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Louise Nevelson papers, circa 1903-1982

Creator:
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Interviews
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Louise Nevelson papers, circa 1903-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Sculpture -- Exhibitions  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9093
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211286
AAA_collcode_neveloui
Theme:
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211286
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Carl Andre, 1972 September

Interviewee:
Andre, Carl, 1935-2024  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Subject:
Chapman, Michael  Search this
Frampton, Hollis  Search this
Martin, Agnes  Search this
Morgan, Maud  Search this
Morgan, Patrick  Search this
Rose, Barbara  Search this
Stella, Frank  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Carl Andre, 1972 September. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13302
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211931
AAA_collcode_andre72sep
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_211931

Oral history interview with Carl Andre, 1972

Interviewee:
Andre, Carl, 1935-2024  Search this
Interviewer:
Raikin, Laurin  Search this
Subject:
Art Workers Coalition  Search this
National Art Workers Community (U.S.)  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Carl Andre, 1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Political aspects  Search this
Art and state  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12059
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214150
AAA_collcode_andre72
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_214150

Oral history interview with Carl Andre

Interviewee:
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Names:
Chapman, Michael, 1935-  Search this
Frampton, Hollis, 1936-  Search this
Martin, Agnes, 1912-2004  Search this
Morgan, Maud, 1903-1999  Search this
Morgan, Patrick, 1904-  Search this
Rose, Barbara  Search this
Stella, Frank  Search this
Extent:
68 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1972 September
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Carl Andre conducted 1972 September, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Andre speaks of his family and education at Phillips Andover Academy and Kenyon College and classes with Patrick and Maud Morgan. He discusses his interest in Brancusi; Ezra Pound as a critic of sculpture; the relationship between painting, sculpture, prose, and poetry; materials and methods including his "theory of masonry"; exhibitions at Hunter College, the Tibor de Nagy, Dwan, and Konrad Fisher Galleries; the appeal of Japanese art; artists' rights and art and language. He recalls his employment at the Boston Gear Works, Prentice-Hall Publishing Company, and the Pennsylvania Railroad and reminisces about Michael Chapman, Hollis Frampton, Agnes Bernice Martin, Frank Stella, Barbara E. Rose, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Carl Andre (1935-2024) was a sculptor from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 9 minutes.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required. Contact Archives Reference Services for information.
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.andre72sep
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9436ad752-738f-4c3a-b8a6-f22923c74d0a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-andre72sep

Oral history interview with Carl Andre

Creator:
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Interviewer:
Raikin, Laurin  Search this
Names:
Art Workers Coalition  Search this
National Art Workers Community (U.S.)  Search this
Extent:
24 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Date:
1972
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Carl Andre conducted in 1972, by Laurin Raikin, for the "Art World in Turmoil" oral history project.
Andre speaks of politics and art; capitalism and class structure; the gallery system; professional organizations including the National Art Workers Community and the Art Workers Coalition; economic survival and the success of American artists; exploitation of artists; "radical art"; and the need for and artist's trade union.
Biographical / Historical:
Carl Andre (1935-2024) was a sculptor in New York, New York.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required. Contact Archives Reference Services for information.
Use of this interview, with permission, requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives of American Art reading rooms.
Topic:
Art -- Political aspects  Search this
Art and state  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.andre72
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw967a427d4-65ef-4382-8734-48a5a131de7c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-andre72

