that same year.
The Krasnows moved to New York in 1919. In New York, Krasnow experienced some artistic success, participating in group and solo exhibitions at the Whitney Studio Club. During this time period, Krasnow often painted city scenes using a dark color palette.
In 1922, the Krasnows moved to Los Angeles, California. Krasnow built a studio near Glendale in 1923, on land purchased from photographer and friend Edward Weston. The studio also served as the Krasnows' main residence for the rest of their lives. In 1923 in Los Angeles, Krasnow exhibited with the Group of Independent Artists, which included Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Boris Deutsch, Nick Brigante, Ben Berlin, and other noteworthy artists. During his first years in California, Krasnow mostly created watercolor paintings, including a series of landscapes, using a lighter color palette than his earlier works. In the 1920s, Krasnow also accepted commissions for carved wood reliefs at the Temple Emmanu-El in San Francisco and the Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.
Krasnow received a grant in 1931, and he and Rose temporarily relocated to the Dordogne region of France, where they lived until 1934. During this time, Krasnow painted a series of watercolors and paintings of the French landscape. Before returning to the United States, Krasnow exhibited these landscapes at the Galerie Pierre.
After returning to California, Krasnow began creating carved wood sculptures, which he named 'demountables,' often using wood from trees on his property. Krasnow created these sculptures to celebrate the organic shapes inherent in wood.
In 1934, Krasnow returned to painting, this time creating bright, colorful, geometric designs which often incorporated symbolism from his Jewish heritage. Krasnow focused on these paintings through the remaining years of his life. In 1977, Krasnow received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Peter Krasnow died on October 30, 1979 in Los Angeles. Rose Krasnow died five years later, in 1984.
Provenance:
The Peter and Rose Krasnow papers were donated in several increments between 1976 and 1998 by Peter Krasnow, the Estate of Peter Krasnow, and the Peter and Rose Krasnow Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of woodturner Bob Stocksdale and fiber artist Kay Sekimachi measure 19.5 linear feet and 0.125 GB and date from circa 1900 to 2015. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, professional files, exhibition files, project files, personal business records, printed and digital material, scrapbooks, photographic material, and artwork. Of note are records from Sekimachi's forced internment during World War II at Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1944.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of woodturner Bob Stocksdale and fiber artist Kay Sekimachi measure 19.5 linear feet and 0.125 GB and date from circa 1900 to 2015. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, professional files, exhibition files, project files, personal business records, printed and digital material, scrapbooks, photographic material, and artwork. Of note are records from Sekimachi's forced internment during World War II at Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1944.
The bulk of biographical materials are from Kay Sekimachi with some originating from her time spent in forced internment at Topaz and Tanforan camps. These records include identification cards, War Relocation Authority printed materials, and school records. Also found are awards, resumes, and blank stationery. Some materials are from Stocksdale's 85th birthday and memorial service.
Letters and extensive greeting cards are from friends, family, and professional acquaintances. Correspondents include Norman Anderson, Peter Collingwood, Jack Lenor Larsen, Sam and Alfreda Maloof, Forrest L. Merrill, Miné Okubo, Barbara Shawcroft, and others.
Writings and notes are scattered and include two interviews with Kay Sekimachi, hanging instructions, and notes. Writings by others are by Jack Lenor Larsen, Tran Turner, and Yoshiko Uchida.
Sekimachi's and Stocksdale's professional activities are documented through files relating to their participation at conferences, awards ceremonies, and lectures. Also found are fiber samples, order forms for materials and equipment, and notes on techniques and design by Kay Sekimachi. Exhibition records include extensive documentation on Marriage in Form, In the Realm of Nature, and Loom and Lathe as well as files for various solo and group exhibitions for both Sekimachi and Stocksdale. Gallery and institution files include material on multiple or unnamed exhibitions. Exhibiton documentation may include correspondence, writings, proposals, printed material, financial and loan records, condition reports, and photographs. Project files contain material for proposed book projects, a retrospective, and portfolio, by and about Sekimachi and Stocksdale. Also found are three commissions files for works by Sekimachi. A proposed retrospective on the work of Bob Stocksdale by Kay Sekimachi includes a digital sound recording of recollections.
