Search Results

Collection Creator:

Armstrong, Lucille  Search this

Bechet, Sidney, 1897-1959  Search this

Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this

Condon, Eddie, 1905-1973  Search this

Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994  Search this

Commodore Records.  Search this

Feather, Leonard, 1914-1994  Search this

Gabler, Milt  Search this

Davis, Sammy, 1925-  Search this

Decca (recording company).  Search this

Granz, Norman  Search this

Hawkins, Coleman  Search this

Kaempfert, Bert, 1923-1980  Search this

Ives, Burl, 1909-  Search this

Holiday, Billie, 1915-1959  Search this

Norvo, Red, 1908-1999  Search this

Mills Brothers.  Search this

Krupa, Gene, 1909-1973  Search this

Kelly, Peck, 1898-  Search this

Williams, Cootie, 1911-1985  Search this

United Hot Clubs of America.  Search this

Stewart, Rex (William), Jr., 1907-1967 (cornetist)  Search this

Jordan, Louis, 1908-1975  Search this

Goodman, Benny (Benjamin David), 1909-1986  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1969-1998

Scope and Contents:

This material pertains to Gabler's various recording and reissue projects before and after the Commodore/Decca years. A few of the artists include Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Eddie Condon, "Wild Bill" Davison, Ella Fitzgerald, Peck Kelley, and Dick Shannon. The bulk dates of 1973-2001 refer to the period following Gabler's departure from Decca and subsequent return to the Commodore label. The bulk dates do not accurately reflect the original dates of various files and items. Most of the material reissued in this period actually originated between 1938 and 1957. Subgroup C includes materials on the various record companies that distributed Commodore material after Gabler's departure from Decca. Most notably, this series contains files on the historic series of reissues by Mosaic Records in 1987—a boxed set of audio discs containing every Commodore recording.

The series consists of business correspondence with various recording companies and music publishers regarding various recording projects, business correspondence with specific individuals/associates with whom Gabler maintained an extensive business relationship, fan mail (mainly regarding reissues), and Commodore questionnaires regarding suggestions for future reissues. Folders are arranged alphabetically by name of corporation or business contact. Fan mail and questionnaires are arranged chronologically.

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use. Some materials restricted; but most are available for unrestricted research access on site by appointment.

Several items of personal correspondence contained private medical information about living individuals. The originals were removed and will remain sealed until 2030. Copies with the sensitive information redacted are available for research use in the collection.

Access to audio recordings for which no reference copy exists requires special arrangements with Archives Center staff. Please ask the reference archivist for additional information.

Collection Rights:

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

Collection Citation:

Milt Gabler Papers, 1927-2001, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0849, Series 11

See more items in:

Milt Gabler Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep846286e33-21ce-4a46-a187-ed33fc620fd2

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0849-ref489

Collection Creator:

Fine, Jud  Search this

McCarren, Barbara  Search this

Container:

Box 12, Folder 13

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

2006

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.

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:

Jud Fine and Barbara McCarren papers, circa 1968-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Jud Fine and Barbara McCarren papers

Jud Fine and Barbara McCarren papers / Series 4: Project Files / Santa Monica Boulevard Streetscape

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9df9a3053-ee78-4908-81e8-4c08f39b7442

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-finejud-ref543

Creator:

Finch College. Museum of Art  Search this

Varian, Elayne H.  Search this

Names:

Acconci, Vito, 1940-  Search this

Anderson, David K., 1935-  Search this

Benglis, Lynda, 1941-  Search this

Benyon, Margaret, 1940-  Search this

Bochner, Mel, 1940-  Search this

Brooks, James, 1906-1992  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Chase, Doris, 1923-  Search this

Cross, Lloyd G.  Search this

Davis, Douglas  Search this

Dwan, Virginia  Search this

Feigen, Richard L., 1930-  Search this

Glimcher, Arnold B.  Search this

Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974  Search this

Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this

Hollander, Irwin  Search this

Insley, Will, 1929-2011  Search this

Jackson, Martha Kellogg  Search this

Janis, Sidney, 1896-1989  Search this

Kirby, Michael  Search this

Levine, Les, 1935-  Search this

Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this

Mazur, Michael, 1935-2009  Search this

Meyer, Ursula, 1915-  Search this

Nauman, Bruce, 1941-  Search this

O'Doherty, Brian  Search this

Parsons, Betty  Search this

Richter, Hans, 1888-1976  Search this

Siegelaub, Seth, 1941-  Search this

Smith, Tony, 1912-1980  Search this

Sonfist, Alan  Search this

Weiner, Sam  Search this

Wise, Howard  Search this

Extent:

20.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Transcripts

Interviews

Photographs

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Museum records

Date:

1943-1975

bulk 1964-1975

Summary:

The exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art measure 20.9 linear feet and date from 1943 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from the period its galleries were in operation, from 1964 to 1975. Over two-thirds of the collection consists of exhibition files, which contain a wide range of documentation including artist files, checklists, correspondence, writings, photographs, interviews, numerous films and videos, artist statements, printed materials, and other records. Also found within the collection are administrative records of the museum, artist files, and papers of the Contemporary Wing's director and curator, Elayne Varian, which were produced outside of her work at Finch College.

Scope and Contents:

The exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art measure 20.9 linear feet and date from 1943 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from the period its galleries were in operation, from 1964 to 1975. Over two-thirds of the collection consists of exhibition files, which contain a wide range of documentation including artist files, checklists, correspondence, writings, photographs, interviews, numerous films and videos, artist statements, printed materials, and other records. Also found within the collection are administrative records of the museum, artist files, and papers of the Contemporary Wing's director and curator, Elayne Varian, which were produced outside of her work at Finch College.

Administrative records include records relating to the general operation of the Contemporary Wing concerning fundraising, professional associations, budget, contact information for artists, donors, and lenders to exhibitions. Also found are records of the permanent collection of artworks acquired by the museum between 1964 and 1975 from contemporary artists and collectors of contemporary art.

Artist files contain basic biographical information on over 150 contemporary artists, with scattered correspondence, photographs, technical information about artworks, artist statements, and other writings. Artist files also include an incomplete run of artist questionnaires gathered by the New York Arts Calendar Annual for 1964.

Elayne Varian's personal papers include curatorial records, a course schedule and syllabus related to her teaching activities, and various writings. Curatorial projects documented in Varian's papers include three programs produced outside of Finch College, including a juried show at the New York State Fair in 1967, a film series at Everson Museum of Syracuse University, and an exhibition at Guild Hall in East Hampton in 1973. Several of Varian's writing projects involved interviews, which are also found in this series in the form of sound recordings and transcripts. Interview-based writing projects include individual profiles on Brian O'Doherty and Babette Newberger, and interviews conducted for an article on the artist-dealer relationship published in Art in America (January 1970). Dealers interviewed for the latter project include Leo Castelli, Virginia Dwan, John Gibson, Richard Feigen, Arnold Glimcher, Fred Mueller, Martha Jackson, Sidney Janis, Betty Parsons, Seth Siegelaub, and Howard Wise. Artists interviewed include Roy Lichtenstein, Adolph Gottlieb, and Charles Ross.

Exhibition files, comprising the bulk of the collection, document exhibitions held in the Contemporary Wing during its existence from 1964 to 1975. Types of records found in the series include exhibition catalogs, correspondence, loan agreements, lists, contact information, insurance valuations of artworks, photographs, biographical information on artists, clippings, posters, press releases, and other publicity materials. In addition to the rich textual and photographic records found for exhibitions, numerous audiovisual recordings are also found, some of which were made in preparation for an exhibition, some document mounted exhibitions, and others are artworks themselves or components of artworks exhibited in the galleries. Interviews with artists, dealers, and others involved in exhibitions include Alan Sonfist, Mel Bochner, Hans Richter, Ruth Richards, James Brooks and Janet Katz, Margaret Benyon, Irwin Hollander (transcript only), David Anderson, Doris Chase, Will Insley, Michael Kirby, Les Levine, Ursula Meyer, Brian O'Doherty, Charles Ross, Tony Smith, Douglas Davis, Jane Davis, Russ Connor, Les Levine, Michael Mazur, Paul Gedeohn, and physicists Lloyd G. Cross, Allyn Z. Lite, and Gerald Thomas Bern Pethick. Video artworks, recordings of performances, or components of multimedia artworks are found by artists Vito Acconci, Kathy Dillon, Douglas Davis, Dan Graham, Les Levine, Bruce Nauman, Michael Netter, Eric Siegel, and Robert Whitman. A film of the Art in Process: The Visual Development of a Structure (1966) exhibition is found, and video recordings of artists Lynda Benglis, Michael Singer, and Sam Wiener form as part of the documentation for the Projected Art: Artists at Work (1971) exhibition.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 4 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1950-1975 (2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 22, OV 23)