Oral history interview with Robert Smithson

Interviewee:
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Names:
Dwan, Virginia  Search this
Extent:
59 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1972 July 14-19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Robert Smithson conducted 1972 July 14-19, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art at 799 Greenwich Street in New York on July 14 and 19 1972. Smithson speaks of growing up in Passaic, New Jersey; primary and high school; high school art education; going to New York Museums; writing and its impact on art work; the Artists Gallery; the Art Students League; his time in the army; the Cedar Bar; Quicksand; the Museum of Modern Art; art education; Sam Smithson; his father; traveling the U.S.; Brooklyn Museum School; impact of the Museum of Natural History; moving to New York; visiting Europe; psychology; show at the George Lester Gallery; the Broken Circle; Dallas-Fort Worth Airport; crystalline structures; meeting William Carlos Williams; cosmology; Enantiomorphic Chambers; mapping; painting and drawing; the Dwan Gallery; getting married; Aerial Art; earthworks; sculpture; the Cryosphere; Alogon; Rome; stratas; nonsites; When Attitudes Become Form; Attitudes; mining sites and quarries; light and reflection; the Spiral Jetty; coordination of large works; documentation; selection of sites; Gyrostasis; weather's impact and seasonal change of the Spiral Jetty; confines of the gallery and museum; mirrors; landscapes; artist materials; art education; traveling; art and vacations; documenta; Smithson also recalls Federica Beer-Monti , Hugh Stix , Danny Donohue, Joe Levin, Charlie Hasloff, John Cassavetes , Alan Brilliant, Irving Sandler, Barnett Newman, Richard Bellamy,John Groth, Lawrence Alloway, T. S. Elliot, Donald Judd, William Carlos Williams, Jackson Pollock, William Burroughs, Ad Reinhardt, Dan Flavin, Virginia Dwan, Rosalind Krauss, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Smithson (1938-1973) was a sculptor well known for his earthworks.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.smiths72
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a3c8b740-0374-4dc6-87f9-616fbbc142c1
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-smiths72
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Robert Smithson, 1972 July 14-19

Interviewee:
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Subject:
Dwan, Virginia  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Robert Smithson, 1972 July 14-19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12013
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212421
AAA_collcode_smiths72
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212421
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Stephen Antonakos, 1975 May 9

Interviewee:
Antonakos, Stephen, 1926-2013  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Subject:
Droll, Donald E.  Search this
Fischbach, Marilyn Cole  Search this
Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Stephen Antonakos, 1975 May 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Neon sculpture -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12023
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212217
AAA_collcode_antona75
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212217
Online Media:

Oral history interview with George Rickey, 1968 June 11

Interviewee:
Rickey, George, 1907-2002  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Subject:
Lhote, André  Search this
Bauhaus  Search this
Institute of Design (Chicago, Ill.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with George Rickey, 1968 June 11. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State) -- East Chatham  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- East Chatham -- Interviews  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Collectors and collecting  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Sculpture -- Technique  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13050
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213074
AAA_collcode_rickey68
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213074
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Tony Smith, 1978 August 22-30

Interviewee:
Smith, Tony, 1912-1980  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Tony Smith, 1978 August 22-30. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12890
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213103
AAA_collcode_smitht78
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213103

Oral history interview with Isamu Noguchi, 1973 Nov. 7-Dec. 26

Interviewee:
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Subject:
It?, Michio  Search this
Barnard, George Grey  Search this
Becker, John Bruere  Search this
Borglum, Gutzon  Search this
Brancusi, Constantin  Search this
Breton, André  Search this
Brummer, Joseph  Search this
Cahill, Holger  Search this
Calder, Alexander  Search this
Calder, Alexander Stirling  Search this
Collier, John, Jr.  Search this
Covarrubias, Miguel  Search this
Davis, Stuart  Search this
De Kooning, Willem  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel  Search this
Egan, Charles  Search this
Fraser, James Earle  Search this
Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster)  Search this
Gorky, Arshile  Search this
Graham, John  Search this
Graham, Martha  Search this
Gregory, Peter Ronald  Search this
Guston, Philip  Search this
Hare, David  Search this
Hasegawa, Sabur?  Search this
Hopkins, Harry Lloyd  Search this
Kahn, Louis I.  Search this
Kantor, Morris  Search this
Kline, Franz  Search this
Knoll, Hans  Search this
Léger, Fernand  Search this
Levy, Julien  Search this
McMahon, Audrey  Search this
Moore, Henry, 1898-1986  Search this
Neumann, J. B. (Jsrael Ber)  Search this
Price, Edison A.  Search this
Raymond, Antonin  Search this
Reynal, Jeanne  Search this
Rivera, Diego  Search this
Ruellan, Andre?e  Search this
Ruotolo, Onorio  Search this
Schoen, Eugene  Search this
Shoji, Sadao  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred  Search this
Taniguchi, Yoshir?  Search this
Ward, Eleanor  Search this
Zorach, William  Search this
Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Bollingen Foundation  Search this
Brummer Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Japanese American Citizens' League  Search this
Leonardo da Vinci Art School  Search this
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill  Search this
UNESCO  Search this
Japanese American Citizens' League  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Place:
Japan -- Description and Travel
Italy -- description and travel
Egypt -- description and travel
India -- description and travel
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Isamu Noguchi, 1973 Nov. 7-Dec. 26. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Asian American art  Search this
Asian American artists  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Sculpture, American  Search this
Gardens, Japanese  Search this
Japanese American art  Search this
Japanese American artists  Search this
Asian American sculptors  Search this
Theme:
Asian American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11906
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216546
AAA_collcode_noguch73
Theme:
Asian American
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216546
Online Media:

