Biographical material, financial material, correspondence, notes, writings, art work, photographs, printed material, and project files document the career of sculptor and educator, Heinz Warneke. Also included are some writings, art work, photographs, and printed material related to his wife, Jessie Warneke.
Biographical materials include autobiographical and biographical sketches about Warneke, and certificates, including his membership card to the Kunstler-Bund-Bremen, 1922-1923; personal financial materials, ca. 1931-1937, include household records for his East Haddam, Connecticut home, "The Mowings."
Correspondence, 1930-1987, with his wife, Jessie, friends, colleagues, clients, gallery owners, museum and art school administrators, various art guilds and societies, and foundries. Among the correspondents are Edmund (Ned) Archer, William Hunt Diederich, Walker Hancock, Dick and Julia Helms, Inslee A. Hopper, Rena T. Magee, Jessalee Sickman, Henry Vam Wolf, and Carl Zigrosser. The correspondence discusses exhibitions and sales of Warneke's sculptures, the Corcoran School of Art, and invitations to various White House and Embassy functions in Washington, D.C. Also included are illustrated letters from Henry Kriess and Jessie Warneke.
Notes are by Heinz Warneke, ca. 1928-1979, and others and include 5 address books, 2 notebooks, one regarding the Warneke School of Sculpture, ca. 1935-1937, scattered notes regarding Warneke's sculpture classes at the Corcoran School of Art, ca. 1950-1963, his formulas and processes for sculpting, and price lists for his art works. Notes by ohters include a guest book from the exhibition, "Heinz Warneke Looks Back," 1967 and research notes by Mary Mullen Cunningham, undated. Writings, ca. 1923-1977, by Heinz Warneke and others, include lectures, forewords to exhibition catalogs, and a statement of "Opinion regarding the Philosophy of the Corcoran School of Art and the Direction it should take."
Art works, ca. 1929-1932, include 2 sketchbooks, studies of figures, animals, and plant life, watercolors, several chalk sketches for a work possibly depiction life at "The Mowings," by Warneke, several sketches by Jessie Warneke, an etching, and three engravings by others. Photographs, ca. 1918-1983, are of Heinz, family and friends including Edmund Archer, Inslee Hopper, Roderick Seidenberg, Carl Zigrosser, his pet dogs, his homes and studios in Connecticut, New York, and Washington, D.C., students, travels, art works by Heinz and Jessie, exhibition installations, and source material.
Printed material include exhibition announcements and catalogs and clippings, and other materials for Heinz, Jessie, and others, ca. 1923-1981. There is a file regarding Warneke's participation on the jury for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Committee, 1939-1940, and circa 136 project files for completed and proposed sculpture works for public and private commissions which include various works for the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., an African cow elephant and calf for the Philadelphia Zoo, the Nittany Lion for Pennsylvania State University, and several Works Project Authority (WPA), and other federal projects, ca., 1911-1971.
Biographical / Historical:
Heinz Warneke (1895-1983) was a sculptor, animal sculptor and educator in East Haddam, Connecticut. Born and trained in Germany, Warneke worked on sculpture projects for WPA and was the head of the sculpture department at the Corcoran School of Art from the early 1940's to 1970.
Related Materials:
Heinz Warneke papers also at Syracuse University.
Provenance:
Donated 1977 by Warneke, and in 1983-1984, and 1994 by his stepdaughter and executrix of his estate, Priscilla Norton. The 1994 installment had been used by Micky Cunningham in her book, "Heinz Warneke, 1895-1983: A Sculptor First and Last" (University of Delaware Press, 1994). Additional photograph of Warneke by his stepson Edward Hall transferred 2013 from SAAM via George Gurney, Curator. Gurney received the photograph from Priscilla Norton.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Animal sculptors -- Connecticut -- East Haddam Search this
Sculptors -- Connecticut -- East Haddam Search this
The Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection dates from circa 1920-1965, with the bulk of the records spanning the active years of the Federal Art Project (FAP), 1935-1942. The collection comprises 12.4 linear feet of mostly photographic prints and negatives that document primarily artwork produced by artists employed by the FAP. A smaller number of photographs also document other programs of the FAP, such as art classes and community centers, exhibitions by children and adults, artwork installed in public buildings, project divisions, and demonstrations of art processes by FAP artists.
Scope and Content Note:
The Federal Art Project (FAP), Photographic Division collection dates from circa 1920-1965, with the bulk of the records spanning the active years of the FAP: 1935-1942. The collection comprises 12.4 linear feet of photographic prints and negatives, including photos of FAP artists and the artwork created by them, and other activities of the FAP in communities throughout New York City and other states. Photographers include Andrew Herman, Sol Horn, David Robbins, Leo Seltzer, and others.
