The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
REELS 1603-1604: Photograph files, consisting of 323 photographs of works of art arranged alphabetically, mainly by artist. Also included in the file is a photograph of Henry James and one of Mitchell Jamieson. Not found on microfilm are 3 photographs of a Kenneth Callahan exhibition, 1952, taken by Oliver Baker.
Photograph files include Ivan Albright, American School, Thomas Anshutz, George Bellows, Ralph Blakelock, Eugene Boudin, Constantin Brancusi, J. F. Bunting, Gustave Carllebotie, Paul Cezanne, William M. Chase, Paul Clemens, Alfred Collins, W. Cruickshank, Sebastian Cruzet, John S. Curry, Richard Dadd, Arthur B. Davies, H. G. Dearth, Delacroix, Charles Demuth, Andre Derain, E. Dimmock, Preston Dickinson, Thomas Eakins, Jacob Epstein, Lauren Ford, Francis Garat, Gauguin, Gericault, William Glackens, Morris Graves, Constantin Guys, Childe Hassam, Heliker, Robert Henri, Holmquist, Winslow Hopper, George Inness, Michael James, Gwen John, Eastman Johnson, John Kane, J. F. Kensett, Krisgholf, John LaFarge, Toulouse Lautrec, Hayley Lever, Eugenio Lucas, George Luks, Henry McBride, Elmer Macrae, John Marin, Alfred Maurer, Camille Pissarro, Hobson Pittman, L'Ouvreture Poisson, Anne Poor, Maurice Prendergast, John Quidor, Daniel Rasmusson, Odilon Redon, Rouault, Thomas Rowlandson, Pierre Roy, Albert P. Ryder, Segonzac, James Sharples, Everett Shinn, John Skeaping, Spanish Figures, Spanish Still-Life, Theophile Steinlen, Alfred Stevens, Walter Stuempfig, Richard Taylor, Day Van Truex, Ann Truxell, John Twachtman, Unknown Artists, John Vanderlyn, L. E. Vigee-Lebrun, Vlaminck, Vuillard, J. Alden Weir, James M. Whistler, Worthington Whittredge, Tom Wolfe, and Alexander H. Wyant.
REELS 2020-2025: Business and personal correspondence, 1923-1972, with artists, buyers, sellers, and others; and artists files, containing contracts, correspondence, insurance and shipping records, photos of art work, printed material, inventories, price lists, and miscellany.
REELS 2159-2162: Correspondence with buyers, sellers and others; files on John Chumley, Lily Cushing, Madeline Hewes, Henry McBride, Tom Wolfe, and other artists, containing correspondence, printed material, and photographs; 2 scrapbooks of printed material on John Steuart Curry and various Walker Gallery exhibitions, 1936-1940; miscellaneous exhibition catalogs; and financial records, including statements, bills of sale, 1946-1947, and inventories.
REEL 2162: Records, relating to the 1945 exhibition, "Other Worlds," organized by Maynard Walker for the American British Art Center, New Britain, Connecticut. Correspondence, an annotated exhibition catalog, announcements, checklists, and clippings are included.
REEL 2223: Photographs of works of art by Washington Allston, Emily Ames, George Bellows, Eugene Boudin, Constantin Brancusi, Victor Carlsen, Paul Clemens, John Copley, John Cotman, Whitney Darrow, Preston Dickinson, Robet Henri, Richard Hollander, Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, George Inness, Eastman Johnson, Walt Kuhn, Doris Lee, Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, John Sargent, Everett Shinn, Theodore Stamos, Theophile Steinlen, Walter Stuempfig, Richard Taylor, John Twachtman, Edoard Vieullard, and Jean Watts represented by the gallery. Also included are 3 scrapbooks of photographs of works of art by Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, and Grant Wood.
REEL 2424: Scrapbooks, 1930-1970, of clippings concerning Thomas Hart Benton, 1933-1935, John Steuart Curry, 1930-1937, 1970, and Grant Wood, 1931-1936; a notebook of clippings, photos of works of art, and catalogs of John Chumley, 1961-1962; and a scrapbook of reproductions, clippings, and photos of works by various artists.
