This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Joel M. Halpern and, to a lesser extent, the papers of Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern. Both their collaborations and individual work are represented here. Materials include their correspondence, published and unpublished writings, research materials, photographs, grant applications, consultant work, teaching files, their files as students, and writings by colleagues.
The bulk of the research files pertain to Halpern's Orašac demography project. Also present are notes and photographs from his field research in the Balkans during the 1950s and 1960s. The collection also reflects his research interests in the Inuit of Alaska and Canada. There is little original material, however, documenting his fieldwork in Laos. Additional materials of interest in the collection include a transcript of an interview Halpern conducted with Conrad Arensberg as well as his notes and syllabi from courses taught by a number of prominent anthropologists, such as Conrad Arensberg, Morton Fried, Alfred Kroeber, and Margaret Mead. The collection also contains a set of prints of Shinnecock Indians that Halpern obtained from Red Thunder Cloud.
Among Kerewsky-Halpern's files are notes from her research on South Slav immigrants in Ontario, her research on oral tradition among peasant communities in Southeastern Europe, as well as her involvement in multiple sclerosis organizations and the Feldenkrais Method.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized into 10 series: 1) Correspondence, 1950s-2003; 2) Research, 1953-1996; 3) Writings, 1948-2007; 4) Professional Activities, 1951-1990s; 5) Student Files, 1946-1955, 1968-1979; 6) Teaching Files, 1947-1992; 7) Personal and Biographical Files, 1948-2002; 8) Writings by Others, 1950s-1990s; 9) Photographs, 1942, 1953-1970, 1978, 1997, undated; 10) University of Massachusetts, 1968-1992
Biographical Note: Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern:
Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern was born on December 23, 1931 in Mt. Vernon, New York. Her mother, Rose S. Kerewsky, had worked with physical anthropologist Stanley Garn and coauthored a number of papers on dentition. Kerewsky-Halpern attended Barnard College, where she received a B.A. in Geology and Geography in 1953. She later obtained her M.A. in Linguistics (1974) and Ph.D. in Anthropology (1979) at University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Kerewsky-Halpern married Joel M. Halpern in 1952. In the following year she accompanied him to the field in Orašac, Serbia and assisted him in his research. She was also the illustrator and cartographer for Halpern's monograph A Serbian Village. Over the span of her career, she frequently collaborated with her husband on research projects and coauthored a number of articles. Like her husband, her research focused on peasant communities, specifically on oral traditions and the ethnography of communication. In 1974, she also studied South Slav communities in Ontario.
When she was 44, Kerewsky-Halpern became incapacitated due to multiple sclerosis. Through self-rehabilitation, she was able to regain full motion, but the experience continued to influence her life. Her research interests expanded to include medical anthropology, cross-cultural perspectives on disability, and the anthropology of movement. She also became active in multiple sclerosis associations and became a licensed instructor in the Feldenkrais Method in 1983.
Kerewsky-Halpern and Halpern divorced in 2010.
Sources consulted
[Articles about Barbara K. Halpern], Series 9. Personal, Joel Martin Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Barbara K. Halpern curriculum vitae, Series 9. Personal, Joel Martin Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Clifford, Joyce and Jeremy Smith. 2010. Finding Aid to Joel Martin Halpern Papers, 1939-2009 (Bulk: 1948-2008). http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/ead/mufs001.pdf (accessed December 3, 2012).
Halpern, Joel. 2003. Interview with Joel Halpern [regarding fieldwork in Serbia] conducted by Mirjana Prošić-Dvornić. Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery. Paper 60. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=emeritus_sw (accessed December 3, 2012).
Halpern, Joel. August 2007. Curriculum Vitae. http://works.bepress.com/joel_halpern/cv.pdf (accessed July 6, 2012).
Biographical Note: Joel M. Halpern:
Joel Martin Halpern was born on April 8, 1929 in New York City. He attended University of Michigan, where he obtained his B.A. in History in 1950. He had initially intended to major in chemistry but realized that he wanted to pursue a more "adventurous" field that would allow him to travel. While an undergraduate student, he published articles based on his ethnographic, geological, and archaeological research in Alaska, Canada, and Swedish Lapland.
Halpern decided to continue his studies at Columbia University, where he earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1956. Conrad Arensberg was his faculty advisor, while Margaret Mead was on his doctoral committee. Halpern was greatly influenced by Philip E. Mosely, the first director of Columbia University's Institute for Russian Studies. Through Mosely, he met the prominent Serbian ethnologist Milenko Filipović, who also served as his mentor. It was due to Filipovíc that Halpern chose to focus his research on a Serbian village for his dissertation.
