An interview of Edith Halpert conducted 1962-1963, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.
Halpert speaks of her childhood in Russia and growing up in New York City; working at Bloomindale's, Macy's, Stern Brothers, and Cohen Goldman; her marriage to artist Sam Halpert, his health, and living in Paris in 1925; becoming an art student at the Academy of Design and feeling that Leon Kroll was an excellent art teacher until he began to correct her drawings; when George Bridgman thought she was ruining his class; the Lincoln Square Arcade, when she and Ernest Fiener and Robert Brackman would rent Conan's studio evenings and bring in instructors; how Newman Montross influenced her more than anybody about showing her art that she loved; burning all of her work because Kroll said she had no talent; receiving a painting from John Marin; her friendship and working relationship with Abby Rockefeller and other family members.
She recalls opening the Downtown Gallery, in Greenwich Village, in 1926; a brief history of modern art; many artists helping decorate the new Daylight Gallery in 1930 and the first show being called "Practical Manifestations of Art"; meeting Robert and Sonia Delaunay in France; when she refused to allow Ezra Pound to speak at one of the gallery lectures because of his anti-Semite remarks and William Carlos Williams and Ford Madox Ford argued with her over it; experiencing jealousy and professional attacks from other dealers; the successful "Pop" Hart show and book in 1929; the "Thirty-three Moderns" show in 1930 at the Grand Central Galleries; the Jules Pascin show in 1930; in America, most of the art buyers supporters of culture were women, until the WPA and World War II, when it became fashionable for men to be involved; Ambroise Vollard's advice on selling art; handling the frustrations of working in the art field; friendships with Stuart Davis,Charles Sheeler, and Ben Shahn; how artists work through dry periods in their creativity and the "Recurrent Image" show; a discussion on modern art galleries of New York City, such as Daniel, Knoedler, Ferargil, the New Gallery, 291, the Grand Central, Kraushaar, and Montross; her travels through Pennsylvania and Maine for good examples of folk art for the gallery; the "The Artist Looks at Music" show; the non-competitive spirit of the early modern American artists; of being saved financially in 1940 by selling a William Harnett painting to the Boston Museum and then renting new space for the gallery.
Also, Mitchell Siporin bringing Halpert and Edmund Gurry to Mitchell Field during World War II for a camouflage show and consequently Downtown Gallery artists and others were enlisted in the camouflage corps for the U.S. Air Force; Charles Sheeler and his wife find Halpert a house in Newtown, Conn.; her decision in 1933 to push folk art for acquisition by the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri; her great concern about what to do with her folk art literature collection; dismay and that no one writes about the history of folk art and those responsible for its creation and popularity; Louis Stern hiring her to organize a municipal exhibit in Atlantic City, N.J., with Donald Deskey designing the furniture and Holger Cahill managing the publicity; Joe Lillie helping her meet Fiorello La Guardia and Joe McGoldrick in 1934 about a municipal show in New York City, but it is moved to Radio City Music Hall through Nelson Rockefeller; the "Salons of America" show; wanting articles written about art for love rather than art for investment; working with Aline Saarinen on her book, "Proud Possessors;" letters from Stuart Davis, William Zorach and others that hurt her feelings; enjoying giving educational lectures and considering retirement because of ill health; the desire to write a book on the history of trade signs in folk art; feeling that the young artists are being ruined by too much support without working for it; planning to write a book entitled, "Unsung Heroes," about artists brave enough to experiment; organizing a show in Russia at her own expense; later representing the U.S. in art at the "American National Exposition"; the agitators and success of the exposition; Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Halpert also recalls Juliana Force, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Buckminster Fuller, George Luks, Edsel Ford, Max Weber, Danny Diefenbacker, Hamilton Easter Field, Frank Stella, Glenn Coleman, Margaret Zorach, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Henry Mercer, Romany Marie, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Mellon, Charles Pollet, Alex Brook, Lunca Curass, Dorothy Lambert, Duncan Candler, Frank Rhen, Louis Rittman, Bea Goldsmith, Arthur Craven, Robert Frost, Philip Wittenberg, Caesar de Hoke, Richard deWolfe Brixey, Seymour Knox, Walt Kuhn, Elisabeth Luther Cary, Charles Locke, Duncan Fergusson, Mrs. Solomon Guggenheim, Bob Tannahill, David Thompson, Marsden Hartley, Erwin Barrie, Robert Laurent, Conger Goodyear, Henry McBride, Edward Hopper, Charles Daniel, William Merritt Chase, Charles Hopkinson, Thomas Hart Benton, Frank Crowninshield, Alfred Barr, Lord Duveen, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin Jr., Karl Zerbe, Franz Kline, Arthur Dove, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, Valentine Dudensing, Peggy Bacon, Stefan Hirsch, Gertrude Stein, Isamu Noguchi, Jasper Johns, Chaim Soutine, B. K. Saklatwalla; Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Ben Shahn, Charles Demuth, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Edward Steichen, Carl Sandburg, Clement Greenberg, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Edith Halpert (1900-1970) was an art dealer from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 27 digital wav files. Duration is 32 hrs., 27 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art 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. The transcript was microfilmed in 1996.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Walker, Hudson D. (Hudson Dean), 1907-1976 -- Photographs Search this
Walkowitz, Abraham, 1880-1965 -- Photographs Search this
Zorach, William, 1887-1966 -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
68 Items ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1953-1980
Scope and Contents:
REEL 1817: Photographs of: Will Barnet, Jose de Creeft (2), Sonia Delaunay, Walker Evans, Joseph Floch, Suzi Gablik (2), Adolph Gottlieb (also filmed on reel 1886, fr. 33-34), Lorrie Goulet, Minna Harkavy, William Hayter (2), Paul Jenkins, Lee Krasner (2), Lilliane Lijn, Jerry Sheerin (2), and Darthea Speyer (2). Also included is a group photo of Jose de Creeft, Jacques Lipchitz, George Biddle, Thomas Benton, and Ben Shahn at the American Academy of Arts & Letters Ceremonial, May 20, 1964.
REEL 1886: Photographs of: Barbara Adrian, Alexander Archipenko, Milton Avery, Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Louis Bosa, Henry C. Botkin, Byron Browne, John Carroll, George Constant, Julio de Diego, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Floch, Lloyd Goodrich, Adolph Gottlieb, Lorrie Goulet, George Grosz, David Hare, Minna Harkavy, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Josephine Hopper, Morris Kantor, Leon Kroll, Jacob Lawrence, Julian Levi, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, A. Hyatt Mayor, Sigmund Menkes, Robert Motherwell, Edwin Root, James Rorimer (a cropped version erroneously microfilmed as Sidney Waintrob appears on reel 1817, fr. 1193), Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Eugene Speicher, Saul Steinberg, James Johnson Sweeney, Hudson Walker, Abraham Walker, and William Zorach.
UNMICROFILMED Two photographs: Ellen K. Levy and McNeil Lowry.
Arrangement:
REEL 1817: Microfilmed with AAA's Photographs of Artists Collection II, and appear on microfilm in alphabetical order under artist with other unrelated photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographic studio; New York, N.Y. Sidney J. and his brother A. L. (Bud) Waintrob specialized in photographing artists, curators and other art world personalities. They worked under the name Budd [Studio] before using Waintrob-Budd.
Provenance:
Photographs on reel 1817 and unmicrofilmed photos donated 1974-1987 by Sidney J. Waintrob; photographs on reel 1886 donated 1979-1980 by Samuel I. Hoffberg, whose relationship to Waintrob-Budd is unclear.
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.
Rights:
Authorization to publish quote, or reproduce requires written permission from David Stekert. 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.
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Photographs Search this
Correspondence, photographs, clippings, magazines and statements by 20th century artists on their works bought for the Roland P. Murdock Collection of the Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas, by Navas.