Biographical / Historical:
Art gallery; New York, N.Y. Founded ca. 1935 by Maynard Walker in New York. A branch opened in Hollywood, California, 1938. Walker was a primary promoter of the Regionalists during the 1930's and 1940's.
Provenance:
Material on reel N697 was lent for microfilming in 1967, and subsequently donated 1976 by Maynard Walker; material on reels 1603-1604 donated 1973 by the Frick Library on behalf of Maynard Walker; material on reels 2020-2025, 2159-2162, 2223, & 2424 donated 1974-1976 by Maynard Walker, and exhibition material on reel 2162 donated 1980 by Maynard Walker.
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.
Correspondence with and/or relating to artists John Singer Sargent, Walt Kuhn, Grant Wood, George A. Curtis, Anne Marie Jauss, and others. Approximately 300 items.
Relating to Kuhn are 29 letters from Brenda Kuhn, daughter of Walt Kuhn, 1971-1980, primarily dealing with Gaston's articles on the vandalization of her father's "Little Nugget" club car which he designed and built in 1937 for the streamliner "City of Los Angeles" and which traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles; ca. 50 letters from George A. Curtis and several articles and catalogs about him; ca. 60 letters from Anne Marie Jauss, mostly from N.J., 1971-1989, along with photos of her work, and an obituary, 1991. Other letters include: one from Grant Wood's sister, Nan Wood Graham, referring to Grant Wood's portrait of Henry Wallace for the cover of Time magazine (1940); several from historian Thomas B. Brumbaugh; two from Wynn Chamberlain from the Edwin Hewitt Gallery; two from Alexander Archipenko, one from Vivian Nichols regarding the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation, one from Katrina Fischer, daughter of Anton Otto Fischer, and one from Karl Kup.
Biographical / Historical:
Gallery director, art historian; New York, N.Y. and Los Angeles, Calif. Born 1928. Died 2002.
Provenance:
Donated by Godfrey O. Gaston.
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.
An interview of Albert Christ-Janer conducted by Dorothy Seckler 1964 March 21 for the Archives of American Art.
Christ-Janer speaks of the regionalist movement in painting in the 1930s, of Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood; teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Design; and he recalls Jackson Pollock.
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Christ-Janer (1910-1973) was a painter, printmaker, museum director, educator, and writer in Athens, Georgia.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 21 min.
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:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- Georgia -- Athens -- Interviews Search this
Correspondence, consisting of 322 letters; biographical material, including a resume; essays about art and other writings, including a play titled "Strings," ca. 1910, written by Cone and Grant Wood, then in high school; a typescript of radio broadcasts; a catalog of Cone's paintings; a photograph album; photographs of Cone and of works of art; bills and receipts; a scrapbook of clippings, catalogs, photographs, letters, and memorabilia; exhibition catalogs, announcements and clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Lifelong friends with Grant Wood, and also acquainted with gallery director Ed Rowan.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1977 by Mrs. Marvin Cone.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The papers of painter, muralist, and designer William E. L. Bunn measure 13.4 linear feet and date from 1863-2009. The collection documents Bunn's career as a painter, industrial designer, and his work on Treasury Department post office mural commissions through biographical material, scattered correspondence, project files, industrial design records, diaries and journals, writings and notes, printed material, photographs, and artwork. Also found are Bunn's papers regarding Grant Wood.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, muralist, and designer William E. L. Bunn measure 13.4 linear feet and date from 1863-2009. The collection documents Bunn's career as a painter, industrial designer, and his work on Treasury Department post office mural commissions through biographical material, scattered correspondence, project files, industrial design records, diaries and journals, writings and notes, printed material, photographs, and artwork. Also found are Bunn's papers regarding Grant Wood.
Biographical material consists of certificates, school records, Bunn family genealogy records, an interview transcript, and an autobiographical file maintained by Bunn containing professional summaries, lists of works, one motion picture film reel of home movies, and other records. Correspondence documents exhibitions, awards, mural projects, and other commissions. Of note is correspondence with the General Services Administration, friend and fellow artist Lee Allen, and illustrated envelopes Bunn sent to his wife Annavene.
Project files contain photographs, notes, sketches, correspondence, and news clippings. Included is Bunn's notebook "Index to Projects" which provides additional information. Industrial design records include drawings and blueprints, employment records, photographs and publications, primarily from his work at Sheaffer Pen Company and Cuckler Steele Span Company.