In 1953, Halpern and his former wife, Barbara Kerewskey-Halpern, conducted ethnographic field research in Orašac, a village in the Sumadija district of central Serbia, at the time part of former Yugoslavia. This research resulted in Halpern's dissertation, Social and Cultural Change in a Serbian Village, for which he was awarded the Ainsley Award from Columbia University. The dissertation was later edited and published as A Serbian Village (1958). Halpern and his wife would return to Orašac numerous times throughout their career. The documentary The Halperns in Orašac, which aired in Yugoslavia in 1986, focuses on the couple's research in Orašac from 1953 to 1986.
In addition to Serbia, Halpern conducted research in Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia. A prolific writer, he published and presented a number of papers on peasant communities, historical demography, kinship, and social change in the Balkans. He also co-edited Among the People: Native Yugoslav Ethnography, Selected Writings of Milenko S. Filipovic (1982) and authored and edited works on and by Jozef Obrebski, the pioneering ethnographer of the Balkans, whose papers Halpern helped deposit at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Halpern also published extensively on Laos. He was one of the first American anthropologists to conduct research in the Southeast Asian country. After receiving his doctorate, he had worked on Area Handbook for Laos (1958) as a Research Associate for the Human Relations Area Files office in Washington, DC (1956). When he accepted a position as a Junior Foreign Service Officer (Foreign Service Reserve) with the Community Development Division of the U.S. International Cooperation Administration, he was stationed in Laos in 1957-1958. In 1959 he returned to the country under the sponsorship of Rand Corporation to study the Lao elite. He returned once again in 1969 as chair of the Mekong Seminar of the Southeast Asia Development Advisor Group to study the socio-economic impact of hydro-electrical dams constructed on the Mekong River.
In his later years, Halpern conducted research on the Inuit in Arviat (formerly known as Eskimo Point) and Frobisher Bay in Canada and immigrant populations in the United States. He was particularly interested in Southeast Asian immigrant communities in New England. He co-edited with Lucy Nguyen Far East Comes Near, a compilation of autobiographical essays by his Southeast Asian refugee students at University of Massachusetts. He also studied Jewish ethnic communities in Western Massachusetts and the urban history of the Bronx.
Halpern taught at UCLA (1958-1963) and Brandeis (1963-1965) before joining the Anthropology faculty at University of Massachusetts Amherst (1967-1996). He was also a visiting professor at Albert Ludwigs-Universitat and Arnold Bergstrasser Institute in Frieberg (1970-1971) and University of Graz (Spring 1993, Spring 1994). In addition, he was a National Academy of Sciences Senior Exchange Scientist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1975) and Serbian Academy of Sciences (1975, 1978).
1929 -- Born April 8, New York, New York
1950 -- Receives B.A. in History from University of Michigan
1952 -- Marries Barbara Kerewsky
1953-1954 -- Conducts fieldwork in Orašac, Serbia for first time
1956 -- Earns Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University
1957-1958 -- Stationed in Laos as a Junior Foreign Service Officer with the Community Development Division of the U.S. International Cooperation Administration
1958-1963 -- Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at University of California, Los Angeles
1959 -- Returns to Laos to conduct research on the Lao elite under sponsorship from Rand Corporation
1963-1965 -- Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University
1964 -- Director of Brandeis University Summer Field Program in Bosnia
1967 -- Joins Department of Anthropology faculty at University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1970-1971 -- Visiting Professor, Albert Ludwigs-Universitat and Arnold Bergstrasser Institute, Freiburg, Federal Republic of Germany
1976, 1979 -- Research on Jewish Ethnic Communities in Western Massachusetts
1996 -- Retires from University of Massachusetts
2010 -- Divorce from Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern finalized
Related Materials:
The Smithsonian Institution holds additional materials relating to Joel M. Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern. Their correspondence can be found in the Conrad M. Arensberg papers at the National Anthropological Archives. Halpern also donated films and video to the Human Studies Film Archives and a collection of Eskimo dolls (Accession # 409953) to the Anthropology Collections division.