Personal business records include sales books, purchase records for works of art by others, appraisals, contracts, consignment receipts, and insurance records.
Published books, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, magazines, and newsletters are found within printed materials. Of note is a publication by the San Francisco Chronicle entitled "This World" which features illustrations by Miné Okubo.
Four scrapbooks compiled by Kay Sekimachi date from 1937 to 1944. Most of the scrapbooks contain printed material from magazines and other sources with images such as children, valentines, food, birds, clothing, and may include scattered sketches and notes by Sekimachi. One scrapbook dates from the end of Sekimachi's internment at Topaz and relocation to Cincinnati, Ohio. This scrapbook includes sketches and printed materials concerning local and global events. Loose material found in this series was likely meant to be pasted into a new or the forth scrapbook. These materials include relocation information, Japanese-American publications, maps, clippings, sketches, and printed programs.
The bulk of photographic materials consist of slides of various vacation locations and homes and date from the 1960s to the 1980s. Also found are scattered portraits of Kay Sekimachi and Bob Stocksdale, as well as a photo of Miné Okubo with Roy Leeper and Cecil Thompson. Artworks are largely by Kay Sekimachi and include watercolor and pencil sketches as well as designs for fabrics and a weaving portfolio. Watercolor and pencil sketches are of Tanforan Assembly Center and date from circa 1942.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1920-2003 (1.5 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1943-2014 (7.6 linear feet; Box 2-10)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1960s-2008 (0.2 linear feet; Box 10)
Series 4: Professional Files, 1950s-2011 (1.1 linear feet; Box 10-11, 22)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1951-2015 (2.9 linear feet; Box 11-14, ER01; 0.125 GB)
Series 6: Project Files, circa 1900-2004 (0.3 linear feet; Box 14)
Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1970s-2010 (0.7 linear feet; Box 14-15)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1943-2011 (2.3 linear feet; Box 15-17, 22)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1937-1946 (0.9 linear feet; Box 17, 21)
Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2001 (0.9 linear feet; Box 18)
Series 11: Artwork, 1942-circa 1970 (1.1 linear feet; Box 18-20, 22-23)
Biographical / Historical:
Bob Stocksdale (1913-2003) was a woodturner active in California. He was known for bowls he formed from rare types of wood. Kay Sekimachi (1926- ) is a Japanese-American fiber artist and educator also active in California. She began her career in weaving on and off the loom and was part of the New Basketry movement.
Born in Indiana, Bob Stocksdale began his interest in carving by whittling with a pocket knife. Later, he created his own lathe with a washing machine motor and turned items such as baseball bats. During World War II, he was a conscientious objector and worked at various camps performing forestry work. It was in one of the camps that he turned his first bowl on a lathe.
After the war, Stocksdale settled in the Bay Area of California where he established his own woodturning shop in his basement. He concentrated on making bowls out of rare woods. His work has been recognized throughout the world and in 1998, he received the American Association of Woodturners Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2003, he received the James Renwick Alliance Masters of the Medium Award.
Kay Sekimachi was born in San Francisco, California in 1926. As a high school student, she was forcibly interned through Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which incarcerated approximately 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-American citizens during World War II. Along with her mother and siblings, Kay lived at Tanforan Assembly Center and later moved to Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. She continued her schooling at Topaz and after 1944, was resettled in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After graduating from high school, Kay Sekimachi enrolled at the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts where she learned the craft of weaving under Trude Guermonprez and Jack Lenor Larsen. Her early works were tapestries and garments. She later used her weaving techniques as part of the New Basketry movement to create baskets and boxes out of fibers. Also an educator, Kay taught weaving at San Francisco Community College. She received the American Craft Council Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship in 2002.