Artists represented include: Peggy Bacon, Louis Bouche, William Brice, Charles E. Burchfield, Paul Burlin, Kenneth Callahan, John S. Copley, Russell Cowles, John S. Curry, Stuart Davis, Jose de Creeft, Adolf Dehn, Walt Dehner, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Guy Pène du Bois, Thomas Eakins, William Glackens, Raphael Gleitsmann, George Grosz, John E. Heliker, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Alexander R. James, Jonah Kinigstein, Frederick D. Kirsch, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Gaston Lachaise, James Lechay, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Henry E. Mattson, Carl Morris, George L. K. Morris, Roy Moyer, Charles Oscar, James Penney, Anne Poor, Henry V. Poor, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Henry E. Schnakenberg, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, John Sloan, Houghton C. Smith, Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones, Franklin C. Watkins, Max Weber, Clara M. Williamson, Karl Zerbe, and William Zorach.
Biographical / Historical:
Elizabeth S. Navas (1885-1979) was an art collector and patron in New York City. Navas was designated to assemble the Roland P. Murdock Collection of the Wichita Art Museum under the terms of the will of her friend, Louise Caldwell Murdock (1858-1915), widow of Roland P. Murdock.
Provenance:
Donated 1963 by Elizabeth S. Navas.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Interviews of 72 artists, and transcripts for all but five, conducted by Arlene Jacobowitz, the Associate Curator for the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum, between 1965 and 1968. The artists discuss their work in the museum collection. Also included are 38 edited excerpts of the interviews, approximately 2-3 min. in length, used as "audio-labels" in the 1968 "Listening to Pictures" installation at the museum.
Scope and Content Note:
Interviews of 72 artists, and transcripts for all but five, conducted by Arlene Jacobowitz, the Associate Curator for the Department of Painting and Sculpture, between 1965 and 1968. The artists discuss their work in the museum collection. Also included are 38 edited excerpts of the interviews, approximately 2-3 min. in length, used as "audio-labels" in the 1968 "Listening to Pictures" installation.
The artists interviewed are: Lennart Anderson, Stephen B. Antonakos, Marshall Arisman, Walter Barker, Leonard Baskin, Mary Bauermeister, Thomas Hart Benton, Isabel Bishop, Robert Brackman, Sydney Butchkes, Edmund Casarella, George Constant, Robert Warren Dash, Jose DeCreeft, Blanche Dombek, Tom Doyle, Jimmy Ernst, Neil Estern, Philip Evergood, Helen Frankenthaler, Jane Freilicher, Leon Goldin, Sidney Goodman, Sante Graziani, Balcomb Greene, John Grillo, William Gropper, Chaim Gross, Roy Gussow, Robert Gwathmey, Grace Hartigan, Edward Hopper, Nora Jaffe, Paul Jenkins, Minoru Kawabata, William Kienbusch, Karl Knaths, John Koch, Yayoi Kosama, Jennett Lam, Steven Lang, Robert Laurent, Jacob Lawrence, Jack Levine, Jacques Lipchitz, Seymour Lipton, Boris Margo, Ursula Meyer, Hans Moller, Walter Murch, Louise Nevelson, Toshio Odate, Elliot Offner, Douglas Ohlson, Kenzo Okada, Amanda Palmer, Irene Rice Pereira, Gabor Peterdi, Ad Reinhardt, Bill Richards, Larry Rivers, Emilio Sanchez, Karl Schrag, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Aaron Sopher, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, William Thon, Albert Weinberg, and William and Marguerite Zorach.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as a single series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Interviews, 1965-1968 (Box 1-7; 7 lin. ft.)
Historical Note:
The interview program at the Brooklyn Museum was begun by Arlene Jacobowitz in the spring of 1965 with artists whose works were on exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1968, excerpts from the interviews were incorporated into an exhibition entitled "Listening to Pictures," in which visitors could access the sound recordings using headphones while standing before the painting being discussed. The exhibition opened April 28, 1968, and was gradually disassembled, 1971-1973.
Related Material:
The Brooklyn Museum Archives houses the records of the Departments of European Painting and Sculpture, American Painting and Sculpture, Contemporary Art (1897-2005), which contain records relating to the work of Arlene Jacobowitz.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Dierdre Lawrence of the Brooklyn Museum in 1989.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Researchers may view the original reels for the archival notations on them, but original reels are not available for playback due to fragility.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from the interviewee. Citations must read:"Interview between [artist's name] and [interviewer's name] from the "Listening to Pictures" program of the Brooklyn Museum. Archives of American Art. Gift of the Brooklyn Museum." 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.
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Interviews Search this
Interview between [artist's name] and [interviewer's name] from the "Listening to Pictures" program of the Brooklyn Museum. Gift of the Brooklyn Museum. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of George Biddle conducted in 1963, by Harlan Phillips, for the Archives of American Art.
Biddle speaks of his background in Philadelphia; his Harvard education in preparation for a law career; literary acquaintances; travel; the beginning of his art career; his preoccupation with portraiture; his tragic and pleasant works; the importance of mood; his drawing techniques; drawing from nature; color experimentation; Stieglitz's circle; the susceptibility of artists to change during the 1930s; his involvement with the Public Works of Art Project; government censorship of his murals; his involvement with artists overseas during World War II; and his aesthetic philosophy. He recalls Max Weber, Maurice Sterne, George Grosz, William Zorach, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Peggy Bacon, Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth, Edith Halpert, Boardman Robinson, Reginald Marsh, Thomas Hart Benton, Henry Billings, Ned Bruce, Holger Cahill, Philip Evergood, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo.
Biographical / Historical:
George Biddle (1885-1973) was a painter and sculptor, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 13 hr., 56 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview of Reuben Nakian conducted 1981 June 9-17, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.
Nakian speaks of his childhood, growing up in New York City; his early interest in art; early ventures in sculpture; working for Paul Manship; meeting Daniel Chester French; teaching; early influences; his European travels; techniques and materials; the relationship of artists and suffering; his portrait busts of other artists; dealers he has been affiliated with, including Edith Halpert and Valentine Dudensing; animal sculptures; his Babe Ruth sculpture; critical and public reaction to his work. He recalls Constantin Brancusi, Marcel Duchamp, Raoul Hague, William Zorach, Gaston Lachaise, and J. B. Neumann. The third voice heard on the tape is that of Nakian's assistant, Don Ross, who helps prompt Nakian to recall certain incidents.
Biographical / Historical:
Reuben Nakian (1897-1986) was a sculptor from Stamford, Conn.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 15 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 available on the Archives of American Art website.
REELS N591-N597: Photographs of the Museum, Juliana Force, Herman Moore; scrapbooks on the Whitney Studio Club, Whitney Studio Galleries and the Museum, 1927-1965.
REELS N599-N604: Notebooks of Edwin W. Dickinson; photographs and provenance information for works by Philip Evergood; a catalog of information and some photographs of Chinese ink drawings and other works by Reginald Marsh; and photographs and information on Bernard Reder, Jack Tworkov, Max Weber (portions also microfilmed on reel NY59-8 (fr. 497-658), reel NY59-9 (fr. 1-51), and William Zorach.
REELS N604-N609: Exhibition catalogs, 1946-1966, for artists and groups shows at the Museum, including Robert Feke, William Rimmer, Ralph Blakelock, Albert Maurer, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Thomas Cole, Max Weber, Arshile Gorky, Mark Tobey, John Sloan, Loren MacIver, I. Rice Pereira, George Grosz, Reginald Marsh, Charles Burchfield, Morris Graves, Theodore Roszak, John Marin, Hans Hofmann, Bradley Tomlin, Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Lee Gatch, Jose De Creeft, Maurice Prendergast, Edward Hopper, Hyman Bloom, Robert E. Jones, Balcomb Greene, Karl Zerbe, Arthur G. Dove, William Zorach, Philip Evergood, Bernard Reder, Herbert Feber, Oliver O'Connor Barrett,Arthur B. Davies, Jose De Rivera, Paul Burlin, Joseph Stella, Jack Tworkov, Ivan Albright, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, John Quidor, and Niles Spencer.