The bulk of Joel M. Halpern's papers are at the Special Collections and University Archives of University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The following is a list of other repositories that hold his papers and photographs:
Joel Martin Halpern Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Joel Martin Halpern Papers, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Joel M. Halpern Papers, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Carl A. Kroch Library, Cornell University Library
Joel Martin Halpern Photograph Collection, Jones Library (Amherst, MA Public Library)
Joel Martin Halpern Southeast Europe Collection, University of Alberta Libraries
Joel Martin Halpern Balkan Archive, University of Bradford
Joel Halpern Collection, University of Graz
Joel M. Halpern Laotian Slide Collection, Department of Special Collections
, University of Wisconsin, Madison
The Halpern, Joel Papers, General/Multiethnic Collection, Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Joel Halpern in multiple installments from the 1980s to 2006.
Restrictions:
All except Series 9. Photographs is stored off-site. Advance notice must be given to view off-site materials.
Access to materials containing social security numbers; Halpern's students' graded materials; and manuscripts and grant applications sent to Halpern for review is restricted. Additional materials have also been restricted at Halpern's request.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Please note that some of the materials in the collection are copies made by Joel M. Halpern; the originals are most likely deposited at other archives. For these materials, permission will need to be obtained from the repositories where the originals are held. See Related Collections for a list of repositories.
Biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, photographs, writings, art work, project files, teaching material, financial material, and printed material regarding Kerslake's career as a printmaker and teacher.
Biographical material includes health files and personal statements. Correspondence includes letters from Lee Chesney, Hiram Williams, Todd Walker, John Weller, William Walmsley, Joan and Frank Gardner, and Warrington Colescott, students, and other friends and colleagues. Additional correspondence concerns Kerslake's exhibition submissions and commissions and his teaching career at the University of Florida.
Photographs are of Kerslake, his family and friends, and his exhibitions. Writings include a forward to a biography on Lee Chesney by Kerslake, miscellaneous typescripts, a 1970 journal, and an essay written while Kerslake was in graduate school. Art works includes print proofs, sketches, and annual holiday cards designed by Kerslake. Project files include fellowship applications, exhibitions featuring Kerslake's work, and his print series, "The Anatomies of the Star Spangled Man." Teaching material includes notes and syllabi, as well as workshop files including the University of Georgia study abroad program in Cortona, Italy and vitreography workshops at Littleton Studios in Spruce Pine, N.C., among others. Financial material includes two sales ledgers and various records pertaining to sales, honoraria, loans and donations. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs (solo and group shows), one poster, and newspaper clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Printmaker and educator; Gainesville, Fla.; b. 1930; d. 2007 Kerslake joined the University of Florida faculty in 1958, where he founded its Printmaking Program. His work is found in many museums, including a permanent display at the University of Florida's Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art.
Provenance:
Donated 2009 by Sarah Kerslake, widow of Kenneth Kerslake.
Restrictions:
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing. Contact Reference Services for more information
The subseries includes syllabi, bibliographies, lecture notes, faculty memos, reading material, and course descriptions. Folders may contain a mixture of material from multiple universities due to Nochlin's reuse of course material for the creation of new course material.
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Linda Nochlin papers, circa 1876, 1937-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Linda Nochlin papers, circa 1876, 1937-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Linda Nochlin papers, circa 1876, 1937-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program.
Material regarding the Guerrilla Girls is access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Emma Amos papers, circa 1900-2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of sculptor and site-specific installation artist Elyn Zimmerman measure 37.8 linear feet and 1710.223 gigabytes, and date from 1967-2022. The collection documents the artist's life and work through correspondence, interviews, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, teaching files, printed material, and photographic material. Project and commission files comprise the majority of the collection at 19.40 linear feet and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. Photographic material documents Zimmerman's work through color and black and white slides, transparencies, contact sheets, negatives, and prints. The papers include a small number of born digital records, including interviews, digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations.
There is a 2.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2023 that includes project files, photographs, works of art on paper, journals, a scrapbook and printed material regarding Elyn Zimmerman. Materials date from circa 1967-2022.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor and site-specific installation artist Elyn Zimmerman measure 37.8 linear feet and 1710.223 gigabytes, and date from 1967-2022. The collection documents the artist's life and work through correspondence, interviews, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, teaching files, printed material, and photographic material. Project and commission files comprise the majority of the collection at 19.40 linear feet and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. Photographic material documents Zimmerman's work through color and black and white slides, transparencies, contact sheets, negatives, and prints. The papers include a small number of born digital records, including interviews, digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations.
