The scattered papers of French Dada painter Jean Crotti measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1913-1973, with the bulk of the material dated 1913-1961. Found within the papers are autobiographical notes and essays; correspondence with family and colleagues, among them Jean Cocteau, Andre Crotti, Suzanne Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, Christian a.k.a. Georges Herbiet, Henri Matisse, Francis Picabia, and Jacques Villon; notes and writings by Crotti and others; art work by Crotti and Paul Guillaume; a scrapbook; and additional printed material. Photographs are of Crotti, Suzanne Duchamp, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, and other family and friends; and of Crotti's art work. There are audio recordings on phonograph records of three interviews with Crotti and one with Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blancpain.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of French Dada painter Jean Crotti measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1973, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1913-1961. Among the papers are autobiographical essays, correspondence with friends and family, including many letters from Marcel Duchamp, notes and writings by and about Crotti, printed materials, one scrapbook, drawings by Crotti and others, photographs of Crotti and his family and friends, photographs of artwork, and three audio recordings of interviews with Crotti.
Biographical material consists of autobiographical notes and an autobiographical manuscript Ma Vie.
Art work includes seven folders of drawings and an etching plate by Crotti, 83 drawings by Paul Guillaume, and portrait drawings of Crotti by Henri Coudour and Francis Picabia.
A scrapbook contains clippings, a letter from Paul Guillaume and a letter to Elizabeth Crotti from a friend describing a 1932 Jean Crotti exhibition in the Balzac Galleries in New York City, and a typescript "Una Collezione a Parigi" by Gino Severini.
Photographs are of Crotti, his family, friends, colleagues, and art work by Crotti and by Suzanne Duchamp. Of particular interest are photographs of composer Edgard Var?¨se and his wife Louise with Suzanne Duchamp, Jean Crotti, and art advocate Mary Reynolds in 1924, photographs of Crotti and Georges Braque examining a gemmail art work, and photographs of Crotti and Suzanne Duchamp talking with Pablo Picasso at Cannes and at the home of Bertrande Blancpain in 1957.
Sound recordings include two phonograph records of interviews with Jean Crotti, including topics "Assignment Switzerland" and "Assignment World." A third phonograph record contains an instantatneous disk recording of correspondence between Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blancpain as well as an additional interview with Crotti.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1954-1955 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1916-1961 (Box 1; 43 folders)
Series 3: Notes and Writings, 1924-1958 (Box 1; 27 folders)
Series 4: Art Work, 1913-1925 (Box 1, 3; 12 folders)
Series 5: Scrapbook, 1931-1935 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1921-1973 (Box 1, 2, 3; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, 1920-1957 (Box 2; 25 folders)
Series 8: Sound Recordings, 1955 (Box 3; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Jean Crotti (1870-1958) was a Dadist painter who worked primarily in Paris, France and New York. He was married to Suzanne Duchamp, Marcel Duchamp's sister, and friends with notable avant-garde and Dada European and American painters of the period. He is also known for creating the "Gemmail" technique of layering colored glass that produced unique color combinations when illuminated.
Jean Crotti was born April 24, 1878 in Bulle, near Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a painting contractor. The family moved to Fribourg in 1887.
To escape from wartime Paris in 1914, Crotti and his first wife, Yvonne Chastel, moved to New York City where Crotti had his first solo exhibition at the Bourgeois Gallery. In 1915, Crotti met Francis Picabia and also shared a studio with Marcel Duchamp who was a major influence. Crotti began his Dada period and was included in an exhibition of French paintings at the Montross Gallery in New York, with Duchamp, Albert Gleizes, and Jean Metzinger.
Crotti separated from his first wife, Yvonne Chastel, in 1916 and returned to Paris alone. By 1917, Crotti's marriage had dissolved and he married Suzanne Duchamp in 1919. Crotti met Suzanne Duchamp, also a painter, through his friendship with her brother Marcel Duchamp. During this time, Crotti completed and exhibited paintings associated with the Dada movement. One of his more notable works was entitled Explacatif, bearing the word "Tabu" that expressed Crotti's concepts of mystery and infinity with spiritual overtones.
In 1935 Crotti began to research a new technique using layers of colored glass, referred to as "gemmail." The term is a contraction of "gem" referring to the colored glass and "enamel" referring to the method of affixing the pieces of glass to each other. After much experimentation, an "enamel" fixative was found that would permanently hold the glass pieces in place while still allowing light to shine through all the layers. Several prominent artists including Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso became interested in using this medium. Crotti had the process patented, but in 1955 ceded the rights to Roger Malherbe who adapted it to commercial uses.