Artist files comprise three-quarters of the collection and consist primarily of photographs of artwork, as well as scattered photos of artists at work, including: Charles Alston, Luis Arenal, Richmond Barthe, John Benson, Andrew Berger, Lucille Blanch, Lucienne Bloch, Ilya Bolotowsky, Luise Brann, Selma Burke, Letterio Calapai, Eugene Chodorow, Francis Criss, Stuart Davis, Adolf Dehn, Virginia Dehn, Jose de Rivera, George Pearse Ennis, Philip Evergood, Eugenie Gershoy, Bertram Goodman, Arshile Gorky, Marion Greenwood, Philip Guston, Donal Hord, Joseph Hovell, William Karp, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Edward Laning, Julian Levi, Audrey McMahon, Elizabeth Olds, Anton Refregier, Will Shuster, William Zorach, and others.
The remainder of the collection consists of files documenting related activities and programs of the FAP, arranged by subject. The bulk of these files document the activities of the New York City FAP, including free art classes and art exhibitions for adults and children, exhibitions at the Harlem Art Center, and the work of FAP branches including the Easel Division, the Graphic Arts Division, and the Poster Division.
Other subjects documented include federal and community art centers in eleven states, most extensively Washington State; other WPA projects such as the Federal Theater Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Writers' Project; buildings decorated with FAP artwork; art processes as demonstrated by FAP artists; special events; and people involved with the FAP, including director Holger Cahill.
One folder contains images that appear to have been taken by Berenice Abbott for the exhibition Changing New York (1935), for the Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with the WPA.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Artist Files, circa 1920-1965 (Boxes 1-24; 9.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Subject Files, 1934-1956 (Boxes 25-32; 2.8 linear feet)
Historical Note:
The Federal Art Project (FAP) was one of the Depression-era work-relief programs of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The program was founded in August 1935 to provide employment for artists and to implement visual arts programs in local communities across the country.
Together with the Federal Music Project, the Federal Theater Project, and the Federal Writers' Project, the FAP formed part of the WPA's Federal Project No. 1. The WPA became the Work Projects Administration in 1939 when it fell under the administrative hand of the newly created Federal Works Agency; concurrently the Federal Art Project was officially re-named the Federal Art Program.
Under the direction of Holger Cahill, the goals of the FAP fell into three main areas: production of artwork, art education through art classes and community centers, and art research through the Index of American Design. During the course of the program, artists created murals and other works of art for many non-Federal government buildings such as schools, hospitals, and libraries. Separate photographic divisions were set up in several states, most notably in New York City, to document the work of artists employed by the program, activities in art education such as classes for children and adults, community center outreach programs, and other "Federal 1" projects, including the Federal Theater and Music Projects. Employees of the photographic division were also involved in other assignments, such as creating exhibitions and photo murals.
The Federal Art Project ended in 1943.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are related collections, including the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration records, 1935-1948. Additional FAP records are held by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C.
Provenance:
The collection was anonymously donated to the Archives of American Art in the late 1950s.
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.
5 Microfilm reels (770 items on 5 microfilm reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1919-1971
Scope and Contents:
This microfilm collection of the papers of African American painter Norman Lewis consits of correspondence, a scrapbook, sketches, photographs, personal documents, and printed material including exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, and clippings.
REELS 52-53: Eight sketchbooks, 1935-1957; several pages from the diary of Lewis' wife, Joan, ca. 1948, commenting on their marriage; and an undated postcard from Ad Reinhardt.
REELS 91-92: Correspondence with author Millen Brand and artist Jim Yeargans; unidentified authors and actors; and museums, many arranging exhibits by Black artists and political action organizations. Also includes a scrapbook of catalogs, clippings, photographs, letters, and announcements, 1934-1968, concerning African American art exhibits, the training of African American artists, particularly during the Depression, WPA-New York projects, and Lewis' World War II work as a shipyard employee and poster artist.
REEL N69-47: Personal documents, correspondence, catalogs, announcements, photographs, articles, and clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Norman Lewis (1909-1979) was an African American painter in New York, New York. He began his career painting mostly figurative work, but is now associated with abstract expressionism as his work became more abstract in the late 1940s. Lewis was a founding member of Spiral, one of the groups of artists and writers who protested the controversial Harlem on My Mind exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1968.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1969-1971 by Norman Lewis.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview with painter Samuel Brown conducted by Shawn Aubitz of the National Archives, for an exhibition on the Work Projects Administration in Philadelphia. Brown discusses his work on the WPA; materials and techniques; some of his paintings, including "The Scrubwoman," and "The Lynching"; sharing a studio with Dox Thrash; and a visit from Eleanor Roosevelt.