Correspondence is comprised predominately of received letters and fewer drafts and copies of outgoing letters. Notable correspondents include Zimmerman's late husband, curator Kirk Varnedoe, arts advocate Agnes Gund, and artists Ruth Dicker, Richard Diebenkorn, Kady Hoffman, and Masami Teraoka. Interviews include digital video recordings of Elyn Zimmerman discussing various public projects between circa 1991 and 2005. Writings include drafts of journal articles, a book mock-up, project notes, and statements. Agendas and address books are filed with writings. Project and commission files comprise the bulk of the collection and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. The files include a small number of born digital records, including digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations. Exhibition files document Zimmerman's site-specific installations and exhibitions in a gallery and museum context. Files include correspondence, photographs, slides, statements, press releases, shipping information, and price lists. Teaching files document the many courses Zimmerman taught in painting, drawing, design, architecture, and landscape architecture. Items include syllabi, assignments, lecture notes, reading lists, and articles. Printed material primarily consists of items cataloging Zimmerman's career including exhibition announcements, catalogs, and press clippings. Subject files were saved and collected by Zimmerman and are arranged at the end of the series. Photographic material document Zimmerman's installations of commissioned works, exhibitions, and other installations through color and black and white slides, negatives, contact sheets, prints, and digital photographs.
There is a 2.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2023 that includes project files, photographs, works of art on paper, journals, a scrapbook and printed material regarding Elyn Zimmerman. Materials date from circa 1967-2022.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1978-2011 (3.7 linear feet; Box 1-4)
Series 2: Interviews, circa 1991-2005 (0.2 linear feet; Box 100)
Series 3: Writings, Agendas, and Address Books, 1970-2003 (0.5 linear feet; Box 4-5)
Series 4: Project and Commission Files, 1970-2022 (20.4 linear feet, Box 5-15, 21-22, 100, 123-125 OV 23-85, 109-116, 120-122, 126-127 RD 97-98; 0.223 gigabytes, ER01-04)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1969-2018 (4.6 linear feet; Box 15-16, 20-21, 100, 103, 123, OV 86-96,105-108, 120, RD 99)
Series 6: Teaching Files, 1970-1994 (0.4 linear feet; Box 16)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1970-2018 (2.2 linear feet; Box 16-19, 100, 123)
Series 8: Photographic Material, 1967-2018 (3.6 linear feet; Box 100-102, 123-125, OV 117-119)
Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1967-2022 (2.2 linear feet; Box 128-130, OV 131-135)
Biographical / Historical:
Elyn Zimmerman (1945-) is a New York City and Los Angeles based sculptor best known for her large scale site-specific outdoor installations incorporating granite, water features, and landscape architecture.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Zimmerman moved to California for college, earning both her BFA and MFA from University of California, Los Angeles. While at UCLA, she studied with Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Irwin, and worked in photography, drawing, and site-specific installation. In 1978 she created Monarch's Trough for Artpark in Lewiston, New York, her first site-specific work using granite. For the next several decades Zimmerman would complete dozens of site-specific installations in public and private spaces across the United States, and submit proposals for dozens more. Working frequently with stone and granite, she developed a decades long relationship with a granite quarry in Cold Spring, Minnesota, which fabricated many of her designs. Zimmerman's clients have included the National Geographic Society, the Birmingham Art Museum, and the New York City Parks Department.
In addition to her site-specific work, Zimmerman has had an extensive exhibition history, and has shown for many years with Gagosian Gallery. In 2016, Zimmerman was the recipient of the Isamu Noguchi Award. She has taught at Mills College, California Institute of the Arts, Harvard University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Zimmerman was married to the late curator Kirk Varnedoe from 1978-2002.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2015-2023 by Elyn Zimmerman.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Installation artists -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Installation artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Teaching files date from 1970-1994 and document the many courses Zimmerman taught at colleges in California and on the east coast. Items include syllabi, assignments, lecture notes, reading lists, articles, and a sound recording of Duchamp's "The Creative Act." As a recent graduate in the 1970s, Zimmerman taught a wide variety of art courses throughout California, including painting, drawing, and design. Later in her career in the 1990s, Zimmerman taught predominantly in architecture and landscape architecture.
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Elyn Zimmerman papers, 1967-2022. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Ted Stamm slides of works of art and exhibitions measure 2.2 linear feet and date from circa 1968-1986, and 2018. The collection is comprised primarily of approximately 6450 35mm slides assembled by the painter Ted Stamm between his arrival in New York in 1968 and his death in 1984. The majority of the slides were photographed by Stamm himself, and collectively form a unique and expansive record of artworks and exhibitions on view in New York during that time period, by a variety of artists including Stamm.