Jean Crotti died on January 30, 1958 in Paris, France.
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:
Painters -- France -- Paris -- Interviews Search this
Ledgers detailing the art purchases of John Quinn. Entries include the Association of American Painters and Sculptors listing purchases from the Armory Show, February to June 1913, of works by Cezanne, Renoir, Raymond Villon-Duchamp, Andre Derain, Jules Pascin, Odilon Redon, Walt Kuhn, Jacques Villon and others. Also entered are purchases from Alfred Stieglitz's Photo-Secession Gallery for paintings by Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Severini and Stanton Macdonald-Wright. Purchases from art dealers include M. Knoedler & Co. (for works by Morton Schamberg), Montross Gallery (for works by Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Pendergast, Walt Kuhn, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber), William Macbeth Gallery, Durand Ruel & Sons, and Ambroise Vollard.
Other entries of note include those for Jacob Epstein, one for Tiffany Studios detailing extensive refurbishing and refinishing of numerous items of furniture, and one for the Penguin Club enumerating the cost incurred for the installation of the VORTICIST EXHIBITION.
Biographical / Historical:
Art patron and lawyer; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1986 by Thomas F. Conroy, Quinn's nephew by marriage. Mr. Conroy intends to donate these papers to the New York Public Library where the John Quinn Memorial Collection is housed.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Sánchez Cantón, F. J. (Francisco Javier), 1891-1971 Search this
Extent:
5 Items (Original: 5 sound reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1956
Scope and Contents:
Selected interviews conducted by Arthur S. Alberts for his research project "French Civilization as Reflected in the Arts," and related lectures. Interviewees include Jean Arp (May 8, 1956); Ada Jean (1956); Andre Masson (Feb. 28, 1956); Xavier Sanchez-Canton (Mar. 15, 1956); and Gino Severini (Mar. 1956) and Man Ray (Feb. 22, 1956).
Biographical / Historical:
Writer; Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by John B. Harker, a friend of Alberts' wife, Elizabeth. At Elizabeth's death in 1991 the new owners of the Alberts' housefound a box with the tapes in it and planned to dispose of them. Mr. Harkerfelt the tapes were significant and eventually contacted the Archives. Harker made the copy cassettes from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from John B. Harker. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Material collected or kept by the Del Deo's relating to Provincetown art and artists, including Ross Moffet, Karl Knaths, James Wingate Parr, J. Madaline Winslow, Front Street Gallery, and the Provincetown Fine Arts Center (FAWC).
Material pertaining to painter Ross Moffett includes photographs of his family and its farm in Iowa; photographs of Moffett's paintings and drawings; photographs of Moffett's work taken by George Yater; material pertaining to Moffett's lecture "Three Dimensional Organization in Painting"; translations from a publication by Gino Severini; and drawings of Moffett by Shelby Shackelford.
Knaths material consists of two sketchbooks, one with occassional notes (1929) and one, ca. 1952; the sketches are figure and landscape compositions in Knath's characteristic cubist style. Parr material consists of a small album containing clippings, photographs of work, telegrams, and letters (undated and 1946); Winslow material is a letter to Caroline H. Geiger (1938).
Also found are records of the cooperative Front Street Gallery, in which Sal Del Deo was a member for its one-season existence, including information on the "Freedom Riders Exhibition" to benefit the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); 7 reel-to-reel tape recordings made by Del Deo at the first three sessions of the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center (FAWC), 1968-1970, including lectures or seminars by Jack Tworkov, Henry Hensche, Karl Knaths, Philip Malicoat, Boris Margo, and Ross Moffett.
Biographical / Historical:
Collectors; Provincetown, Mass. Josephine is the author of Figures in a Landscape : the Life and Times of the American Painter, RossMoffett, 1888-1971. Sal (b. 1928) is a painter and former vice-president of the Fine Arts Work Center.
Provenance:
Donated 1996, 1998 and 2000 by Jo & Sal Del Deo. They received the Moffett material Moffett's widow and used by Del Deo in preparation for her biography on Moffett. The Parr album was received from Robert Cummings, an old friend of Parr's, who had received it from Parr's parents. The Knaths sketchbooks were given by his widow, Helen, to the Del Deos. The Winslow letter was given to Josephine Del Deo by Janice Crouch who had a connection with Geiger or her family, either as a relation or a friend.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Reel-to-reel recordings of FAWC lectures and discussions: Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Salvatore Del Deo. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Artists -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