REELS N646-N694: Artists' files on: Oliver O'Connor Barrett,William Baziotes, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Peter Blume, James Brooks, Patrick Henry Bruce, Charles Burchfield, Paul Burlin, David Burliuk, Paul Cadmus, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Cole, Glenn Coleman, Jon Corbino, John Steuart Curry, Jo Davidson, Arthur B. Davies, Jose DeCreeft, Charles Demuth, Jose De Rivera, Arthur Dove, Guy Pène du Bois, Stuart Davis, Frank Duveneck, Ralph Earl, Eastman Johnson, The Eight, Philip Evergood, Robert Feke, Lyonel Feininger, Ernest Fiene, George Fuller, Lee Gatch, William Glackens, Arshile Gorky, Balcomb Greene, Chaim Gross, George Grosz, William Harnett, Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, John Heliker, Robert Henri, Hans Hofmann, George Inness, Leon Kelly, Franz Kline, Karl Knaths, Leon Kroll, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Gaston Lachaise, Robert Laurent, Ernest Lawson, Jack Levine, Seymour Lipton, George B. Luks,
Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Loren MacIver, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Alfred Maurer, K. H. Miller, Robert Motherwell, William Mount, Jerome Myers, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O'Keeffe (portions also microfilmed on reels NY59-13 (fr. 98-115, 406-424, 586-685), reel NY59-14 (entire), and reel NY59-15 (fr. 1-140, 145-153), I. Rice Pereira, Bernard Perlin, Joseph Pollett, Jackson Pollock, Reginald Pollack, Henry V. Poor, Richard Pousette-Dart, Maurice Prendergast, Abraham Rattner, Bernard Reder, Ad Reinhardt, William Rimmer, Larry Rivers, Hugo Robus, Theodore Roszak, Mark Rothko, Concetta Scarvaglione, Henry Schnakenberg, Ben Shahn, John Sloan, David Smith, Eugene Speicher, Theodoros Stamos, Joseph Stella, Maurice Sterne, Mark Tobey, Bradley Tomlin,Trajan, Allen Tucker, John Twachtman, Jack Tworkov, Abraham Walkowitz (also on reel NY/59-15) , Max Weber, James M. Whistler, Gertrude Whitney, Grant Wood, Alexander Wyant, Mahonri Young, and William Zorach.
REELS NWH 1-NWH 7: Artist files on Charles Sheeler, Bernard Karfiol, Louis Eilshemius; scatterred records of the Whitney Studio Club and Museum, 1914-1945, including minutes, Oct. 15, 1930, and Whitney Studio ledgers, 1928-1931; catalogs of one-man shows, 1932-1945; catalogs of annual painting exhibitions, 1932-1940, sculpture, watercolor and drawing exhibitions, 1933-1945, and group exhibitions, 1932-1945; and clippings, Oct. 1935-1936.
REELS NY59/8 (fr. 256-end)-NY59/10: Files on Max Weber, including biographical material, lists of work, and miscellany. Also found (NY59/8 frames 354-383) are ca.20 letters from Weber to Abraham Walkowitz, 1907-1924.
Biographical / Historical:
Whitney Museum of American Art is an American art museum in New York, New York. Founded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and formally opened in 1931. Previous to its opening as a museum it was known as the Whitney Studio Club (1914-28) and Whitney Studio Galleries (1928-30).
Provenance:
The Weber files on reels NY59/8-10 were lent for microfilming 1959 by the Whitney Museum of American Art; the remainder was lent 1964-1967; additional material from the Museum was lent at the same time, and subsequently donated, including the papers of Lloyd Goodrich, Juliana Force, Thomas B. Clarke, the American Art Research Council, and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; these have each been cataloged separately. Portions of Weber, and O'Keeffe material that was microfilmed in 1959 were refilmed in 1967.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Artists -- Exhibitions -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of realist painter Isabel Bishop date from 1914 to 1983 and measure 2.6 linear feet. The collection documents Bishop's painting career, her friendship with other artists, and her participation in several arts organizations. There are scattered biographical documents, correspondence with fellow artists such as Peggy Bacon, Warren Chappell, Edward Laning, and R. B. Kitaj, and with writers, curators, museums, galleries, arts organizations, and others. Also found are arts organization files, Bishop's writings about Warren Chappell and friend Reginald Marsh, notes, exhibition catalogs, news clippings, and other printed material, photographs of Bishop and her artwork, and photographs of Reginald and Felicia Marsh. Original artwork includes 8 sketchbooks, loose sketches, prints, and watercolor figure studies.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of realist painter Isabel Bishop date from 1914 to 1983 and measure 2.6 linear feet. The collection documents Bishop's painting career, her friendship with other artists, and her participation in several arts organizations. Scattered biographical documents include awards and a file on her participation in art juries.
Bishop was friends with many artists and cultural figures and her correspondence includes letters to and from artists such as John Taylor Arms, Peggy Bacon, Peter Blume, Warren Chappell (many letters from Chappell are illustrated), Sidney Delevante, Edwin Dickinson, Philip Evergood, John Folinsbee, Malvina Hoffman, Jo Hopper, James Kearns, Leon Kroll, Clare Leighton, Jack Levine, Alice Neel, Hobson Pittman, Fairfield Porter, Abraham Rattner, Katherine Schmidt, Henry Schnakenberg, Raphael Soyer, George Tooker, Stuyvesant Van Veen, Franklin Watkins, Mahonri Young, and William Zorach. Bishop not only corresponded with artists but also many poets, authors, historians, and dancers, such as Van Wyck Brooks, John Canaday, John Ciardi, Merce Cunningham, Babette Deutsch, Edna Ferber, Richmond Lattimore, Marianne Moore, Lewis Mumford, Kurt Vonnegut, and Glenway Westcott. Also found are letters from many galleries, museums, and schools which exhibited or purchased her work, including curators Juliana Force and Una Johnson.
Bishop kept files from her affiliations with the American Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers and the New Society of Artists, containing mostly membership and financial records, and a file on a UNESCO conference. Unfortunately, files documenting her membership and vice presidency of the National Institute of Arts & Letters are not found here.
A small amount of Bishop's writings and notes include essays about friends and artists Reginald Marsh and Warren Chappell. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, magazines, and a design by G. Alan Chidsey for a book about Bishop. Photographs depict Bishop with her husband and in her studio, her artwork, and also include three photographs of her friend, Reginald Marsh.
Original artwork includes eight small sketchbooks, loose pen and ink sketches, intaglio prints, watercolor figure studies, and a drawing of Bishop by Aaron Bohrod.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1943-1975 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1939-1983 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Organization Files, 1924-1937, 1951-1952 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings & Notes, 1937-1960s (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1930-1979 (Box 2; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1914, circa 1920s-1975 (Box 2, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1940s-1970s (Box 2-4, OV 5; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Isabel Bishop (1902-1988) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to John Remsen Bishop and Anna Bartram Newbold Bishop. Shortly after her birth the family moved to Detroit, Michigan. As a child Bishop took art classes and had a growing interest in drawing. In 1918 at the age of 16 she left home and moved to New York City where she enrolled in the School of Applied Design for Women to be an illustrator. However, her real interest was in painting, not the graphic arts, and she enrolled in the Art Students League in 1920. There she studied with Kenneth Hayes Miller and Guy Pene du Bois and met many young artists, including Reginald Marsh and Edwin Dickinson, both of whom became close friends. She took classes until 1924 and rented a studio and living space on 14th Street in a neighborhood where many artists maintained studios at the time.
Bishop began exhibiting her work and participated in artist groups, including the Whitney Studio Club and the New Society of Artists. During the 1920s and 1930s she developed a realist style of painting, primarily depicting women in their daily routine on the streets of Manhattan. Her work was greatly influenced by Peter Paul Rubens and other Dutch and Flemish painters that she had discovered during trips to Europe. In 1932 Bishop began showing her work frequently at the newly opened Midtown Galleries, where her work would be represented throughout her career.
In 1934 she married Harold Wolff, a neurologist, and moved with him to Riverdale, New York. Bishop kept her studio in Manhattan, moving from 14th Street to Union Square. She remained in her Union Square studio for fifty years (1934-1984). From 1936 to 1937 she taught at the Art Students League and in 1940 her son Remsen was born. In 1941 she was named a member of the National Academy of Design and from 1944 to 1946 she was the Vice President of the National Institute of Arts & Letters, the first woman to hold an executive position with that organization. She wrote articles and joined other artists in speaking out in support of realist painting and against the abstract style that was dominating the New York art scene.
During her long career which lasted into the 1980s, Bishop exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions, traveled throughout the U. S. as an exhibition juror, and won many awards for her work, including the award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts presented by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are three oral history interviews with Isabel Bishop, April 15, 1959, May 29, 1959, and November 12-December 11, 1987.