Scope and Contents:
Ted Stamm slides of works of art and exhibitions measure 2.2 linear feet and date from circa 1968-1986, and 2018. The collection is comprised primarily of approximately 6450 35mm slides assembled by the painter Ted Stamm between his arrival in New York in 1968 and his death in 1984. The majority of the slides were photographed by Stamm himself, and collectively form a unique and expansive record of artworks and exhibitions on view in New York during that time period, by a variety of artists including Stamm.
The collection includes both exhibition views and individual artworks photographed in situ. In addition to exhibitions in galleries and nonprofit spaces, Stamm also photographed works installed in public spaces, graffiti and street art, and views of the gallery facades and architectural fabric of Lower Manhattan.
Stamm used the slides in his own teaching, and the collection includes a set of slides documenting periods of art history. Additional teaching material includes examples of course descriptions, syllabi, reading lists, and other teaching materials for courses taught by Stamm. Printed material includes an artist book, an exhibition catalog, and a monograph/catalog.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as three series.
Series 1: Slides, circa 1968-circa 1984 (Boxes 1-2; 2 linear feet)
Series 2: Teaching Material, 1977-1982 (Box 3; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1979-1986, 2018 (Box 3; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Stamm (1944-1984) was a multidisciplinary conceptual artist and educator in New York, New York, known for his focused series of paintings, works on paper, and studies. Stamm's studies, such as the Wooster series, were influenced by the shapes, street contours, and intersections he could see from his studio on Wooster Street in SoHo.
Stamm was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Hofstra University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1967. In 1968 he settled in New York City and his early work was included in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in New York and in the alumni show at Hofstra University in 1971.
From 1974 until his death in 1984, Stamm lived and worked on the top floor of 101 Wooster Street in New York City. There he began his iconic group of works titled Woosters, and subsequent series including Dodgers, from the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, C-Dodgers influenced by the Concorde planes he observed at John F. Kennedy Airport, and Designators, graffiti Stamm painted on buildings in stages which he would photograph each time he returned to develop the graffiti further.
Stamm's work was exhibited widely throughout his life, both internationally and in the United States. He taught classes at the School of Visual Arts, Hofstra University, and C. W. Post College, and was awarded National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim fellowships in 1981 and 1983.
Stamm died of congenital heart disease at the age of 39.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2022 by The Ted Stamm Estate via Per Haubro Jensen.
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.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The Ted Stamm Estate donor has retained all intellectual property rights including copyright on all slides taken by Ted Stamm. Please contact the Ted Stamm Estate for copyright permission at tedstammestate.com.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Citation:
Ted Stamm slides of works of art and exhibitions, circa 1968-1986, 2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation.
Series includes documentation such as course descriptions, reading lists, syllabi, and programs and proposals, related to courses taught and lectures given by Stamm at institutions including Long Island University, Jersey City State College, Kutztown State College, and other locations.
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.
The Ted Stamm Estate donor has retained all intellectual property rights including copyright on all slides taken by Ted Stamm. Please contact the Ted Stamm Estate for copyright permission at tedstammestate.com.
Collection Citation:
Ted Stamm slides of works of art and exhibitions, circa 1968-1986, 2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation.
The papers of New York painters and teachers Josef Presser and Presser's wife Agnes Hart measure 4.3 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1980, with the bulk of the material from 1940 to 1980. The collection documents their personal and professional lives as artists and educators and consists of biographical material, business and personal correspondence, teaching files, printed material, and scattered photographs. The collection also includes writings, personal business records, and artwork by Presser.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York painters and teachers Josef Presser and Agnes Hart measure 4.3 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1980, with the bulk of the material from 1940 to 1980. The collection documents their personal and professional lives as partners, artists, and educators and consists of biographical material, business and personal correspondence, teaching files, printed material, and scattered photographs. The collection also includes writings, personal business records, and artwork by Presser.
The collection is divided into two series. Series 1 consists primarily of Presser's papers from 1913 to his death in 1967, and Hart's correspondence dating from 1967 to 1977 regarding the management of his estate. Biographical material includes an address book, curriculum vitae, family history, and personal identification records. Presser's personal correspondence is with family and friends, including the artists Charles Hopkinson and Vera Fraser. Business related correspondence is with various collectors, galleries, museums, art associations, and art schools. There is also correspondence related to Presser's law suit against the New York Port Authority, and Presser and Hart's real estate purchases in Hurley and Woodstock, New York. Hart's correspondence concerns Presser's estate and artwork after his death, including letters related to the organization of Presser's memorial exhibition in 1968.