Louise Nevelson papers

Creator:
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Extent:
30.5 Linear feet
40.5 Megabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Megabytes
Photographs
Interviews
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Date:
circa 1903-1982
Summary:
The papers of Louise Nevelson measure 30.5 linear feet and 40.5 MB and date from circa 1903 to 2019. The collection documents aspects of the life and work of the sculptor, focusing especially on her later career. Papers include correspondence, personal business records, writings, scrapbooks, early art work, photographs, interviews, awards and honorary degrees, books, and an extensive amount of printed material.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Louise Nevelson measure 30.5 linear feet and date from circa 1903 to 1988. The collection documents aspects of the life and work of the sculptor, focusing especially on her later career. Papers include correspondence, personal business records, writings, scrapbooks, some of Nevelson's early art work, photographs, interviews, awards and honorary degrees, books, and an extensive amount of printed material.

Interviews, awards, and honorary degrees comprise a series of biographical material, along with scattered personal papers such as a graduation program, wedding announcement, teaching certificate, invitations, miscellaneous notes, and material relating to Nevelson's family. Correspondence consists of letters and enclosures from a wide range of professional contacts, including museums and art centers, universities, art associations, women's and charitable organizations, artists, and philanthropists, among others, concerning the exhibition, sale, and donation of Nevelson's art work, and her various arts-related activities, as well as some letters from friends and family. Correspondence can also be found amongst the subject files, which also include clippings, notes, printed and other material organized according to subject and relating to certain exhibitions, and various artistic and professional activities. Whether this organization originates with Nevelson, one of her assistants, or Archives staff is unknown.

Found amongst Nevelson's business records are consignment receipts, statements, correspondence, inventories, disposition cards, notebooks, and lists, stemming from her business dealings with the Martha Jackson Gallery and related matters, usually carried out by her assistant at the time. Business records relate in particular to the large and complex project of inventorying Nevelson's art work undertaken sometime in the early-1960s. Nevelson's writings consist of poems and poem fragments, a short-lived dream journal, scattered writings on art, and drafts from Dawns and Dusks: Taped Conversations with Diana MacKown by Louise Nevelson and Diana MacKown. Also found are a large number of scrapbooks and an extensive amount of printed material, which likely stem in large part from Nevelson's concern to document and keep a record of her accomplishments. Scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and other material documenting Nevelson's early career from roughly the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. Also included are loose items comprising a scrapbook of sorts on son Mike Nevelson and various scrapbooks compiled by others as mementos of particular events. Printed material includes an extensive amount of clippings and publications, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and a variety of other printed material relating or referring to Nevelson or merely featuring her name in print. Also included are several books, some of which are about or feature segments on Nevelson. This material documents both her critical and commercial success, and her role as personality and minor celebrity in the mass media later in her career, especially during the 1960s and 1970s.