The Whitney Museum of American Art and Midtown Galleries loaned additional Bishop papers to the Archives for microfilming on reels NY59-4 and NY59-5. These items were returned to the lenders after microfilming and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in several installments by Isabel Bishop from 1959 to 1983.
Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Book illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York 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.
Biographical data; correspondence, undated, 1915 and 1932-1982, with Romare Bearden, Martha Bloom, Peter Blume, Louis Bosa, Homer Boss, Frank Vincent DuMond, George Grosz, Joseph Hirsch, Reginald Marsh, Kenneth Hayes Miller, William Zorach and others; notes, drafts and typescripts of articles and speeches by Klonis and others; Art Students League files, ca. 1897-1982, containing a history of the League, correspondence and printed material about the election of the Board of Control, the annual scholarship balls and the testimonial dinner for Klonis, minutes of Board of Control meetings, reports, financial data and building modernization plans; subject files of letters and printed material about the Artists Equity Association, Century Club, New York City Art Center, and others;
exhibition files on Stewart and Bernard Klonis, undated and 1933-1959, containing exhibition invitations and catalogs, lists of works, letters and photographs; art appraisals by Klonis; agreements between Klonis and the Art Students League of New York, 1945-1960; income tax returns; a Vere Foster's Drawing Copy-Book of pencil sketches; drawings, collages, prints and cut-outs by Martha Bloom, Robert B. Hale, Beatrix Sherman and others; a scrapbook, 1932-1933, of clippings, exhibition catalogs and photographs; exhibition catalogs and announcements, ca. 1925-1977; printed material on the Art Students League, ca. 1886-1980; clippings, 1933-1980; photographs of Klonis, his friends and colleagues, Art Students League Costume balls, and works of art by Homer Boss, Jose de Creeft, Frank Vincent DuMond, Xavier Gonzales, William Zorach and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Art administrator, painter; New York, N.Y. Former director of Art Students League.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Stewart Klonis.
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.
Letters to Alice Klauber from Walter Pach and Robert Henri about art activities; letters to Klauber and Edgar L. Hewett regarding the Panama-California Exposition of 1915-1916 in San Diego; and a few letters from William Zorach, Pierre Matisse and Wayman Adams regarding exhibits at the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego. All letters are copies.
The 19 letters from Pach, 1907-1929, regard arrangements for Klauber to attend the Chase School in Italy (Pach was a manager/instructor), and his travels and work in Italy, Belgium, and Paris. Henri, writing 1912-1918, in 34 letters, discusses Maratta's color system, trips to Ireland, California, and Santa Fe, his health and work. The series concerning the Panama- California Exposition of 1915-1916 comprise mainly letters and telegrams to the art department chair Edgar L. Hewett from artists George Bellows, Arthur B. Davies, William Glackens, Bertram Hartman, Childe Hassam, Henri, Marjorie Organ (Mrs. Robert Henri), George Luks, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, Joseph Henry Sharp, and John Sloan regarding their work, and a few to Klauber on her work for the exposition.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, curator, San Diego, Calif. Klauber was a member of the Women's Board of the Panama-Pacific Exposition, 1915-1916, in San Diego, working on art exhibitions, actively assisted by Robert Henri and Edgar L. Hewett. Later, she was a curator at the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego (renamed San Diego Museum of Art in 1978).
Provenance:
The donor, Henry G. Gardiner, was affiliated with the San Diego Fine Arts Gallery. He received the Pach letters from Mrs. Paul Wormser of La Jolla, California. Included with his donation were photocopies of letters to Alfred Mitchell from Mrs. Thomas Eakins which were microfilmed and described separately. Originals are owned by the San Diego Museum of Art.
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:
Museum curators -- California -- San Diego Search this
3.7 Linear feet ((on 8 microfilmed reels + 1 photograph not microfilmed))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1869-1973
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; manuscripts and writings; lists of works of art; photographs; biographical material; gallery and foundry files; notes and speeches; financial material; scrapbook; guest book; magazines; exhibition catalogs; clippings; and printed material.
REEL N68-2: Letters from George Bellows, Bernard Berenson, Elliott Daingerfield, Arthur B. Davies, Roger Fry, John Marin, Joseph Pennell, Man Ray, John Sloan, Max Weber, J. Alden Weir, and others. Two highly detailed letters from Maurice Sterne in 1913 describe that artist's life in Bali. Also included are signatures of American artists from a guest book, and a 1966 catalog of the Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection.
REEL N68-3 Letters from Childe Hassam, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Gaston Lachaise, Elie Nadelman, David Smith, Alfred Stieglitz, William Zorach, Oscar Bluemner, Albert C. Barnes, Andrew Dasburg, Ernest Fiene, Pop Hart, Robert Henri, Joseph Stella, Maurice Sterne, and others. Also included are manuscripts, lists of works of art, and photographs of Laurent with Hamiltion Easter Field, Bernard Kariol and others.
REEL 2: Personal data sheet, exhibition catalogs and magazines containing articles by or about Laurent, ca. 1920-1965.
REEL 497: John Laurent's collection of 34 letters, 1902-1960, to Robert Laurent and Hamiltion Easter Field. The 6 letters to Field are from Bernhard Berenson, George Bellows, Maurice Prendergast, Pop Hart, Gustov Courtois, and John Carpenter. The 28 letters to Robert Laurent are from Albert P. Ryder, Gaston Lachaise, Raphael Soyer, Walt Kuhn, Robert Henri, Alfred Stieglitz, Arthur B. Davies, Milton Avery, Alexander Calder, Henry McBride, William McFee, Jules Pascin, Jean Careas, and two unidentified artists.
REEL 2063: Photographs, ca. 1930-1962, of Laurent, his studio, exhibitions, and works of art.
REELS 2065-2067: Biographical material; correspondence from Maurice Sterne, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Edith Halpert, Henry Hope, Henry Strater, Lloyd Goodrich, David Smith, Walt Kuhn, William Zorach, Ernest Fiene, and Samuel Wood Gaylor; gallery and foundry files; notes, writings, and speeches; financial material; lists of works of art; blueprints; exhibition and printed material, clippings, and a scrapbook; photos of source material and works of art owned by Laurent; and material concerning Hamilton Easter Field, Laurent's teacher and friend, including correspondence, guest book signatures, financial and legal papers and Field Foundation material.
REEL 2155: Photographs of Laurent's works of art with catalog sheets listing the title, date, medium, size, ownership, and exhibition information for each work, ca. 1920-1967. Also included are photographs of Laurent in his studio and with others, including Gaston Lachaise and David Smith; a photo of Chaim Gross; and photos of the Ogunquit Museum in Maine.
UNMICROFILMED: A black and white photograph of the Field Foundation Dinner Auction-Dinner-Dance, Ogunquit, Maine. Depicted are Lloyd Goodrich, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, William Zorach, Robert Laurent, Emil Ganso and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, sculptor, teacher, etcher, and writer; Brooklyn, New York & Ogunquit, Maine. Laurent studied under Hamilton Easter Field, and both were from Brooklyn, N.Y. and were involved in the summer art colony in Oguniquit, Maine.
Provenance:
Material on reels N68-2-N68-3 was lent for microfilming 1968 by Robert Laurent; he donated material on reel 2 1966; material on reel 497 was lent for microfilming 1973 by John Laurent, son of Robert Laurent; material on reels 2063, 2065-2067 was donated 1978 by John Laurent; He donated additional material on reel 2155 and not filmed with his brother Paul in 1981.