Bunn's papers relating to Grant Wood include documentation from the Grant Wood Art Festival, as well as printed material, notes, and correspondence about Wood. Also found are photographs, including two photographs of Wood and photographs of his residence in Iowa City. Forty-one diaries and journals date from 1929-1951 and 1969-2003. Early diaries document art projects and school activities while he was a student at University of Iowa. Later journals document his work, travel, expenditures, and goals. Writings and notes include to-do lists, documentation on people Bunn knew, his artworks, lists of personal belongings, and topics of interest, such as astrology and steamboats. Also found are five notebooks on various subjects.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, magazines, news clippings, and Treasury Department bulletins. Also found are announcements of mural competitions, postcards, and published images of steamboats. Photographs depict Bunn, his family, friends, and artwork. Additional photographs depict various subjects that were of interest to Bunn, including nature scenes, steamboats, airplanes, and bridges.
Artwork includes costume and theater designs created as part of William Bunn's thesis at University of Iowa. Also included are drawings and watercolors for potential art projects, as well as preliminary drawings and studies or technical drawings from his work as an industrial designer. Additionally, there are four sketchbooks, two of which include sketches and notes for the post office murals in Minden, Nebraska, and Hamburg, Iowa.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1910-2009 (Box 1, 12, FC 33; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1927-2006 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Project Files, circa 1925-2002 (Box 1-3, 12, OV 15-19, RD 31; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Industrial Design Records, circa 1944-1977 (Box 3, 12, OV 20; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 5: Papers Relating to Grant Wood, 1935-2006 (Box 3-4, 12; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Diaries and Journals, 1929-2003 (Box 4-6; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Writings and Notes, circa 1928-2004 (Box 6-7; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1896-2009 (Box 7-8, 12, OV 21; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs, 1863-1990s (Box 8-9, 13; 1.6 linear feet)
Series 10: Artwork, circa 1926-2004 (Box 9-11, 14, OVs 22-30, RD 32; 2.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
William E. L. Bunn (1910-2009) was a designer, muralist, and painter in Ft. Madison, Iowa and Ojai, California. Bunn was born in Muscatine, Iowa and received his B.A. in Graphic and Plastic Arts and an M.A. in Theater Design, both from the University of Iowa. In 1937 he was awarded a one-year post-graduate fellowship as an art intern for Grant Wood. From 1938 to 1942 he won four commissions from the Treasury Department to produce murals for Federal buildings. He also exhibited paintings, primarily depicting Mississippi River steamboats, at the National Academy of Design, Art Institute of Chicago, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and other group shows. Beginning in 1943 Bunn worked as an industrial designer at several companies including Sheaffer Pen Company (1946-1967) and Cuckler Steele Span Company (1967-1977). After his retirement, he and his wife, Annavene, moved to California, and he continued to paint. Bunn was also active in the Theosophical Society and had an interest in aviation.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by William E. L. Bunn in 1989 and in 2010 by Bunn's daughter, Chari Petrowski. In 1986 two sketchbooks and sketches were transferred with Bunn's permssion from the General Services Administration, which had received them from Bunn.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Typescript comprising the beginning of an autobiography. Wood describes his Iowa childhood years, but the account stops before he reaches maturity.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Provenance:
Donated 1958 by Doubleday.
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.
Correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, printed material, notes, and miscellany regarding Mayer's research on artist Grant Wood.
REELS 863-864: 154 letters, 1939-1943, to and from Mayer relating to her research; two scrapbooks, compiled by Mayer, ca. 1932-1954, containing ca. 300 clippings, photographs, and miscellany, and including two letters to Mayer from Wood, 1941; the 1937 limited edition of MAIN STREET, illustrated by Wood; exhibition catalogs, and announcements, photographs, clippings, and miscellany.
UNMICROFLMED: Correspondence, 1941-1943; research notes and cards; press releases, tear sheets and a clipping; radio program speeches by Mayer, 1942; a notebook cataloging Wood's work and Mayer's research notes; a bibliography compiled by Mayer about Wood; and a sample of fabric designed by Wood.