After the dissolution of his first marriage through which he had two children, son Kim and daughter Joy Stocksdale, Bob married Kay Sekimachi in 1972. The two had been acquainted for many years as they were both craft artists living in the Bay Area. Although they married later in life, Kay and Bob travelled the world and exhibited their art together in many exhibitions including Marriage in Form and Loom and Lathe.
Bob Stocksdale died in Oakland, California in 2003. Kay Sekimachi continues to exhibit her work and lives in Berkeley, California.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are an oral history interview of Bob Stocksdale conducted February 16-March 21, 2001, by Signe Mayfield and an oral history interview of Kay Sekimachi [Stocksdale] conducted July 26-August 6, 2001, by Suzanne Baizerman. Both interviews were conducted in Berkeley, California, during the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Provenance:
The Bob Stocksdale and Kay Sekimachi papers were donated in 2003, 2004, and 2015 by Kay Sekimachi Stocksdale as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
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 original 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.
Papers of Leonard P. Hirsch, founder of Federal GLOBE, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender employee advocacy group for the federal government. Hirsch was also the founder of the Smithsonian Institution's chapter of Federal GLOBE. Papers include organizational material as well as newsletters, educational, and lobbying materials. There is a small amount of personal material for Hirsch and his husband Kristian Fauchald.
Scope and Contents:
The Leonard P. Hirsch Federal GLOBE Records, 1985-2015, undated, contains materials related to Federal GLOBE and chapters of Federal GLOBE. The papers include correspondence, e-mail, publications, financial records, newsletters, photographs, two cassette tapes, one video tape, and computer floppy discs. The papers also include material from individuals and groups that opposed expanded rights for LGBT persons within the federal government and society. The papers also contain one of Hirsch's day books and memorial service memorabilia for Hirsch and his partner Fauchald. These papers include very little to no personal material or material relating to Hirsch's work with the Smithsonian Institution's Office of International Relations and no material relating to Fauchald's work with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
The collection is organized in six series.
Series 1: Organizational Records, 1985-2014, undated, includes correspondence, e-mail, election ballots and materials, founding documents and related materials, financial and fundraising materials, papers related to individual cases of discrimination, copies of legal documents relating to LGBT related cases, National Coming Out Day advertisements and solicitations, newsletters, by-laws, tax-exempt applications, lobbying documents, awards, copies of executive orders and proclamations, informational papers and pamphlets.
Series 2: Chapters, 1991-1996, undated, includes material related to Federal GLOBE chapters in various agencies of the federal government. Folders may include newsletters, correspondence, e-mail, advertising for gatherings and fundraisers, and election materials.
Series 3: Subject Files, Conferences, and Other Organizations, 1993-2011, undated include materials and informational packets for conferences attended by Federal GLOBE members and materials from conferences co-sponsored by Federal GLOBE. This series also includes materials from organizations and individuals that opposed expanded rights for LGBT persons within the federal government and society such as Jerry Falwell, Family Research Council, and others.
Series 4: Publications, 1990-2000, undated, includes a variety of publications related to LGBT issues.
Series 5: Hirsch, Leonard P., 1991-2015, undated, contains one day book, and memorial service memorabilia and tributes. It also contains a program for Kristian Fauchald's memorial service.
Series 6: Photographs, Slides, and Audio-Visual Materials, 1993-2009, undated, includes photographs of GLOBE participation in Pride parades and other marches. There are photographs from an unidentified costume event. It also includes two casette tapes from LGBT related talks, one VHS video tape, and computer floppy discs most likely containing documents related to Federal GLOBE.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in six series.
Series 1: Organizational Records, 1985-2014, undated
Series 2: Chapters, 1991-1996, undated
Series 3: Subject Files, Conferences, and Other Organizations, 1993-2011, undated
Series 4: Publications, 1990-2000, undated
Series 5: Hirsch, Leonard P., 1991-2015, undated
Series 6: Photographs, Slides, and Audio-Visual Materials, 1993-2009, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Leonard P. Hirsch (1955-2015) was born in Queens, New York. He graduated from Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens and from Pomona College with a B.A. degree in International Relations (1976). He received his M.A. (1978) and a Ph.D (1980) in political science from Northwestern University. He accepted a teaching position at the University of South Florida and while there assisted in the founding of the LGBT faculty organization. He also helped organize the first meeting of the American Political Science Association's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus. In 1983, Hirsch met Kristian Fauchald, a marine biologist with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. In 1985 Hirsch moved to Washington, D.C. to join Fauchald, whom he later married.