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 Marie Sterner and the Marie Sterner Gallery measure 0.5 linear feet and date from circa 1910 to 1951. The collection contains exhibition catalogs and announcements, and two scrapbooks of clippings relating to Sterner's activities and work at her art gallery.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Marie Sterner and the Marie Sterner Gallery measure 0.5 linear feet and date from circa 1910 to 1951. The collection contains exhibition catalogs and announcements, and two scrapbooks of clippings relating to Sterner's activities and work at her art gallery.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Marie Sterner (1880-1953) was an art dealer in New York, New York. She was employed by Knoedler and Co. in 1912 before opening the Marie Sterner Gallery in the early 1920s. Sterner was instrumental in advancing the cause of American artists in the early 20th century. Her gallery worked with George Bellows, Marcel Duchamp, Guy Pène du Bois, Everett Shinn, Abbott Thayer, Hedda Sterne, John Sloan, William Zorach, and others. The gallery was eventually bought by Leonard Clayton who later formed the Clayton-Liberatore Gallery.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Albert Sterner letters, 1894-1916 and the papers of Marie Sterner's son Harold Sterner, 1929-1978.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm material lent for microfilming on reel 1265. Reel 1265 contains letters to Sterner from artists and associates, including George Bellows, George Biddle, Charles Burchfield, Stirling Calder, Arthur B. Davies, Elie Nadelman, William Glackens, Marcel Duchamp, Guy Pène du Bois, Everett Shinn, Abbott Thayer, Hedda Sterne, John Sloan, William Zorach, and others. The letters were returned to Steven Straw Co., Inc. of Boston and were subsequently sold to Christopher Huntington who donated the material to the Portland Museum of Art. The material is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The scrapbooks were donated in 1967 by Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sterner. The exhibition announcements and catalogs were donated by Stanley Pasternak in 1982.
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.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The John Weichsel papers concerning the People's Art Guild measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1905-1965 with the bulk of the material dating from 1905-1929. The papers consist almost entirely of the records of the People's Art Guild, founded by Weichsel, and include administrative records, correspondence, writings and notes, business and financial records, printed material, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The John Weichsel papers concerning the People's Art Guild measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1905-1965 with the bulk of the material dating from 1905-1929. The papers consist almost entirely of the records of the People's Art Guild, founded by Weichsel, and include administrative records, correspondence, writings and notes, business and financial records, printed material, and artwork.
People's Art Guild records include the constitution, membership lists, and correspondence with Gifford Beal, George Bellows, Oscar Bluemner, Stuart Davis, Robert Delaunay, Leon Kroll, Standon Macdonald-Wright, Jules Pascin, John Sloan, Willard Wright and Marguerite and William Zorach, among others. Writings about the Peoples Art Guild are by Weichsel and his grandson John Weichsel. There are also lists of artists and works of art. Also found are very scattered business and financial records, printed materials, and artwork in the form of sketches for exhibition announcements.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1915-1917 (2 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1905-1922 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1915-circa 1919, 1965 (4 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Business and Financial Records, 1915-1917 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1915-circa 1948 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 6: Artwork, 1915-1916 (1 folder; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
John Weichsel (1870-1946) was an arts administrator and founded the artists' cooperative People's Art Guild of New York City in 1915.
John Weichsel was born in Poland and ultimately settled in New York City. The People's Art Guild was founded by Weichsel as an artist's cooperative focused on improving and expanding knowledge of art and the art world among the general public, believing this would increase art appreciation and patronage.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1960 and 1963 by Dr. H. S. Weichsel and John Weichsel, the son and grandson of Dr. John Weichsel. At an unknown later date, grandson John Weichsel donated his 1965 thesis on the Peoples Art Guild.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Function:
Arts organizations -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Sketches
Citation:
John Weichsel papers concerning the People's Art Guild, 1905-1965, bulk 1905-1929. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
An interview of Peter Agostini conducted in 1968, by Colette Roberts, for the Archives of American Art at 151 Avenue B, New York, New York.
Mr. Agostini speaks of his childhood spent living throughout the five boroughs of New York; his interactions with clients of his father's acting employment agency; his early education in Catholic school and the creative freedom allotted by the nuns; his first feelings of isolation as an artist at the age of seven; the development of a sense of communication as the result of the loss of his mother at the age of three and time spent at a school for orphans; his early realization and vision of artistic destiny; his religious interests which lead to mysticism in his earlier work; his time spent working freely in the DaVinci Studio with Spaventa; the discovery by Hess of his works in Gallerie Grimaud; his attainment of the Longview Grant; his working experience throughout the Depression as part of the WPA casting plaster mannequins while working indirectly with Pollack as well as Marca Relli; his subsequent move to designing department store windows (use of Mondrian-like forms and lines); his feelings of his position as an observer; the importance of communication through art (communication without words); his rejection of the Abstract Expressionist group and choice of independence; the influence of the sculpture of Kolbe and Bache in the thirties; Clement Greenberg's distaste for his work; his feelings about the relative failure to sell his work due its unusual edginess and mystery; his role in the introduction of the work of contemporary European artists (Chausserian, Gauthier, Modrian) to the American group; his description of his own work as "traditionless"; his feelings of self-importance as one of the most original sculptors in the art world; his influence on the younger generation, particularly Marisol; the enslavement to originality that the younger generation faces; his attitudes towards American Art forms and their lack of rebellious spirit; the virtues of the American writers, such as Poe, Whitman, and Melville as American "knapsack" writers; his personal technique which places an emphasis on the "skin" or volume of something; his attempt to create quiet art, or art that merely indicates features; his frustration with teaching and the problems of regurgitated knowledge; the role of Meyer Shapiro in his teaching career at Columbia; the formation of the Club and its similarity to the Cubist's café scene; his opinions on the relationship of sex and sensuality in American art; his personal struggles, including the loss of his second wife and two of his brothers, in addition to the estrangement of his only daughter by his first wife; his feelings on the role of psycho analysis and personal history in a work of art; his present works which feature the "swell." For the majority of the second half of the interview Ms. Roberts asks Mr. Agostini to express his opinions on the work of: Kline; DeKooning; Duchamp; Oldenburg; La Tour; DeChirico; Maillol; Pompon; Rothko; Chardin; Cezanne; Giacometti; Reinhardt; Chryssa; Tony Smith; Segal; Lachaise; Zorach; Manship; Flannagan; Kelly; Lassaw; David Smith; Hare; Lipton; Ferber; Lippold; Roszak; Nakian; Noguchi; Hague; Kohn; di Suvero; Chamberlain; Kaprow; Sugarman; Stankiewicz; Bontecou; Scarpitta; Cornell; Keinholz; Rivera; Judd; Robert Morris; O'Keeffe; Samaras; Mark Tobey; Marin; Pollock; Hartley; Dove; Macdonald-Wright; Demuth; Sheeler; Hopper; Mirot; Matisse; DuBuffet.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Agostini (1913-1993) was a sculptor from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 28 digital wav files. Duration is 10 hrs., 37 min.
Transferred from 4 3" reels.
Provenance:
This interview is 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 administrators.
Topic:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Photographs of works of art and of friends; scrapbooks; clippings; exhibition materials; typescripts; greeting cards; and correspondence.
REEL 682: 29 photographs of Fruhauf, her "Making Faces" exhibition, 1968, and her caricature drawings; photographs of a painting by Louis Eilshemius, photographs of caricatures of Fruhauf by William Zorach, Alexander Calder, and Raphael Soyer; a photograph of a Christmas card from Maurice Ravel; 12 rough caricature drawings including one of Yasuo Kuniyoshi by Fruhauf; typescripts of conversations with Lord David Cecil and Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and notes on Aldous Huxley.
REEL 1119: Nine scrapbooks containing published caricatures of theatrical and musical personalities from newspapers and magazines; Christmas cards designed by Fruhauf; and clippings, exhibition announcements, and miscellaneous printed materials.
REEL 1816: A typescript of Fruhauf's 307 page autobiography "MAKING FACES: MEMOIRS OF A CARICATURIST," 1966; a press release regarding an exhibition of her works at the Smithsonian Institution in 1966, and a list of her work in the exhibition; and 62 reproductions of caricatures.
REEL 2803: a printed musical score "Six Musical Moods for the Piano" by Louis Michel Eilshemius (1897), autographed "Wedding Bells for Aline Vollmer, best wishes Louis M. Eilshemius 1934."
REEL 2812: Two undated letters to Fruhauf from Louis Eilshemius. In one he affirms that he hates to see nudes "in kitchen chairs," and remarks that a reproduction of his "Nymphs" would clarify this statement for her. A sketch, "Idyllness" is drawn on this letter. In the other letter he mentions Fruhauf's caricature of him, talks about his health and about their mutual friend [Harry] Salpeter.