Art work consists of early drawings and watercolors made by Nevelson as a child and adolescent and while studying art in high school and New York, which document her artistic tendencies as youth and her early development as an artist and which provide an interesting contrast to her later work in sculpture. Photographs include ones of the Berliawsky family and Nevelson as a child, adolescent, and young woman in the 1920s and 1930s before she became known as an artist; ones of Nevelson from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, once she had become known, and began to be honored, as an artist; and ones of Nevelson's art work, as well as of various exibitions and installations of her work. Also included are a number of slides of the artist and her art work, including photographs taken by Dorothy Dehner in the mid-1950s at Louise Nevelson's house on Thirtieth Street.

There is a 40.5 MB unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes digital photographs of a plaque commemoration installed in Louise Nevelson's birth town of Pereyaslav, Ukraine in 2019. Organizers of the event include Julie Gard, Associate Professor of Writing and Associate Director of the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Superior; Yuri Avramenko, Memorial Organizer in Pereyaslav-Ukraine and Maria Nevelson, Founder and Executive Director and Chair of the Board for the Louise Nevelson Foundation. Materials date from 2019.
Arrangement:
The Louise Nevelson papers are arranged into ten series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-1985 (Boxes 1, 17, OV 21, 30, 31, Sol 42; 2.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1931-1984 (Boxes 1-2, 31-35, Sol 42; 6 linear feet)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1955-1988 (Box 3, 35-36; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Business Records, 1946-1981 (Boxes 3-5, 36-38, Sol 42; 3.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Writings, 1936-1980 (Box 5, 38, Sol 42; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1935-1983 (Boxes 5, 18-19, OV 22-27, 38, Sol 42; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 7:Books and Printed Material, 1904-1985 (Boxes 6-13, 19, OV 28, 38-40, Sol 43; 9.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Art Work, 1905-1982 (Boxes 13, 20, 40, Sol 43; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographs, circa 1903-1980s (Boxes 14-15, 20, OV 29, 40-41, Sol 43; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Unprocessed Addition, 2019 (40.5 MB)
Biographical Note:
Louise Nevelson was born in 1899 in Kiev, Russia. Her parents, Isaac and Minna Berliawsky, and their children emigrated to America in 1905 and settled in Rockland, Maine, where the young Louise grew up as a bit of an outsider in local society. She decided upon a career in art at an early age and took some drawing classes in high school, before graduating in 1918. Two years later, she married Charles Nevelson, a wealthy businessman, and moved to New York. She proceeded to study painting, drawing, singing, acting, and eventually dancing. In 1922, Nevelson gave birth to a son, Myron (later called Mike). She eventually separated from her husband in the winter of 1932-1933; and they divorced officially in 1941.

Beginning in 1929, Nevelson began to study art full-time at the Art Students League, where she took classes with Kenneth Hayes Miller and Kimon Nicolaides. In 1931, she went to Europe and studied with Hans Hofmann in Munich before traveling to Italy and France. She returned to New York in 1932 and again studied for a time with Hofmann, who was by now a guest instructor at the Art Students League. In 1933, she met Diego Rivera while he was in New York working on his mural for Rockefeller Center and casually worked as his assistant for a short period. Shortly thereafter, she began to work in sculpture and joined a sculpture class taught by Chaim Gross at the Educational Alliance. She continued to draw and paint, and even took up etching, lithography, and other techniques at different points in her career, but from this time on, she concentrated on sculpture. Her early sculptures were primarily in plaster, clay, and tattistone.

During the thirties, Nevelson exhibited in a number of group shows (both non-juried and competitive ones), garnering some recognition for her work. In 1935, she taught mural painting at the Flatbush Boys Club in Brooklyn, as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), then went on to work in the fine-arts division as an easel painter and sculptor until 1939. In 1941, Nevelson had her first solo exhibition at the Nierendorf Gallery, run by Karl Nierendorf who represented her until his death in 1947. Both this and a one-woman show the following year received favorable reviews. It was around this time that she discovered the decorated shoeshine box of Joe Milone, a local tradesman, and arranged to have it exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, an occasion which received much notice in the press.