Biographical / Historical:
Mayer was an amateur art historian. She was the wife of J. Gerald Mayer of Schenectady, N.Y. On one occasion, she hosted a dinner party for Wood in her home.
Provenance:
Donated anonymously 1970.
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.
Correspondence, printed material, photographs, business records and a diary.
REEL 103: Clippings, 1929-1932, on exhibitions and activities of the Little Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, directed by Rowan (microfilm title: Little Gallery).
REEL 1208: Photographs used to publicize exhibitions at the Little Gallery, including 183 photographs of works of art, the Little Gallery Junior Art Club, Grant Wood, and William Herbert Dunton at work.
REEL D141-D142: Correspondence; a diary; business records of the Little Gallery, the Stone City Art Colony and Art School, and the Section of Fine Arts; photographs, including two of The Little Gallery, five of the Stone City Colony and Art School, six of Rowan and three of his paintings, and two photos showing Grant Wood, David McCosh, Arnold Pyle, Adrian Dornbush, and Marvin Cone; and catalogs, clippings and publications, including "A Report on Iowa Art Under Public Works of Art Jan. 20, 1934, under the direction of Grant Wood" containing reproductions of work, several clippings, a 2 p. report "three weeks after the beginning of work" and 2 p. typed "Notes" signed by Wood with a photograph attached.
Among the correspondents are Oscar Bluemner, Chaim Gross, Waldo Peirce, Henry Varnum Poor, Eleanor Roosevelt, Forbes Watson, and Grant Wood.
Biographical / Historical:
Gallery director, painter, sculptor, teacher; Falls Church, Va. and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founder and director of The Little Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1928-1934. The gallery was concerned with promoting education in the community. Because of his success with the Little Gallery, in 1931 he was chosen by the American Federation of Arts to be the director of a new experimental art center in Cedar Rapids. Rowan was affiliated with the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard before going to Cedar Rapids and served as Chief, Public Buildings Administration, 1930's-1940's.
Other Title:
Little Gallery records (microfilm title, reel 103)
Provenance:
Donated by Mrs. Edward Rowan, 1963.
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:
Gallery directors -- Iowa -- Cedar Rapids Search this
Correspondence; writings; notes; estate lists; contracts; photographs of works of art; exhibition catalogs; clippings; miscellaneous printed material.
REEL 925: Correspondence with artists, 1954-1968, concerning Benton's purchase and background of their works; and writings by Benton on Soviet art.
REEL 3134: A 13-page, incomplete, typescript, 1955, "Reginald Marsh as I Remember Him," by Benton. He writes of working with Marsh on the YALE RECORD and collecting Marsh's paintings.
REEL 4073: Correspondence, 1940-1983, with artists; typescripts on Marsh; writing by Jack Levine "How the Witches' Sabbath was Painted";
photographs and lists of works of art; a notebook "Works of Art on Loan to the William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut" from Benton's estate; a notebook "Painting Contracts" between artists, galleries, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.; notebook "Sold," containing data on the sale of Reginald Marsh's work;
printed material on Rockwell Kent, Thomas Hart Benton, Benton's collection, and others; photocopies of 2 portions of Ivan Albright's sketchbooks; a notebook "Britannica Painting Exhibitions Manual of Procedure"; a 2 p. typescript "The Story of My Portrait" by Grant Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham; 3 illustrated notebooks by Ivan Albright; and a sketchbook by Reginald Marsh containing 33 figure sketches.
Correspondents include Ivan Albright, Thomas Hart Benton, George Biddle, Isabel Bishop, Aaron Bohrod, Salvador Dali, Abner Dean, Koren Der Harootian, Jimmy Ernst, Milton Hebald, Joseph Hirsch, Ben Johnson, Rockwell Kent, Frank Kleinholz, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, Henry Varnum Poor, James N. Rosenberg, Hella Moravic Sachs, and Orest G. Vereisky.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector, politician; Chicago, Ill. Publisher of ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, Vice-President of the University of Chicago, Congressman from Connecticut, and an avid collector of American art. Benton and Reginald Marsh were classmates and collaborated respectively as editor and illustrator for the Yale newspaper. During the Depression, Benton provided Marsh with a monthly stipend for which he received a monthly painting. When he became chairman of the board of ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, Benton collected contemporary American painting to Americanize BRITANNICA's British image.