Series 2: Artist Files, 1958-1975 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 22, OV 23, FC 27-28)

Series 3: Elayne Varian Personal Papers, 1965-1970 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1943-1975 (14.9 linear feet; Boxes 6-22, OV 24-25, FC 26)

Biographical / Historical:

The Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, later called simply the "Contemporary Wing," was established in 1964 by the president of Finch College, Roland De Marco, as an extension the Finch College Museum of Art in New York City.

Its mission was to educate art history students at the Manhattan women's college who were interested in working with contemporary art. DeMarco, himself an art collector, hired Elayne Varian as director and curator of the contemporary wing. DeMarco met Varian in the New York office of the prominent international art dealership Duveen Brothers, where she had worked since the mid-1940s, most recently as an art dealer. Varian received her art education in Chicago, where she studied art history and education at the University of Chicago, and took classes in film at the Bauhaus and in fine art the Art Institute of Chicago. Sensitive to emerging art movements in galleries and studios around the city of New York, as the contemporary wing's curator, Varian quickly established a reputation for thoughtfully conceived, cutting-edge exhibitions which were consistently well-received by the press.

Under Varian, the Contemporary Wing carried out a dual mission of showing work of living artists and educating students and the public about the artwork and museum work in general. Varian used the galleries to provide practical training to students interested in a gallery or museum career throughout its existence. For several years, she also maintained an assistantship position for post-graduate museum professionals to gain experience in the field, many of whom went on to careers in museums across New York State.

The Contemporary Wing's best-known exhibitions formed a series of six shows called Art in Process, held between 1965 and 1972. Each of the Art in Process shows took a different medium, including painting, sculpture, collage, conceptual art, installation art, and serial art, and brought the process of art-making into the gallery with the artworks in various ways. For example, for Art in Process V (1972), the show about installation art, the galleries were open to the public for the entire process of its installation, allowing visitors to watch the works take shape. Another show entitled Documentation (1968) exhibited artworks with documentation such as artist's notes, sales records, and conservation records, bringing to light the value of record-keeping in the visual arts. Two exhibitions entitled Projected Art were also innovative, with the first (1966-1967) bringing experimental films from the cinema to the galleries, and the second (1971) showing artists' processes via footage and slides of artists working. Another show, Artists' Videotape Performances (1971), involved both screening of and creation of works in the gallery using a range of experiments with recent video technology. The museum also participated in an experimental broadcast of an artwork entitled Talk Out! by Douglas Davis, in which a telephone in the gallery allowed visitors to participate in its creation while it was broadcast live from Syracuse, NY. Other exhibitions that showcased experimentation in art included N-Dimensional Space (1970), on holography in art, Destruction Art(1968), on destructive actions being incorporated into contemporary art-making, and Schemata 7 (1967), a show about the use of environments in contemporary art, whose working title was "Walk-in Sculpture."

Other popular exhibitions at the Contemporary Wing included shows on Art Deco (1970) and Art Nouveau (1969). Several shows mined the private collections of prominent contemporary art collectors including Martha Jackson, Betty Parsons, George Rickey, Paul Magriel, Jacques Kaplan, Josephine and Philip Bruno, and Carlo F. Bilotti. A number of exhibitions featured contemporary art from overseas including Art from Belgium (1965), Art from Finland (1973), Seven Swedish Painters (1965), and Art in Jewelry (1966), which featured mainly international jewelry artists. Retrospective exhibitions of Hans Richter, Hugo Weber, and James Brooks were also held.