In the 1940s, Nevelson produced a great many works in stone, bronze, terra cotta, and wood, most of them being cubist studies of the figure. In 1943, she had a show titled "The Clown as the Center of his World" at the Norlyst Gallery, which featured works on a circus theme constructed from discarded pieces of wood and other material. This new work was not very well received at the time, and it wasn't until the mid-1950s that she began to work with discarded and found objects on a regular basis.

During the early-1950s, Nevelson attempted to exhibit her work as often as possible, eventually receiving various prizes and notices for her work in the press. She continued to struggle financially though and began to teach sculpture classes in the adult education program of the Great Neck, Long Island public schools in order to make ends meet. In 1955, she joined he Grand Central Moderns Gallery, which was run by Colette Roberts, and had several one-woman shows there. These included: "Ancient Games and Ancient Places" in 1955, featuring Bride of the Black Moon, "The Forest" in 1957, featuring First Personage, and "Moon Garden + One" in 1958, featuring her first wall, Sky Cathedral. During this period, she was painting her wood black and putting together entirely black exhibits; she went on to create works in white and gold in the early-1960s. Around this time, she also began to enclose her small sculptures within wooden boxes.

Nevelson joined the Martha Jackson Gallery in 1958, where she received a guaranteed income and finally achieved a certain degree of financial security. Her first show at the gallery, "Sky Columns Presence," took place in the fall of 1959. In 1960, she had her first one-woman exhibition in Europe at the Galerie Daniel Cordier in Paris. Later that year, her work, grouped together as "Dawn's Wedding Feast," was included in the group show, "Sixteen Americans," at the Museum of Modern Art, alongside the work of Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenburg, and other younger artists. She made her first museum sale in 1962 when the Whitney Museum of American Art purchased the black wall, Young Shadows. That same year, Nevelson's work was selected for the thirty-first Biennale in Venice.

Over the years, Nevelson took on several assistants, including Teddy Haseltine, Tom Kendall, and Diana Mackown, to help in the studio and with daily affairs. She also participated in various artists' groups, and served as President of the New York Chapter of Artists' Equity from 1957 to 1958, and as President of the national organization from 1962 to 1964. She left the Martha Jackson Gallery in 1962, and after a brief, unhappy stint with the Sidney Janis Gallery, she joined the Pace Gallery, which was run by Arnold Glimcher, in the fall of 1963. She proceeded to have shows of new work there about every two years for the remainder of her career. She had her first museum retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 1967, which featured over a hundred of her works from her drawings from the 1930s to her latest constructions. And in 1968, she was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. By this time, Nevelson had achieved both critical and commercial success as an artist.

Nevelson always experimented with new materials; she continued to construct her black wood walls, but also went on make constructions from aluminium, plastic, and metal. In the fall of 1969, she was commissioned by Princeton University to do a monumental outdoor sculpture in Cor-ten steel (her first), and went on to do commissioned works for the Philadelphia Federal Courthouse, and Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, among others. In 1973, the Walker Art Center organized a major exhibition of Nevelson work which traveled around the country over the next two years. In 1975, she designed the chapel for St. Peter's Lutheran Church in midtown Manhattan.

Nevelson was widely honored for her work during her lifetime. Over the years, she received honorary degrees from Rutgers University and Harvard University, among other schools, as well as numerous awards, including the Brandeis University Creative Arts Award in Sculpture and the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture in 1971, the gold medal for sculpture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1983, and the National Medal of the Arts in 1985. By the time of her death on April 17, 1988, Nevelson was considered by and large one of the most important American sculptors of the twentieth century.