After moving to Washington, D.C., Hirsch worked for a data management firm. He founded a company that produced a personal computer. At the Prince George's County Community College he conducted research under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Hirsch, "accepted what was originally a one-year appointment in the Smithsonian Institution's Office of International Relations in 1988, beginning more than two decades of service to the arts and humanities and science communities with a special emphasis on environmental issues--biodiversity, global change, carbon tracking, and ecological systems." At the Smithsonian, Hirsch, "--was a senior policy representatitve for supporting the Smithsonian's international scientific work." He was a member of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and co-chaired the U.S. Group on Earth Observations. He was the USGEO representative to the Forest Carbon Tracking Task Force. He participated in the Subcommittee on Ecological Systems, the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (as part of the U.S. delegation); the coordination processes of the Conventions on Combating Desertification and Climate Change; and the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development. He represented the Smithsonian on the U.S. Interagency Process for CITES, the Convention on Trade of Endangered Species." Hirsch was also, "the Smithsonian member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and responsbile for matching opportunities for scientific and cultural work and exchanges for Smithsonian researchers." Hirsch believed emerging technologies could be used to make museum information and programs relevant to the broader society and pursued that goal in all facets of his work.
Hirsch was the founder and head of both Federal GLOBE and the Smithsonian GLOBE chapter. In February 1988, he organized the first gathering of what would develop into Federal GLOBE. He served as GLOBE's first president and was elected to that post over the course of the next ten years. It was the mission of GLOBE--and Hirsch personally--to eliminate discrimination in the federal government based on sexual orientation. GLOBE's accomplishments were many, including an executive order on non-discrimination issued during the Clinton administration and later the Obama administration's memorandum extending certain federal employee benefits to same-sex couples. GLOBE worked for the repeal of the Department of Defense's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. GLOBE was an advocate for federal LGBT persons not only in Washington, D.C. but elsewhere in the nation through its many chapters. GLOBE also produced a newsletter and became a clearing house for information on LGBT rights. Hirsch co-organized the "Fragments of Our History" exhibit during the 1993 March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights and advocated for inclusion of LGBT content in Smithsonian programs.
Hirsch and Fauchald married in California in 2008. By the time of his death in April 2015, Fauchald was emeritus curator and former chair of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Hirsch died on June 12, 2015 of a rare form of cancer just two months after the death of his husband. In addition to other awards and certificates, Hirsch was given the Rainbow History Project's Community Pioneer Award in 2012.
Sources:
Memorial program for Leonard P. Hirsch and Obituary for Leonard P. Hirsch, The Washington Blade, June 2015
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Michio and Aveline Kushi Macro-Biotics Collection (AC0619)
The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews (AC0857)
Archives Center Wedding Documentation Collection (AC1131 )
Division of Science, Medicine, and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection (AC1134)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Collection (AC1146)
John-Manuel Andriote Hot Stuff: A Brief History of Disco Collection (AC1184)
Joan E. Biren (JEB) Queer Film Museum Collection (AC1216)
World AIDS Institute (WAI) Collection (AC1266)
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Records (AC1282)
Helping Persons with AIDS (HPA) Records (AC1283)
DC Cowboys Dance Company Records (AC1312)
Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers (AC1334)
Separated Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
The Division of Political History (now Division of Political and Military History) holds artifacts related to gay activist Franklin Kameny and a variety of political buttons. They also hold LGBT related artifacts from Joan E. Biren (JEB).
The Division of Medical Science holds objects donated from Dr. Renee Richards, Sean O. Strub, and Leonard P. Hirsch.