Hundreds of contemporary artists were shown at the Contemporary Wing in the eleven years of its existence, including many who came to be leading figures in contemporary art, and some who already were, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Bochner, Eva Hesse, Lynda Benglis, Bruce Nauman, Robert Morris, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Smithson, Sol Le Witt, Dan Flavin, Philip Pearlstein, and Yayoi Kusama, to name just a few.

The Contemporary Wing and the entire Finch College Museum of Art shut its doors in 1975, when Finch College closed due to lack of funds. The permanent collection was sold at that time, and the proceeds were used to pay Finch College employee salaries. Elayne Varian went on to the position of curator of contemporary art at the John and Mabel Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. She died in 1987.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with curator Elayne Varian conducted by Paul Cummings, May 2, 1975.

Provenance:

The Archives of American Art acquired these records from the Finch College Museum of Art after it closed permanently in June 1975.

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.

Occupation:

Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Museum administrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Gallery directors  Search this

Gallery owners  Search this

Genre/Form:

Transcripts

Interviews

Photographs

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Museum records

Citation:

Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program. Funding for the digitization of two motion picture films was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee, and for the remaining sound and video recordings from the Smithsonian's Collection Care Pool Fund. Funding for the digitization of the collection, not including audiovisual materials, was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.finccoll

See more items in:

Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ed5f13a2-eeb3-452a-8735-204ff25576b5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-finccoll

Collection Creator:

Smithson, Robert  Search this

Container:

Box 2, Folder 6

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1965-1970

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 audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, holds the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to all materials created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt with the exception of the following items: two holiday cards found in box 11, folders 22-23. For these two items, copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.

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:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

See more items in:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers / Series 2: Correspondence / 2.2: General

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92fb8cfc6-afeb-47a5-b8e7-a6b2a97fac2c

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-smitrobe-ref76

Collection Donor:

Finley, Harry, 1942-  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 14

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1996, undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

Collection Rights:

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

Collection Citation:

Museum of Menstruation Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Museum of Menstruation Collection

Museum of Menstruation Collection / Series 1: Museum of Menstruation Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86ef4e211-106d-44b0-ac61-0efeb3fc7607

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1586-ref45

Creator:

Gellert, Hugo, 1892-1985  Search this

Names:

American Artists' Congress  Search this

Art of Today Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Artist's Committee of Action (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Artists Coordination Committee (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Artists Council  Search this

Artists for Victory, Inc.  Search this

Committee to Defend V.J. Jerome  Search this

Hungarian Word, Inc.  Search this

National Society of Mural Painters (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Derkovits, Gyula, 1894-1934  Search this

Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this

Fast, Howard, 1914-2003  Search this

Fiene, Ernest, 1894-  Search this

Gellert, Ernest  Search this

Gellert, Lawrence, 1898-1979  Search this

Gottlieb, Harry, 1895-  Search this

Gropper, William, 1897-1977  Search this

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Lie, Jonas, 1880-1940  Search this

Refregier, Anton, 1905-  Search this

Reisman, Philip, 1904-  Search this

Sequenzia, Sofia  Search this

Extent:

6.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Photographs

Date:

1916-1986

Summary:

The papers of graphic artist, muralist, and activist Hugo Gellert measure 6.9 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1986. They document his career as an artist and organizer for the radical political left through an interview, legal papers, financial records, family papers, artifacts, correspondence, writings, organizational records, extensive printed materials (many of them illustrated by Gellert), photographs, and artwork.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of graphic artist, muralist, and activist Hugo Gellert measure 6.9 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1986. They document his career as an artist and organizer for the radical left through an oral interview conducted by Sofia Sequenzia, legal papers, financial records, family papers, artifacts, correspondence, writings, organizational records, clippings, exhibition catalogs, various printed materials illustrated by Gellert, pamphlets, periodicals, mass mailings, photographs, and artwork.

Biographical Material includes an audio interview with Gellert; official documents related to memberships, property, and legal matters; financial documents that include bills, receipts, and contracts related to professional activities; papers of Gellert's brothers, Lawrence and Ernest; and artifacts. Correspondence is with other artists, writers, publishers, activists, friends, and family, including Ernest Fiene, Rockwell Kent, Harry Gottlieb, William Gropper, Philip Evergood, Howard Fast, and Jonas Lie. Writings include essays, book projects, notes, and notebooks written by Gellert; and stories and articles by other authors, including typescripts of early twentieth-century Hungarian short stories collected by Gellert.