Biographical / Historical:
Caricaturist and lithographer. Date of birth also given as 1907.
Other Title:
Louis Michel Eilshemius (microfilm title reel 2803)
Provenance:
Material on reels 682, 1119 and 1816 lent for microfilming 1970-1976; and material on reels 2803 and 2812 donated 1970 and 1980 all by Aline Fruhauf.
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 Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz measure 52.8 linear feet and are dated circa 1910-2001, with the bulk of the material from the period 1941-2001. Papers are comprised of sculptor Jacques Lipchitz's personal papers and filmmaker Bruce Bassett's papers relating to Jacques Lipchitz. Lipchitz's personal papers contain personal and professional correspondence, comprising nearly half of the series, and biographical material, writings by and about Lipchitz, printed material, and photographs documenting Lipchitz's commissions, exhibitions, friendships, and interests. Also found are records relating to the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson. The Bruce Bassett papers relating to Jacques Lipchitz consist mainly of Bassett's extensive audiovisual documentation of Lipchitz's life and art. Also found are paper records related to the audiovisual projects, including letters, business records, printed materials, and production records. A small quantity of material unrelated to Lipchitz is also found among the Bassett material, including video and sound recordings related to Sidney Lifchez, IBM, Isamu Noguchi, the Storm King Sculpture Center, and Auguste Rodin.
Scope and Contents note:
The Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz measure 52.8 linear feet and are dated circa 1910-2001, with the bulk of the material from the period 1941-2001. Papers are comprised of sculptor Jacques Lipchitz's personal papers and filmmaker Bruce Bassett's papers relating to Jacques Lipchitz. Lipchitz's personal papers contain personal and professional correspondence, comprising nearly half of the series, along with biographical material, writings by and about Lipchitz, printed material, and photographs documenting Lipchitz's commissions, exhibitions, friendships, and interests. Also found are records relating to the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson. The Bruce Bassett papers relating to Jacques Lipchitz consist mainly of Bassett's extensive audiovisual documentation of Lipchitz's life and art. Also found are paper records related to the audiovisual projects, including letters, business records, printed materials, and production records. A small quantity of material unrelated to Lipchitz is also found among the Bassett material, including video and sound recordings related to Sidney Lifchez, IBM, Isamu Noguchi, the Storm King Sculpture Center, and Auguste Rodin.
The Jacques Lipchitz biographical material includes an address book, biographical notes, membership cards, rent receipts and a lease, and a survey of Lipchitz's property in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
Correspondence is both professional and personal in nature. Approximately 20 percent is in foreign languages. French predominates, followed by Russian; German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Latvian, Hebrew, and Yiddish are also represented.
Professional correspondence documents business transactions with architects, potential clients, museum officials, art dealers, and others concerning commissions, exhibition plans, loans of artwork, jury service, etc. Art groups, Jewish organizations and charities wrote to solicit donations of artwork for fundraising events and issued invitations to speak or be a guest of honor. Scholars contacted Lipchitz about their research and requested information about specific works by him, items in his collection, and his opinions on a variety of subjects. Also found are fan letters from aspiring artists seeking advice, and from the general public asking for the opportunity to meet Lipchitz and visit his studio. After the 1952 studio fire, many friends and strangers sent letters of condolence and encouragement.
Correspondence with wife Yulla, nephew Gyorgy Hay, and close friends recounts personal and family news, activities, and sometimes touches on future plans. Among these correspondents are: Jenny Courtois, Varian and Annette Fry, Leo Gaspard, R. Sturgis Ingersoll, Gregorio Landau, Juan and Marianne Larrea, Camille Soula, and Joel and Celeste Starrels.
Eleven small pocket diaries, 1940-1965, contain brief, often sporadic entries noting appointments, events, addresses and phone numbers, notes of expenses, and include some sketches. Among the other writings by Lipchitz are: a notebook containing random notes on sculpture; a list of sculptures destroyed in the 1952 studio fire; short pieces and fragments of writings about sculptors Mary Frank, Natan Rapoport, Auguste Rodin, and William Zorach; a memoir of Amedeo Modigliani; and articles and reflections on contemporary art and the church.
Catalogue raisonné records concern the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson, sponsored by Marlborough Gallery, Inc.
Among the financial records are statements of the sculptor's accounts with Buchholz Gallery and Curt Valentin Gallery, and receipts for Lipchitz Collection purchases. Also found are insurance and tax records, as well as receipts for routine professional expenses and miscellaneous personal expenses.
Artwork consists of a few rough sketches by Lipchitz and several geometric designs by an unidentified artist. Two scrapbooks, 1945-1946, consist of newspaper clippings and a few items from other periodicals that mention Lipchitz or contain reproductions of his work. Volume 2 includes typescripts of an interview and remarks delivered by Lipchitz, both very brief.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, articles, press releases, books, programs, and reproductions concerning Lipchitz's exhibitions, sculpture, commissions, and events honoring him. Of particular interest are architectural prints showing sites and project details of several commissions. Also found are a variety of printed items about general art topics.
Photographs document people, artwork, project sites and models, exhibition installations, events, and places. People include Jacques Lipchitz, family members, and other individuals. Artwork represented is by Lipchitz and other artists. Views of Lipchitz exhibition installations mainly document solo shows. Photographs of events record a variety of occasions, among them: the opening of Lipchitz's studio in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; a dedication ceremony for Philip Johnson's Roofless Church in New Harmony, IN, with ornamental gates and a sculpture by Lipchitz; and Lipchitz addressing an anatomy class at Albert Einstein Medical College. Among the pictures of places are Lipchitz's studios in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, and Pietrasanta, Italy, and a view of Picasso's Paris studio.
The Bruce Bassett papers relating to Jacques Lipchitz contain mostly audiovisual materials from sound and film documentation projects conducted by Bassett with Lipchitz. Found are original sound recordings and photographs from Deborah Stott's 200 hour oral history with Jacques Lipchitz, as well as detailed, typewritten summaries of its content. Records from Bassett's film projects about Lipchitz include original film and sound recordings from Bassett's 40 hours of interviews with Lipchitz from 1971, and film documentation of the posthumous installations of Lipchitz's large-scale sculptures in Philadelphia, New York, and Israel in the late 1970s. In addition to the raw footage from these projects, which is incomplete, the collection contains workprint and final, edited works Bassett created in multiple versions and formats, and paper records documenting the film projects' creation, production, and later use.
Among the papers related to the film projects are scripts, an index to original footage, programming notes, film lab records, exhibition materials, an extensive collection of questions about Lipchitz gathered from the public for the interactive project, and other production records. Other papers include letters from Lipchitz and his wife, business correspondence, financial records, contracts, project files, and printed materials. Other projects by Bassett, unrelated to Lipchitz, are documented in video and sound recordings related to Sidney Lifchez, IBM, Isamu Noguchi, the Storm King Sculpture Center, and Auguste Rodin.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Jacques Lipchitz papers, circa 1910-1999, bulk 1941-1999 (Boxes 1-10, OV 11-12; 9.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz, 1961-2001 (Boxes 13-67, OV 68-69; 43.3 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973), an internationally known and influential Cubist sculptor, studied in Paris and established his career there. He fled Paris just before the German occupation, arrived in New York City in 1941, and eventually settled in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
Chaim Jacob Lipchitz was born in Druskieniki, Lithuania, then part of the Russian empire. His father, a building contractor from a well-to-do Jewish banking family, expected his son to study engineering as preparation for joining the business. Lipchitz, however, aspired to become a sculptor. With financial help from his mother, and determined to pursue his dream, he left for Paris after graduating from high school in 1909. Once there, Chaim Jacob soon became Jacques, the name he used throughout his life.
He first enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts as a "free pupil." After his father agreed to provide an allowance, Lipchitz transferred to the Académie Julian to study with sculptor Raoul Verlet. He also attended evening drawing classes at the Académie Colarossi. By 1911 he was working in his own studio. Two years later, Lipchitz's entry in the Salon d'Automne received favorable recognition.