Biographical / Historical:
Samuel Joseph Brown (1907-1994) was an African American painter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is thought to be the first African American artist hired by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and later worked for the Works Projects Administration (WPA) in Philadelphia as both a painter and a printmaker.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Philadelphia, Pa. : National Archives - Philadelphia Branch, 1985.
Provenance:
Donated 1990 by Samuel J. Brown, through the National Archives, as part of AAA's Philadelphia Art Documentation Project.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
United States. Work Projects Administration Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration Search this
Extent:
23.4 Linear feet
0.001 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Date:
1920-2009
Summary:
The papers of New York art historian Francis O'Connor measure 23.4 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1920-2009. Found within the papers are artist and exhibition files, questionnaires, transcripts, writings, project files, and printed and digital material that pertain to O'Connor's research and publications on the New Deal and the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York art historian Francis O'Connor measure 23.4 linear feet and date from 1920-2009. Found within the papers are artist and exhibition files, questionnaires, transcripts, writings, project files, and printed and digital material that pertain to O'Connor's research and publications on the New Deal and the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration.
The "NCFA Library" consists of research materials collected, created, and compiled during the course of O'Connor's research project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities for his books Federal Support for the Visual Arts (1969) and Art for the Millions (1973). Files contain administrative records, artists' files, and questionnaires and essays that document the administration of New Deal art projects. The files were collated by O'Connor into a set that remains intact.
The publications series consists of additional research and administrative materials specifically related to O'Connor's four publications on the WPA/FAP and New Deal artists: Federal Support for the Visual Arts: The New Deal and Now (1969), New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (1972), Art for the Millions (1973), and Federal Art Patronage Notes (newsletter, 1974-1984).
New Deal research files are more general research materials collected by or sent to O'Connor in the course of his academic career. These include information on New Deal administrators and state specific WPA projects; photocopies of original WPA activity and reports; and New Deal scholarship, academic symposia, and conferences.
New Deal exhibitions include announcement and catalogs of contemporary New Deal art exhibitions in the U.S. from the 1960s to the 1990s. Project files are related to three publically and privately funded New Deal research projects O'Connor directed or participated in. Printed materials consists of press coverage of federal arts patronage in the United States dating from the 1960s to 2008.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series. There is some overlap in series reflecting O'Connor's original order.
Missing Title
Series 1: NCFA Library, 1920-1974 (6.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, OV 28)
Series 2: Publications, 1939-1985 (4.3 linear feet; Boxes 7-11, BV 25-26, OV 27)
Series 3: New Deal Research Files, 1930-2009 (5.6 linear feet; Boxes 11-16)
Series 4: New Deal Exhibitions, 1961-1997 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 17-18)
Series 5: Project Files, 1935-1999 (2 linear feet; Boxes 18-20, ER01; 0.001 GB)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1963-2008 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 20-24)
Biographical / Historical:
New York art historian and poet Francis O'Connor (1937- ) is best known for his research and writings on the New Deal art programs of the Depression and the Roosevelt Administration. O'Connor received his Ph. D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1965 and taught contemporary European and American art history at the University of Maryland from 1964 to 1970. While at Maryland, he organized the country's first comprehensive exhibition of New Deal art programs since their ending in 1943. From 1967 to 1968, he also headed a research program for the National Endowment for the Arts to analyze the effectiveness of New Deal art patronage, which eventually led to the publication of Federal Support for the Visual Arts: The New Deal and Now (1969), New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (1972), Art for the Millions (1973).
In addition to his work on New Deal art patronage, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Connor continued to teach and lecture at universities, consulted on federally and privately funded research projects, and published critical essays for exhibition catalogs, anthologies and academic journals. He is a member of the College Art Association, International Association of Art Critics, and founded the Association of Independent Historians of Art in 1982.
Separated Materials:
Bound assemblies of periodicals were transferred to the Smithsonian Art Libraries in 2010, which retained relevant volumes and made final decisions regarding disposition of any remaining items.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Francis O'Connor to the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which subsequently transferred the papers, with O'Connor's permission, to the Archives of American Art in 1974. In 2010, O'Connor donated an additional 15.8 linear feet of papers to the Archives.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings and born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
The Artists' Questionanaires require permission from each artist before publishing, quoting, or reproducing. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Items created by Francis V. O'Connor: copyright held by Avis Berman. Artists' questionnaires: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from the individual artist. 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.
Gerald Monroe research material on the American Artists' Congress, the Artists' Union, and the WPA, [ca. 1930-1971]. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects Search this
Trade unions and the arts -- United States Search this