Writings by Presser include essay fragments, 4 notebooks, and numerous note fragments. His teaching files include memoranda, syllabi, and class assignments from his tenure at New York University from 1947 to 1952. There are also memoranda from the New York School of Visual Arts and the Prospect Hill School. Personal business records include bank registers, artwork sales records, and receipts from his residency in Paris in the 1960s.
Printed material consists of bulletins, clippings, and exhibition announcements and catalogs related to Presser's career. There are also draft and final versions of Presser's memorial exhibition catalog, and a copy of the 1951 conference Artist and the Museum sponsored by the Artists Equity Association and the Woodstock Artists Association.
Artwork consists of loose sketches, artwork on postcards and printed material, and 9 sketchbooks dating from the 1950s to 1960s. Photographic material includes photographs of Presser with friends and family, and photographs of his studio and artwork. There are also 4 photographs of the artist Abraham Walkowitz dating from the 1940s.
Agnes Hart's papers documenting her own career are arranged in Series 2 and date from 1930 to 1980. Biographical materials include two engagement calendars, curriculum vitae, consignment lists, and critiques. Her correspondence with family and friends includes letters from artist Lucile Blanch, journalist Agnes Smedley, and Yaddo director Elizabeth Ames. Business correspondence is with galleries, collectors, art associations, and art schools.
Teaching files include employment contracts, class catalogs, newsletters, and photographs from Hart's tenure at the Art Students League (1965-1975), and class catalogs and memoranda from Dalton Schools and Parnassus Square. Printed material includes bulletins, clippings, and exhibition announcements and catalogs related to Hart's career. There are also draft and final versions of the 1956 Yasuo Kuniyoshi memorial exhibition catalog. Additional photographic material consists of a photograph of the Central Cown Art Center, a gallery Hart managed in 1937.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Josef Presser, 1913-1977 (3 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, Box 5)
Series 2: Agnes Hart, 1930-1980 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Biographical Note:
Josef Presser (1909-1967) lived and worked primarily in New York City as a painter, educator, and lecturer.
Presser was born in Lublin, Poland and immigrated with his family to Boston, Massachusetts in 1913. He showed an early affinity for art and, at the age of 12, was accepted to the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts on a four year scholarship. After completing his education, he spent several years traveling in Europe and visited the major museums of France, Italy, and Belgium before returning to America in 1931. Upon his return, Presser opened his first solo New York show at the Montross Gallery in 1931, moved to Philadelphia, painted murals as part of the Works Progress Administration program, and began receiving private commissions. By the mid-1930s, Presser was exhibiting regularly in solo shows in Philadelphia and had began accepting teaching positions. While lecturing at Iowa State University, Presser met his future wife and artist, Agnes Hart, who he married in 1941.
After moving to New York City in 1940, Presser continued to exhibit in New York galleries throughout the 1940s and 1950s, and eventually accepted teaching positions at New York University, Queens College, Cooper Union, and the Brooklyn Museum Art School, among others. Though he was familiar with the work of the abstract expressionists, Presser is known primarily for his figurative paintings featuring women, children, clowns, and horses, with the latter two subjects inspired by circuses he had traveled with in Europe. In 1940, Presser and Hart purchased studio space in Woodstock, New York where they exhibited as members of the Woodstock Artists Association. Presser's solo shows include exhibitions at Contemporary Arts Gallery, Associated American Artists Galleries, and the Vera Lazuk Gallery.
In 1965, Presser went on an extended trip abroad to Paris, and continued working until his death in 1967.
Agnes Hart (1912-1979) was born in Meridan, Connecticut and studied art at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida and at Iowa State University. Hart was a prolific painter and printmaker of abstract forms and urban landscapes. In 1948 and 1949, she received fellowships as a guest painter at the Yaddo Foundation and exhibited her first solo show in New York City at the RoKo Gallery in 1948. She continued to exhibit regularly at New York City galleries into the 1970s, and also accepted several teaching positions, including a ten year tenure with the Art Students League of New York. She continued to paint and teach until her death in 1979.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N69-1) including original clippings and exhibition announcements. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The papers of Josef Presser were lent for microfilming by Agnes Hart in 1968. Excluding certain printed material, Hart later donated the bulk of these papers and additional Presser materials in 1977 and 1979. Hart donated her papers in 1978. Frances Hitchcock, Hart's sister, gave additional material in 1981.