Sources consulted for this biographical note include Louise Nevelson: A Passionate Life by Laurie Lisle and Louise Nevelson by Arnold Glimcher.
Related Material:
Other resources relating to Louise Nevelson in the Archives include oral history interviews with Nevelson conducted by Dorothy Seckler, June 1964-January 14, 1964, and Arnold Glimcher, January 30, 1972. Also related are a 4 part untranscribed audio recording of an interview with Nevelson by Barbaralee Diamonstein, an audio recording of an interview with Nevelson conducted by Barbara Braun in 1983, and a video recording of Nevelson's 1958 exhibition installation at Grand Central Moderns gallery.
Provenance:
Donated 1966-1979 by Louise Nevelson,and in 2018 by the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine via Michael Komanecky, Chief Curator. The Farnsworth Art Museum received the materials from Louise Nevelson, her son Mike Nevelson, brother Nathan Berliawksy, and others that were close to the artist. Additional material donated in 2022 by Maria Nevelson, Louise Nevelson's granddaughter.
Restrictions:
The bulk of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website, with the exception of the 2017 and 2022 addition. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Sculpture -- Exhibitions  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Interviews
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Louise Nevelson papers, circa 1903-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.neveloui
See more items in:
Louise Nevelson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99c8dde75-538a-43a6-a68e-fa1db8e7d535
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-neveloui
Online Media:

George Sugarman papers

Creator:
Sugarman, George, 1912-1999  Search this
Names:
Honegger, Gottfried, 1917-  Search this
Kushner, Robert, 1949-  Search this
Extent:
12.22 Linear feet
21.83 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Drawings
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Date:
1912-2001
Summary:
The papers of painter and sculptor George Sugarman measure 12.22 linear feet and 21.83 GB and date from 1912 to 2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1959 to 1999. The collection documents Sugarman's career as a sculptor primarily through correspondence, project files, exhibition files, writings, and photographs. The collection also includes address and appointment books, business and financial records, and printed material. A partially processed addition consisting of audio (3 sound cassettes) and video recordings (1 video reel, 1/2", 11 videocassettes, 7 U-matic and 4 VHS), and one Super 8 mm motion picture film, as well as digital copies of the film and video recordings, includes lectures by Sugarman, documentaries about Sugarman and his sculptures, and radio and television appearances by Sugarman.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter and sculptor George Sugarman measure 12.22 linear feet and 21.83 GB and date from 1912 to 2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1959 to 1999. The collection documents Sugarman's career as a sculptor primarily through correspondence, project files, exhibition files, writings, and photographs. The collection also includes address and appointment books, business and financial records, and printed material. A partially processed addition consisting of audio (3 sound cassettes) and video recordings (1 video reel, 1/2", 11 videocassettes, 7 U-matic and 4 VHS), and one Super 8 mm motion picture film, as well as digital copies of the film and video recordings, includes lectures by Sugarman, documentaries about Sugarman and his sculptures, and radio and television appearances by Sugarman.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with family members, friends, artists, and scholars, reflecting Sugarman's diverse influences and interests. The project files and exhibition files illustrate Sugarman's prolific career as an artist and document Sugarman's numerous projects and exhibitions abroad, particularly in Japan.

The writings by Sugarman are noteworthy as they reveal the integral relationship between Sugarman's philosophical theories about art and his actual works of art. The business and financial records mainly document expenses incurred while working on various projects and exhibitions and while traveling. Maps, clippings, and brochures from Sugarman's many travels are included as well as exhibition catalogs and announcements for Sugarman and others. The collection also contains photographs of George Sugarman and his artwork, dating mostly from the 1970s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series. Series are arranged by type of material; materials within series are arranged alphabetically by name or by type of material and then chronologically. Series 10 is unprocessed.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1912-2000, n.d. (Box 1; 9 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1959-2001, n.d. (Boxes 1-3, OV 8; 2.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Project Files, 1968-1997, n.d. (Boxes 3-4; 1 linear foot)

Series 4: : Exhibition Files, 1965-1993, n.d. (Boxes 4-5, OV 8; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Writings, 1951-1992, n.d. (Box 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Address and Appointment Books, 1972-1997, n.d. (Boxes 5-6; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Business and Financial Records, 1962-1998, n.d. (Box 6; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1954-1999, n.d. (Boxes 6-7, OV 8; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographs, 1966-1981, n.d. (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Sound and Moving Image Material, 1972-1990 (Box 9, FC 10; 1.2 linear feet, ER01-ER13; 21.83 GB)
Biographical Note:
George Sugarman was a painter and sculptor who disliked labels because he believed they oversimplified the complexity of art, and Sugarman's artwork, like the artist himself, resists classification and oversimplification. Although he was influenced by Surrealist imagery, Cubist ideas of space, Baroque sculpture, and Abstract Expressionism, Sugarman's sculptures also display a musical quality, reflecting his interest in jazz music and improvisation. Sugarman was a pioneer in the use of color in sculpture and is probably best known for his large, polychrome aluminum sculptures.