Provenance:
Material on reel 925 and 3134 donated by Benton 1968. His family donated and lent additional material 1985-1986, including originals of some letters which were originally donated as photocopies.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- United States Search this
Eleven letters from Thomas Hart Benton, Adolph Dehn, Reginald Marsh, and Grant Wood; two illustrated letters from John Steuart Curry; brief writings by Reginald Marsh about himself, Benton and Wood; and a fourteen-page, handwritten response by Benton in answer to a questionnaire sent by Engle.
Biographical / Historical:
Editor; Madison, Wisconsin and Stockton, California. As a staff writer and editor of a small, World War II era periodical, Ms. Engle contacted several prominent contemporary artists as subjects for articles.
Provenance:
Donated 1981 by Margaret D. Engle.
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.
The papers of King Vidor measure 2.1 linear feet and include correspondence, printed material, and a variety of materials related to the documentary Metaphor: King Vidor Meets Andrew Wyeth (1980) written and directed by Vidor, including production notes, photographs, and motion picture film.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of King Vidor measure 2.1 linear feet and include correspondence, printed material, and a variety of materials related to the documentary Metaphor: King Vidor Meets Andrew Wyeth (1980) written and directed by Vidor, including production notes, photographs, and motion picture film.
Correspondence is mainly between Vidor and multiple galleries and artists whose artworks Vidor collected, and includes single letters from artists Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and Andrew Wyeth. Lengthy correspondence with Associated American Artists is found among other correspondence with galleries. Loan requests from museums borrowing from Vidor's painting collection, and image requests for reproduction rights for paintings owned by Vidor from various publishers are also found, as well as a few sheets of notes related to valuation of paintings.
Printed material includes exhibition catalogs for Millard Sheets and Diego Rivera, clippings on a variety of subjects, including a long article about his film project Metaphor published in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and periodicals with articles about the artist Grant Wood.
Scattered slides are mostly of unidentified artwork.
Material related to Metaphor, Vidor's film project with Andrew Wyeth include photographs of Wyeth and Vidor in Pennsylvania, stills from Vidor's 1925 film The Big Parade, and a still from Metaphor. Production notes include detailed footage and edit notes as well as typescripts of draft narration. Some production notes are arranged as a group, and others are arranged with documentation of the original film containers in which they were found. Motion picture film found in the collection includes a print of the final version of the film, edit master film material (A and B rolls), outtakes, and trims.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 4 series. Digital photographs of original film containers are filed in Series 4.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1941-1982 (Box 1, 1 folder)
Series 2: Printed Material, 1936-1980 (Box 1, 3 folders)
Series 3: Slides, 1964 (1 folder; Box 1)
Series 4: -- Metaphor: King Vidor Meets Andrew Wyeth -- (1980), 1976-1980 (1.9 linear feet; Box 1, FC 1-17)
Biographical / Historical:
King Vidor was an American film director whose prolific career began in 1913, during the silent era, and continued through 1959 when he stopped directing large scale film projects. In addition to his prolific film career, Vidor was an avid collector of American Art who owned works by Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood, among others.
Vidor's final film, Metaphor: King Vidor Meets Andrew Wyeth (1980), is a documentary in which he and Wyeth discuss the impact of Vidor's most celebrated film of the silent era, The Big Parade, on Wyeth's painting. The project began when Wyeth wrote a lengthy letter to Vidor crediting his film, which Wyeth claimed to have watched over a hundred times, with having had a direct impact on the compositions of his paintings, which he only noticed after the fact when his wife, Betsy, pointed it out to him.
When Wyeth contacted Vidor for permission to use clips from The Big Parade in a documentary project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to accompany a 1976 exhibition of these works, Two Worlds of Andrew Wyeth: Kuerners and Olsons, instead of lending his film to that effort, Vidor went to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania to film Wyeth himself. Together, the two set out to make a documentary telling the story of the aesthetic relationship between their work, with Vidor directing. The film was completed in 1980 but was never commercially released.
Vidor died in 1982.
Related Materials:
There is an oral history interview with King Vidor held by Columbia University.
Provenance:
Donated 1985 by the King Vidor Trust.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. 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.