The Division of Entertainment and the Arts holds objects donated by The Fosters and Will & Grace.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center by the estate of Leonard P. Hirsch, Nancy Gray, Esq., Executor, 2015.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply. All duplication requests must be reviewed and approved by Archives Center staff.
The papers of John Kearney measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1945-2016. The papers document Kearney's career as a sculptor through correspondence, writings, project files and personal business files. Also found are printed materials such as clippings and exhibition announcements and photographic material of Kearney and his artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of John Kearney measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1945-2016. The papers document Kearney's career as a sculptor through personal and professional correspondence, writings, project files and personal business files. Also found are printed materials and photographic material of Kearney and his artwork. Correspondence contains letters with friends, other artists, museums, galleries and city governments. Personal letters document Kearney's friendship with other artists including illustrated letters from Oreste DeQuel; letters regarding his summers in Provincetown and letters to his wife Lynn while Kearney was working in Rome. Professional correspondence relates to the appraisal, purchase and installation of Kearney's sculptures. Writings include biographical notes but primarily consist of writings by others on Kearney and his work, including a memorial service speech written by his daughter Jill Kearney, poems inspired by his sculptures and a page of an article draft on the artist.
Project files contain correspondence, photographic material, applications, planning documents, news clippings and exhibition catalogs detailing installations as well as individual sculptures Kearney worked on. Personal business records contain materials related to professional organizations Kearney participated in, exhibition planning, financial records and subject files on other artists. Documents include invoices, exhibition agreements, a Guggenheim application and materials such as correspondence and planning documents related to the Contemporary Art Workshop, of which Kearney was a co-founder. Printed material comprises a significant portion of the collection and is made up of exhibition announcements, press releases, posters, catalogs and news clippings. Finally, the photographic material series contains photographs of Kearney working and with his sculptures along with photographs of his artwork spanning his career.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1945-2015 (0.7 Linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Writings, circa 1962-2014 (5 Folders: Box 1)
Series 3: Project Files, 1972-2016 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 4: Personal Business, 1951-2009 (0.3 Linear feet: Box 2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1949-2015 (1.3 Linear feet: Box 2-4)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1960-2007 (2 Folders: Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
John Kearney (1924 –2014) was a Chicago, Illinois based sculptor best known for his sculptures of animals made out of car bumpers. Kearney studied art at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI, after serving four years in the Navy during World War II during which time he learned welding skills repairing naval vessels. He received a Fulbright scholarship to Italy in 1963 and was a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome, in 1985, 1992, 1998 and 2003. In 1949 he co-founded the Contemporary Art Workshop in Chicago, an organization dedicated to providing affordable studios and exhibition space for emerging and mid-career artists.
While based in Chicago, Kearney spent summers in Provincetown, MA and was a fixture of the artist community there, serving as a member of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and in the Beachcombers, a local club of artists and writers. His public sculptures can be found across Provincetown, as well as in Chicago and in many other cities across the country, including his well-known installation at Oz Park in Chicago of the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scare Crow and Dorothy and Toto. Kearney also had numerous solo exhibitions and has shown in galleries and museums internationally and across the States, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Cherry Stone Gallery in Wellfleet, MA. A major retrospective of his work was mounted in 1994 at the Mitchell Museum in Mt. Vernon, IL.
Related Materials:
Related materials include an Archives of American Art oral history interview with John Kearney, 2009 Mar. 12-13.
Provenance:
Donated 2015 and 2017 by Lynn Kearney, John Kearney's widow.
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.
Arts administrators -- Illinois -- Chicago Search this
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Citation:
John Kearney papers, 1945-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
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.
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:
John Kearney papers, 1945-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The writings series primarily consists of writings by others on Kearney and his work including a memorial service speech written by his daughter Jill Kearney, poems inspired by his sculptures and a page of an article draft on the artist. Also found are some biographical notes.
Collection 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.
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:
John Kearney papers, 1945-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
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:
Anna Campbell Bliss papers, circa 1948-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