Sugarman made the decision to become an artist relatively late in life. Born in New York on May 11, 1912, he studied at City College in New York and graduated with a B.A. in 1934. After serving in the United States Navy from 1941 until 1945, he attended evening classes at Museum of Modern Art. At the age of 39, George Sugarman traveled to Paris to study painting under the GI Bill of Rights. While in Paris, he decided to study sculpture with Ossip Zadkine and began creating wood carvings and terra-cotta sculptures. Over the next few years, Sugarman traveled to Italy and Spain, studying Baroque sculpture and architecture. He was particularly attracted to the work of Bernini and to Bernini's use of space.

Sugarman returned to New York in 1955 and began working with laminated wood. In order to support himself, he accepted a job teaching carpentry at a private school. He joined the Brata Gallery in 1957 and helped found the New Sculpture Group. A few years later, Sugarman received major recognition of his work by winning second prize in sculpture at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition. Sugarman went on to win a Longview Foundation Grant, a Ford Foundation Grant for his work at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In the 1960s, Sugarman began working on large painted-aluminum sculptures and completed his first outdoor sculpture at the Xerox Building in El Segundo, Calif. in 1969. Many of Sugarman's outdoor sculptures generated intense controversy, particularly his sculpture for the Edward A. Garmatz Federal Building and Courthouse in Baltimore, but he was devoted to his belief in the social as well as aesthetic importance of public art. Sugarman saw public sculpture as a "metaphor for the human condition" and as a way to transcend what he called the "indoor eye," the eye which views art in isolation from its physical and social environment.

Sugarman taught at the Graduate School of Hunter College in New York City from 1960 until 1970 and served as visiting Associate Professor at the Yale University Graduate School of Art from 1967 to 1968. Sugarman was a prolific artist, participating in numerous one-man shows, group exhibitions, and competitions all over the world, yet recognition of his talent came almost a decade later in the United States than in Europe. His works are in major collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. George Sugarman died on August 25, 1999.
Related Material:
The transcript and audiotapes of an interview with George Sugarman conducted by Paul Cummings in 1974 for the Archives of American Art's Oral History Program is available at the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds materials lent for microfilming. Reel N70-50 and N70-51 includes biographical material, an essay about George Sugarman, exhibition catalogs and announcements dating from 1954 to 1960, a certificate, writings by Sugarman, and correspondence dating 1953-1970. The originals of most of these materials were included in later donations. Reel N70-50 also contains a substantial number of photographs of Sugarman's natural wood sculptures from the late 1950s, his early works in wood, clay, and plaster dating from 1951 to 1958, his drawings and paintings from the late 1960s, installations and works in progress from 1960 to 1970, and photographs of Sugarman working in the studio in the 1960s. There are also twelve sketchbooks and loose pages dating from 1943 to 1958, which document Sugarman's travels to the South Pacific, New York City, France, Spain, and North Africa. Lent material not included in later gifts remain with the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
In 1970, George Sugarman lent material to the Archives of American Art for microfilming. In 1980 and 1983, George Sugarman donated portions of the material previously lent, along with additional materials. Additional materials were donated by Sugarman's niece, Arden Sugarman Eilopolous, in 1999 and 2000. In 2006, the Sugarman Foundation via Arden Sugarman donated the audio and video recordings.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Citation:
George Sugarman papers, 1912-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.sugageor
See more items in:
George Sugarman papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9da24b662-65c7-4766-9f29-cc98bb339210
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sugageor
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Thomas Chimes