Organizational Records are related to political and art organizations in which Gellert was an active organizer, officer, and in some cases, a founder. Because of his central role in many of these organizations, records often contain unique documentation of their activities. Records are found for the American Artists Congress, the Art of Today Gallery, the Artists Committee of Action, the Artists Coordination Committee, the Artists Council, Artists for Victory, Inc., the Committee to Defend V.J. Jerome, Hungarian Word, Inc., the National Society of Mural Painters, and other organizations.

Printed materials include a variety of political publications and periodicals with illustrations by Gellert, including New Masses, Art Front, Magyar Szo, and American Dialog; clippings related to his career, exhibition catalogs, political pamphlets, Hungarian literature, and mass mailings received from political organizations. Photographs contain a few personal photographs but are mostly news and publicity photographs, many of which depict prominent Communists and other newsmakers. Artwork includes sketches, drawings, designs, prints, and production elements for Gellert's artwork, as well as prints and drawings by Philip Reisman, Gyula Derkovits, and Anton Refregier.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1982 (Box 1 and OV 9; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1986 (Boxes 1-2, 8; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1916-1970 (Boxes 2 and 8; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Organizational Records, circa 1920-1977 (Boxes 3, 8, and OV 9; 1 linear foot)

Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1920-1986 (Boxes 4-6, 8, and OV 9; 3 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1920-1959 (Boxes 6-7; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, 1927-1981 (Box 7, OV 10; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Graphic artist, muralist, and activist Hugo Gellert was born Hugo Grünbaum in Budapest, Hungary in 1892, the oldest of six children. His family immigrated to New York City in 1906, eventually changing their family name to Gellert.

Gellert attended art school at Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design. As a student, he designed posters for movies and theater, and also worked for Tiffany Studios. A number of student art prizes with cash awards enabled him to travel to Europe in the summer of 1914, where he witnessed the outbreak of World War I, an experience which helped shape his political beliefs. Aesthetically, he was also influenced by a folk revival among Hungarian artists at the time of his trip, and was more impressed, he later said, with the street advertising in Paris than he was with the cubism he saw in the Louvre.

Returning to the United States, Gellert became involved in the Hungarian-American workers' movement, and contributed drawings to its newspaper, Elöre (Forward). He remained involved in Hungarian-American art and activism throughout his life, including membership in the anti-fascist group, the Anti-Horthy League. When members of the fascist Horthy government unveiled a statue of a Hungarian hero in New York in 1928, Gellert hired a pilot and dropped leaflets on the group, a stunt for which he was arrested. In the 1950s, Gellert served as director of Hungarian Word, Inc., a Hungarian-language publisher in New York.

Gellert's political commitment and art remained deeply intertwined throughout his life, as he continually sought to integrate his commitment to Communism, his hatred of fascism, and his dedication to civil liberties. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, he contributed artwork to several magazines of the radical left, including Masses and its successors Liberator and New Masses, both of which featured Gellert's artwork on their inaugural issue. Through Masses, he came to know other radicals such as Mike Gold, John Reed, Louise Bryant, Max Eastman, Floyd Dell, Anton Refregier, William Gropper, Harry Gottlieb, Bob Minor, and Art Young, and with them he followed the events of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia with sympathy and growing political fervor.

His brother, Ernest Gellert, also a socialist and activist, was drafted into the military but refused to serve. He died of a gunshot wound under suspicious circumstances while imprisoned at Fort Hancock, New Jersey, as a conscientious objector. Traumatized by this event, Gellert fled to Mexico to avoid conscription. In 1920 to 1922, he taught art at the Stelton School in New Jersey, a radical, utopian community school. He participated in the cultural scene of Greenwich Village, working on set designs, publications, and graphic art for political productions. He founded the first John Reed Club in 1929 with a group of Communist artists and writers including Anton Refregier, Louis Lozowick, and William Gropper. Initially, the group held classes and exhibitions, and provided services for strikes and other working-class activism. Later, John Reed Clubs formed around the country and became a formal arm of the United States Communist Party (CPUSA).