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:
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:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of art historian, educator, editor, and museum director Robert John Goldwater measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1902-1974. Found are correspondence, subject files, teaching records, writings, and printed material. Also included are the papers, primarily correspondence, of Goldwater's father, S. S. Goldwater, M. D., a nationally recognized expert in the fields of public health, hospital administration, and hospital design and construction.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian, educator, editor, and museum director Robert John Goldwater measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1902-1974. Found are correspondence, subject files, teaching records, writings, and printed material. Also included are the papers, primarily correspondence, of Goldwater's father, S. S. Goldwater, M. D., a nationally recognized expert in the fields of public health, hospital administration, and hospital design and construction.
The bulk of Robert John Goldwater's correspondence focuses on his writings and editing work, including his work for Magazine of Art and the Museum of Primitive Art. It is with academic colleagues, art museums, colleges and universities, publishers, former students, and family. There is also scattered correspondence with artists. A list of correspondents is found at the end of this finding aid.
Subject files concern topics of interest to Goldwater as well as exhibitions and organizations with which he was involved, and include correspondence, printed material, and notes. Teaching records are from Goldwater's work at both Queens College and New York Universtity and consist mainly of course syllabi, bibliographies, and notes, as well as some administrative records.
The largest series in the collection consists of Goldwater's writings, including drafts, manuscripts, and notes for several books, reviews, and talks and lectures. Found here are complete and partial manuscript versions of his books Artists on Art; From David to Delacroix; Jacques Lipchitz; Paul Gaugin; Rufino Tamayo; and Symbolism. Printed material includes many items about or mentioning Goldwater, as well as printed or published articles and reviews written by him.
The papers of S. S. Goldwater, M. D. (1873-1942) consist primarily of correspondence documenting his work as a hospital administrator, public health expert, and New York City's Commissioner of Hospitals. They also include biographical information, legal documents, photographs, printed material, and writings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1934-1973 (Box 1; 0.5 linear ft.)
Series 2: Subject Files, 1931-1973 (Box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)
Series 3: Teaching Records, 1935-1973 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear ft.)
Series 4: Writings, 1932-1973 (Boxes 3-5; 2.2 linear ft.)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1931-1974 (Box 5; 0.3 linear ft.)
Series 6: Papers of S. S. Goldwater, M.D., 1902-1956 (Boxes 5-6; 0.9 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Robert John Goldwater (1907-1973), a native New Yorker, studied art history at Columbia College (B.A., 1929), Harvard University (M.A., 1931), and New York University (Ph.D., 1937). Goldwater was a Carnegie Corporation Fellow, 1930-31, a Guggenheim Fellow, 1944-45, and a Fulbright Fellow in France, 1944-45. He was especially interested in primitive art, primitivism and symbolism in modern art, and the history of art criticism.
His teaching career began at New York University in 1934. Five years later, Goldwater moved to Queens College. In 1957, he joined the faculty of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where he remained until his death in 1973.
Goldwater wrote a large number of articles, books, and reviews on a variety of art topics. His books include: Primitivism in Modern Painting (1938), Artists on Art from the XIV to the XX Century (1945), Rufino Tamayo (1947), Modern Art in Your Life (1949), Vincent van Gogh (1954), Jacques Lipchitz (1954), Paul Gauguin (1957), Senufo Sculpture from West Africa (1964), Space and Dream (1968), What Is Modern Sculpture (1969), and Symbolism (1979).
From 1957-1963 Goldwater was Director of the Museum of Primitive Art, and for the next decade was Chairman of its administrative committee. In addition, Goldwater served as book review editor of the College Art Association's Art Bulletin from 1944-1947, and from 1947-1953 he was editor of the American Federation of Art's Magazine of Art.
Provenance:
The Robert John Goldwater papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1976 by Goldwater's widow, Louise Bourgeois.
Restrictions:
This material is ACCESS RESTRICTED; permission; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Editors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
This material is ACCESS RESTRICTED; permission; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Robert John Goldwater papers, 1902-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This material is ACCESS RESTRICTED; permission; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Robert John Goldwater papers, 1902-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This material is ACCESS RESTRICTED; permission; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Robert John Goldwater papers, 1902-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