In Paris, his circle of friends and acquaintances grew to include Dr. Albert C. Barnes, Constantin Brancusi, Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau, André Derain, Ernest Hemingway, Max Jacob, Charles-Édouard Jenneret (Le Corbusier), James Joyce, Fernand Léger, André Lhote, Jean Metzinger, Amédée Ozenfant, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Chaim Soutine, Gertrude Stein, and Virgil Tompson. Juan Gris and Amedeo Modigliani were his closest friends.
Lipchitz's earliest work was traditional. Exposure to Picasso and other avant-garde artists influenced his style, and by 1915 he was producing purely Cubist sculptures. In 1916, dealer Léonce Rosenberg offered Lipchitz a contract with a monthly stipend. Able to afford assistants, Lipchitz began much larger projects. Over time, as he came to feel that angular forms were devoid of humanity, his style gradually changed. In the 1920s, he began experimenting with "transparencies" - delicate abstract forms with large open spaces for which he developed casting techniques that influenced sculpture for a generation. In the 1950s, he began creating "semi-automatics." These were cast in bronze from forms made by submerging hot wax in water, which sometimes incorporated found objects. Much of Lipchitz's later work was massive, dynamic, and incorporated more naturalistic forms.
In the early 1920s, Lipchitz received multiple commissions from Coco Chanel and Dr. Albert C. Barnes. He became a French citizen in 1924, the year he married poet Berthe Kitrosser, with whom he had lived since 1915. (Their double portrait by Modigliani that Lipchitz commissioned in 1916, now titled The Sculptor Jacques Lipchitz and His Wife Berthe Lipchitz, is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago). The following year they moved to a suburban home and studio designed by Le Corbusier.
Léonce Rosenberg's Galerie de l'Effort Moderne presented Lipchitz's first solo exhibition in 1930, and the first important Lipchitz exhibition in the United States was held in 1935 at Brummer Gallery, New York. As the sculptor's reputation grew throughout the 1930s, his work was very much in demand.
As World War II approached, Lipchitz sensed the impending horror of the Nazi regime but was extremely reluctant to leave Paris. With time running out, he finally was persuaded that it was too dangerous to stay. Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz departed for the free zone of Toulouse, and with help from American friends sought asylum in the United States. In June of 1941, they arrived in New York City with some clothing, a portfolio of drawings, and very little money.
Lipchitz, a mature artist with an international reputation, soon attracted invitations to teach. Although finances were tight, the offers were rejected because he understood that any commitment would impede his artistic output. In search of a gallery, he contacted Brummer Gallery, the site of his first American show six years earlier. Although Joseph Brummer had shifted his focus to antiques, he provided an introduction to art dealer Curt Valentin of Buchholz Gallery (later Curt Valentin Gallery), who was sincerely interested in modern sculpture. Valentin went on to represent Lipchitz for well over a decade. Curt Valentin Gallery closed in 1955, a year after the owner's death. Lipchitz then became affiliated with Fine Arts Associates and its many successors (Otto Gerson Gallery, Inc., and Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, Inc.), which represented him for the remainder of his life. Marlborough Gallery, Inc. handled Lipchitz's estate.
Berthe longed to go home after the war, and in 1946 the couple returned to France. But because he and France had changed, Lipchitz soon realized that his future lay in America. He returned to New York after seven months; Berthe remained, and a divorce soon followed.
Within the year, Jacques Lipchitz married Yulla Halberstadt, a fellow refugee who was also a sculptor. Their only child, Loyla Rachel, was born in 1948. The family moved to Hastings-on-Hudson, NY in 1949, and he continued to work at his studio on East 23rd Street in New York City. After a major studio fire in early 1952 destroyed commissions in progress and many other pieces, the sculptor set up a temporary work space at Modern Art Foundry, Long Island City, NY. Several museums, collectors, and friends, quickly raised funds for a new studio, which became a loan at Lipchitz's insistence. A new studio designed by Milton Lowenfish and located within walking distance of Lipchitz's Hastings-on-Hudson home opened in 1953.
During the course of his career, Lipchitz was honored with a large number of solo and retrospective exhibitions at major museums and galleries in Europe, North and South America, and Israel. His work is represented in the permanent collections of world renowned museums and is owned by a wide range of private collectors and institutions.
Lipchitz was an avid art collector. An exhibition of Scythian art at the Hermitage Museum, seen while on a brief trip home in 1912, greatly impressed and inspired him. The result was an intense interest in non-European art, especially African art. He began to collect appealing objects from other cultures, and soon developed a life-long habit of visiting flea markets, antique shops, and galleries on a regular basis in search of items for his growing collection. In addition to ethnographic and ancient art, Lipchitz also bought old masters and 19th century art, and developed a special interest in Géricault. The original collection was abandoned when he left Paris; once settled in the United States, he resumed collecting. A substantial portion of the Lipchitz Collection, with an accompanying scholarly catalogue, was exhibited in 1960 at The Museum of Primitive Art, New York City.
Lipchitz's family was observant and he attended Jewish schools that stressed religious education, but he showed little interest in his faith during his early adult life. However, the establishment of Israel affected him profoundly and, over time, religious themes emerged in Lipchitz's work. He began making arrangements for gifts of sculpture to the Bezalel National Museum and the Israel Museum, developed a friendship with Jerusalem's outspoken Zionist mayor, Theodore Kollek, and in 1963 made his first of many visits to Israel.
He was a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and received awards for artistic achievement from the American Institute of Architects, Boston University, and Brandeis University. The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, presented him an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree.
Jacques Lipchitz died in Capri, Italy, May 16, 1973, and is buried in Israel. At his death, several large-scale sculpture commissions were left unfinished, and his wife Yulla took over the projects and saw that the installations were accomplished as planned. These posthumous installations include Government for the People, installed in Philadelphia in 1976, Bellerophon Taming Pegasus, installed at the Columbia University School of Law in New York City in 1977, and Our Tree of Life, installed in Jersusalem in 1978.
Bruce Bassett (1925-2009), a television and film producer, worked for NBC in New York for over 20 years. Bassett met the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973) when they were both living in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. In 1968, Bassett initiated an extensive oral history project when he realized that Lipchitz, as an English speaker and participant in the birth of modernism in Europe, was the only living artist who could provide an oral record of the beginnings of modern art for an English audience.
From 1968, until his death in 2009, Bassett carried out extensive documentation projects regarding Lipchitz, often in his spare time, under the auspices of two organizations he founded: the Jacques Lipchitz Art Foundation (1968-1975) and Histor Systems (circa 1991-2001). In 1968 Bassett raised funds to enable Deborah Stott to travel to Italy and conduct roughly 200 hours of audio interview with Lipchitz, interviews which cover not only his own history, but also include a complete record of the origins of his extensive collection of primitive art, numbering almost 3000 objects at the time. Bassett himself traveled to Italy and filmed nearly 40 hours of additional interviews with Lipchitz in 1971.
Drawing from these filmed interviews, Bassett created a pioneering interactive program which allowed museum-goers to pose questions to Lipchitz and moments later receive answers in the form of video segments of Lipchitz speaking. He used the same footage to write, produce, and direct a one hour documentary, "Portrait of an Artist: Jacques Lipchitz." Both projects were originally presented to the public in tandem with a retrospective exhibition of Lipchitz's sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1972, and were later revised and updated several times for subsequent distribution and presentation. The last presentation of the interactive project documented in Bassett's papers was held at the Krannert Art Museum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001. The interactive project is now online at the Israel Museum website entitled "Ask Jacques Lipchitz a Question," a project Bassett had been working on with Hanno Mott at his death. Bassett had visited the Museum several years earlier to demonstrate the video.
Bassett died in 2009 in New York, NY.
Related Archival Materials note:
Interviews with Lipchitz are represented among the following Archives of American Art collections: Brooklyn Museum interviews of artists; KPFK "Art Scene," interviews by Marian L. Gore; Interviews of artists by Brian O'Doherty; and Interviews relating to American Abstract Artists by Ruth Bowman.
The Tate Archive houses the Jacques Lipchitz collection presented by Rubin Lipchitz, with materials dating from the 1910s-1970s and measuring 9.8 linear feet.
The Israel Museum hosts a website entitled "Ask Jacques Lipchitz a Question," which presents Bruce Bassett's entire interactive project of Lipchitz, described here in series 2.5.2, as a web-accessible video project.