In the late 1920s, Gellert became a member of the National Society of Mural Painters (which, partly due to Gellert's activism in the group, became the Mural Artists' Guild local 829 of the United Scenic Artists Union of the AFL-CIO in 1937. Other members included Rockwell Kent, Anton Refregier, Arshile Gorky, and Marion Greenwood). In 1928, he created a mural for the Worker's Cafeteria in Union Square, NY. Later murals include the Center Theater in Rockefeller Center, the National Maritime Union Headquarters, the Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union Building, NYC, the interior of the Communications Building at the 1939 World's Fair, and the Seward Park Housing Project in 1961.

In 1932, Gellert was invited to participate in a mural exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, and submitted a political mural about the robber barons of contemporary American politics and industry called Us Fellas Gotta Stick Together - Al Capone. The museum attempted to censor the mural, along with the murals of William Gropper and Ben Shahn. Other artists threatened to boycott the exhibition over the censorship and were successful in restoring them to the show.

The cooperation of artists in this controversy foreshadowed a larger protest in 1934, organized by Gellert, Saul Belman, Stuart Davis, and Zoltan Hecht, when Diego Rivera's pro-labor mural was destroyed at Rockefeller Center. After the incident, the group formed the Artists' Committee of Action and continued to fight censorship and advocate for artists' interests and welfare. They also co-published the magazine Art Front with the Artists' Union, a labor organization. Gellert served for a time as editor of Art Front, and chairman of the Artists' Committee of Action.

Gellert was active in producing both art and strategic policy for the cultural arm of the CPUSA, and he worked to mobilize the non-communist left, often referred to as the Popular Front. In 1933 he illustrated Karl Marx's Capital in Lithographs, and in 1935, he wrote a Marxist, illustrated satire called Comrade Gulliver, An Illustrated Account of Travel into that Strange Country the United States of America. Other published graphic works include Aesop Said So (1936) and a portfolio of silkscreen prints entitled Century of the Common Man (1943).

Other artist groups he helped to found and/or run include the American Artist's Congress, a Communist organization founded with Max Weber, Margaret Bourke-White, Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Harry Sternberg, and others, which held symposia and exhibitions between 1936 and 1942; the Artists' Coordination Committee, an umbrella group of national organizations which sought protections for federally-employed and unionized artists; Artists for Victory, Inc., which formed in 1942 to mobilize artists in support of the war effort; and the Artists' Council, formed after the war to advocate for artists' welfare and employment.

Gellert maintained his loyalty to the Communist party throughout the post-war period despite growing disillusionment in the Popular Front over the actions of Josef Stalin, and despite the intense anti-communist crusades in the late 1940s and 1950s. He was investigated by the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and was nearly deported. He spent a number of years during this period in his wife's native Australia. Returning to the United States in the early 1950s, he threw his efforts into the defense of others who faced prison, deportation, and the blacklist following the HUAC hearings. He established The Committee to Defend V.J. Jerome in 1951 when Jerome, the cultural commissioner of CPUSA, was convicted under the Smith Act. The writer Dorothy Parker was the group's treasurer.

In 1954, Gellert established the Art of Today Gallery in New York City with Rockwell Kent and Charles White to provide an exhibition venue for blacklisted artists. Exhibitions included Maurice Becker, Henry Glintenkamp, Harry Gottlieb, Kay Harris, and Rockwell Kent. Gellert served as the gallery's secretary until it closed in 1957.

In the 1960s until his death in 1985, Gellert continued his activism through involvement in grassroots political organizations. Unlike many of his radical contemporaries, Gellert lived to see the revival of some of the ideas of the progressive era of the thirties in the countercultural years of the late 1960s and early 1970s. There were retrospectives of his work in Moscow in 1967 and in his native Budapest in 1968, and he appeared in Warren Beatty's film Reds in 1981.

Sources used for this essay include James Wechsler's 2003 dissertation "The Art and Activism of Hugo Gellert: Embracing the Spectre of Communism," his essay "From World War I to the Popular Front: The Art and Activism of Hugo Gellert," ( Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts number 24, Spring 2002), and Jeff Kisseloff's biographical essay for the 1986 Hugo Gellert exhibition at the Mary Ryan Gallery.