Interviewee:
Chimes, Thomas, 1921-2009  Search this
Interviewer:
Veloric, Cynthia  Search this
Names:
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Fairmount Park Art Association  Search this
Moore College of Art and Design  Search this
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this
Jarry, Alfred, 1873-1907  Search this
Extent:
3 Sound cassettes (Sound recording)
123 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1990 June 14
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Thomas Chimes conducted 1990 June 14, by Cynthia Veloric, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project. Chimes speaks about his Greek background, his childhood in Philadelphia and in several southern states, studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Art Students League, New York in the 1940's including a comparison of the two institutions and a discussion of the New York City art scene; teaching at Drexel Institute, Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), and Moore College of Art in Philadelphia; the development of his painting and sculpture including the religious paintings of the 1960's, the metal boxes, and the transition to the portraits of the 1970's and 1980's based on his readings and interest in Alfred Jarry and Marcel Duchamp; and "Sleeping Woman" commissioned by the Fairmount Park Art Association.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Chimes (1921-2009) was a painter, sculptor, and educator from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 27 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Painting, Abstract -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Portrait painting -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.chimes90
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98fe677be-d560-4d42-a1b8-2970386ca0b0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-chimes90
Online Media:

Stephen Browne bibliography on Byron Browne, 1982

Creator:
Browne, Stephen B.  Search this
Citation:
Stephen Browne bibliography on Byron Browne, 1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York -- History  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York -- History  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6849
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208976
AAA_collcode_browstep
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208976

George Sugarman papers, 1912-2001

Creator:
Sugarman, George, 1912-1999  Search this
Subject:
Honegger, Gottfried  Search this
Kushner, Robert  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings
Citation:
George Sugarman papers, 1912-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)7433
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209591
AAA_collcode_sugageor
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209591
Online Media:

Julius Tobias papers, 1945-1977

Creator:
Tobias, Julius, 1915-1999  Search this
Subject:
Littlefield, William Horace  Search this
Citation:
Julius Tobias papers, 1945-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8518
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210695
AAA_collcode_tobijuli
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210695

Gunvor Bull Teilman papers, 1921-1980

Creator:
Teilman, Gunvor Bull, 1900-  Search this
Citation:
Gunvor Bull Teilman papers, 1921-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8585
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210764
AAA_collcode_teilgunv
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210764

Antonio Salemme papers, 1907-1965

Creator:
Salemme, Antonio, 1892-1995  Search this
Subject:
O'Brien, Peter F.  Search this
Osgood, Lydia  Search this
Read, William A. (William Augustus)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Antonio Salemme papers, 1907-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- History  Search this
Art patronage -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8775
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210958
AAA_collcode_saleanto
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210958

Eugenie Gershoy papers, 1914-1983

Creator:
Gershoy, Eugenie, 1901-1983 or 6  Search this
Subject:
Nakian, Reuben  Search this
Picken, George  Search this
Pollet, Joseph C.  Search this
Presser, Josef  Search this
Hart, Agnes  Search this
Knight, Frederic C.  Search this
Marantz, Irving  Search this
Millay, Edna St. Vincent  Search this
Thomson, Virgil  Search this
Varda, Jean  Search this
Refregier, Anton  Search this
Scaravaglione, Concetta  Search this
Soyer, Moses  Search this
Soyer, Raphael  Search this
Baker, Mildred  Search this
Blanch, Lucile  Search this
Blanch, Arnold  Search this
Force, Juliana  Search this
Gottlieb, Harry  Search this
Fruhauf, Aline  Search this
Calder, Alexander Stirling  Search this
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme  Search this
Dehn, Virginia  Search this
Woodstock Artists Association (Woodstock, N.Y.)  Search this
Yaddo (Artist's colony)  Search this
Federal Art Project (N.Y.)  Search this
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Type:
Prints
Christmas cards
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Photographs
Place:
Woodstock (N.Y.)
Citation:
Eugenie Gershoy papers, 1914-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women ceramicists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8967
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211154
AAA_collcode_gerseuge
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211154
Online Media:

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