Related Material:

Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are an oral history with Hugo Gellert from 1984, a recording of a lecture Gellert gave at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1985, and additional records of Artists for Victory, Inc., 1942-1946.

The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University holds additional papers of Hugo Gellert.

Provenance:

A portion of the papers were donated in 1970 by Hugo Gellert. Additional papers were donated by Gellert and his wife, Livia Cinquegrana, in 1983 and 1986.

Restrictions:

The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Topic:

Artists' writings  Search this

Politics in art  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Graphic artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Photographs

Citation:

Hugo Gellert papers, 1916-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.gellhugo

See more items in:

Hugo Gellert papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9eb96ed42-b751-47f6-a0ca-038014c8800e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-gellhugo

Series Collector:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Series Donor:

Becker, John M.  Search this

Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this

Heritage of Pride (HOP)  Search this

Rohrbaugh, Richard  Search this

Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)  Search this

Series Creator:

Hirsch, Leonard  Search this

Guest, Barbara  Search this

Barna, Joseph T.  Search this

Guest, Michael E.  Search this

Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019  Search this

Container:

Box 37, Folder 20

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

1953-1955

Series Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.

Series Rights:

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

Series Citation:

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection / Series 7: Mattachine Society / 7.3: Organizational Information

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep887dcd7fa-6b69-499d-a6bc-d088d75eb172

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref787

Series Collector:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Series Donor:

Becker, John M.  Search this

Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this

Heritage of Pride (HOP)  Search this

Rohrbaugh, Richard  Search this

Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)  Search this

Series Creator:

Hirsch, Leonard  Search this

Guest, Barbara  Search this

Barna, Joseph T.  Search this

Guest, Michael E.  Search this

Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019  Search this

Container:

Box 37, Folder 33

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Series Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.

Series Rights:

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

Series Citation:

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection / Series 7: Mattachine Society / 7.3: Organizational Information

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep818e576c3-f3ad-493c-8379-95422685233b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref800

Container:

Box 14 of 20

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records

See more items in:

Curatorial Records

Curatorial Records / Box 14

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e10471

Container:

Box 1 of 20

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-142, National Museum of American History, Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, Curatorial Records

See more items in:

Curatorial Records

Curatorial Records / Box 1

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa07-142-refidd1e350

Container:

Box 18 of 18

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 06-123, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Office of the Registrar, Loan Files (Incoming Loans)

See more items in:

Loan Files (Incoming Loans)

Loan Files (Incoming Loans) / Box 18

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa06-123-refidd1e11503

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1935-1939

Scope and Contents note:

1939 World's Fair subseries documents the League's involvement in organizing the New York World's Fair in 1939. Found is correspondence; brochures and other printed materials; questionnaires to architects for awarding commissions; and records of the collaborative council. Folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

Identifier:

AAA.archleag, Subseries 5.5

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ec445f8b-7ae0-4221-9fea-51378c4cd136

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2374

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 22

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936-1937

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair / Collaborative Council

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9944bbd38-dbe9-46e2-9013-6eadc7aaccb4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2396

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 34

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9dc6aee01-15a2-4c68-9214-f842ba02d403

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2408

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 46

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1936

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair / National Sculpture Society 1936-1937

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98d8cb87e-9b03-4b24-bbbf-978eb8a9597b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2421

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 48

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90acb3edc-0f3d-49e7-bcba-338847144940

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2423

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99649b586-8ce7-4d4a-bf3a-c416ac44fd31

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2426

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 51

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair / Questionnaire

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94ea0e2f1-ff5d-4252-8a17-334953f51d83

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2427

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 52

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair / Questionnaire

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93b505ab8-6a0a-44a0-a5df-43a52fe1a11b

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2428

Collection Creator:

Architectural League of New York  Search this

Container:

Box 81, Folder 53

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1936

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Architectural League of New York records, 1880s-1974, bulk 1927-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund

See more items in:

Architectural League of New York records

Architectural League of New York records / Series 5: Exhibitions / 5.5: 1939 World's Fair / Questionnaire

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92df71d55-dcfd-4f64-aaac-2b694c0a9f98

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-archleag-ref2429