Provenance:
Donated in 2010 by Hanno D. Mott, step-son of Jacques Lipchitz, and also on behalf of Loyla R. Lipchitz and Frank L. Mott.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual materials with no duplicate access 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.
Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz, circa 1910-2001, bulk 1941-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Jacques and Yulla Lipchitz Foundation, Inc.
The papers of sculptor Jacques Lipchitz measure 9.5 linear feet and are dated circa 1910-1999, with the bulk of the material from the period 1941-1999. Personal and professional correspondence comprises nearly half of the collection. It, along with biographical material, writings by and about Lipchitz, printed material, and photographs document Lipchitz's commissions, exhibitions, friendships, and interests. Also found are records relating to the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson.
Biographical material includes an address book, biographical notes, membership cards, rent receipts and a lease, and a survey of Lipchitz's property in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
Correspondence is both professional and personal in nature. Approximately 20 percent is in foreign languages. French predominates, followed by Russian; German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Latvian, Hebrew, and Yiddish are also represented.
Professional correspondence documents business transactions with architects, potential clients, museum officials, art dealers, and others concerning commissions, exhibition plans, loans of artwork, jury service, etc. Art groups, Jewish organizations and charities wrote to solicit donations of artwork for fundraising events and issued invitations to speak or be a guest of honor. Scholars contacted Lipchitz about their research and requested information about specific works by him, items in his collection, and his opinions on a variety of subjects. Also found are fan letters from aspiring artists seeking advice, and from the general public asking for the opportunity to meet Lipchitz and visit his studio. After the 1952 studio fire, many friends and strangers sent letters of condolence and encouragement.
Among those with whom Lipchtz corresponded regarding commissions are: The Brazilian Embassy ( Prometheus Strangling the Vulture, Ministry of Health and Education, Rio de Janeiro), Vicomte Charles de Noailles ( The Joy of Life) [photocopies of letters from Lipchitz], Jean Devémy (Nôtre Dame de Liesse, Nôtre Dame de Toute Grace at Assy, France), Jane Blaffer Owen (ornamental gates and a cast of Nôtre Dame de Liesse for Philip Johnson's Roofless Church in New Harmony, IN), and the University of Minnesota, Duluth ( Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luth). There are numerous letters from Fairmount Park Art Association, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and R. Sturgis Ingersoll regarding multiple projects in Philadelphia; from the Emory Memorial and Robert Taft, Jr. about a memorial to Senator Taft; and from Eloise Spaeth concerning a bust of John F. Kennedy. Also documenting commissions are letters from architects, among them: Eero Saarinen and Associates, Kenneth Franzheim, Philip L. Goodwin, I. M. Pei and Associates, Philip L. Goodwin, and Vincent G. Kling and Associates.
Art dealers, galleries, and museums were frequent correspondents. They include: The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Bezalel Museum, Brussels Universal and International Exposition, Buchholz Gallery, Cincinnati Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Curt Valentin Gallery, Fine Arts Associates (later Otto Gerson Gallery, Inc.), Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, Inc., Museé Bourdelle, Museé National d'Arte Moderne (Paris), Museum of Modern Art (New York), The Museum of Primitive Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum (Oregon), Rijksmuseum Kröller Muller Otterlo, Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Worcester Art Museum.
Max N. Benoff, Bernard and Becky Reis, and Alan and Janet Wurtzburger were among the collectors who corresponded with Lipchitz. French artist Pierre Dubaut wrote over an extended period about his collection of Géricault paintings and plans for its eventual disposition. Other individuals who wrote frequently include: critic and writer, Waldemar George; Irene Patai, author of Encounters: The Life of Jacques Lipchitz; and Bert Van Bork, documentary filmmaker and author of Jacques Lipchitz, The Artist at Work; and art historian, Henry R. Hope, a professor active in the College Art Association. The America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Inc. and the International Rescue Committee were also frequent correspondents.
Of particular note is a lengthy letter (with drafts) to Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler in which Lipchitz explained in detail how the art dealer's writings about Cubist sculpture failed to adequately recognize his contributions to the genre. Extensive correspondence with Rabbi Schneerson includes thoughts about "graven images" in sculpture and contains lengthy religious discussions. Letters from Juan Gris and Josette Gris consist mainly of general news and pleasantries; they do, however, mention Juan Gris's health, and in one letter Gris states he is afraid of working too much and tiring himself out. While basically illegible, Gertrude Stein's letters seem to be short, quick notes about meetings.
Correspondence with wife Yulla, nephew Gyorgy Hay, and close friends recounts personal and family news, activities, and sometimes touches on future plans. Among these correspondents are: Jenny Courtois, Varian and Annette Fry, Leo Gaspard, R. Sturgis Ingersoll, Gregorio Landau, Juan and Marianne Larrea, Camille Soula, and Joel and Celeste Starrels.
Eleven small pocket diaries, 1940-1965, contain brief, often sporadic entries noting appointments, events, addresses and phone numbers, notes of expenses, and include some sketches. Among the other writings by Lipchitz are: a notebook containing random notes on sculpture; a list of sculpture destroyed in the 1952 studio fire; short pieces and fragments of writings about sculptors Mary Frank, Natan Rapoport, Auguste Rodin, and William Zorach; a memoir of Amedeo Modigliani; and articles and reflections on contemporary art and the church.
Catalogue raisonné records concern the compilation and production of The Sculpture of Jacques Lipchitz: A Catalogue Raisonné by Alan G. Wilkinson, sponsored by Marlborough Gallery, Inc.
Among the financial records are statements of the sculptor's accounts with Buchholz Gallery and Curt Valentin Gallery, and receipts for Lipchitz Collection purchases. Also found are insurance and tax records, as well as receipts for routine professional expenses and miscellaneous personal expenses.
Artwork consists of a few rough sketches by Lipchitz and several geometric designs by an unidentified artist. Two scrapbooks, 1945-1946, consist of newspaper clippings and a few items from other periodicals that mention Lipchitz or contain reproductions of his work. Volume 2 includes typescripts of an interview and remarks delivered by Lipchitz, both very brief.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, articles, press releases, books, programs, and reproductions concerning Lipchitz's exhibitions, sculpture, commissions, and events honoring him. Of particular interest are architectural prints showing sites and project details of several commissions. Also found are a variety of printed items about general art topics.
Photographs document people, artwork, project sites and models, exhibition installations, events, and places. People include Jacques Lipchitz, family members, and other individuals. Artwork represented is by Lipchitz and other artists. Views of Lipchitz exhibition installations mainly document solo shows. Photographs of events record a variety of occasions, among them: the opening of Lipchitz's studio at Hastings-on-Hudson, NY; a dedication ceremony for Philip Johnson's Roofless Church in New Harmony, IN, with ornamental gates and a sculpture by Lipchitz; and Lipchitz addressing an anatomy class at Albert Einstein Medical College. Among the pictures of places are Lipchitz's studios in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, and Pietrasanta, Italy, and a view of Picasso's Paris studio.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual materials with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz, circa 1910-2001, bulk 1941-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Jacques and Yulla Lipchitz Foundation, Inc.
An interview of Isamu Noguchi conducted 1973 Nov. 7-Dec. 26, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
NOVEMBER 7, 1973 session: Noguchi discusses his family background; growing up in Japan; returning to the United States in 1917; his identity as an artist; Gutzon Borglum; Columbia University and studying pre-med; attending Leonardo da Vinci Art School; apprenticing to Onorio Ruotolo; quitting Columbia to become a sculptor; Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927; J.B. Neumann; Alfred Stieglitz; George Grey Barnard; James Earle Fraser; Brummer and the Brummer Gallery; studying at Chaumiere and Collarosi; working with Brancusi; meeting Sandy Calder in Paris; Stuart Davis; Morris Kantor; Andrée Ruellan; his work, "Sphere"; reacting against Brancusi; Eugene Schoen's; his Carnegie Hall studio; Michio Ito; Martha Graham; Buckminster Fuller; traveling in China and Japan; meeting Chi Pai Shi; John Becker; his works, "Play Mountain," "Monument to the Plow," "Monument to Ben Franklin," and "Orpheus" for Balanchine; designing for the stage; Audrey McMahon; Harry Hopkins; Holger Cahill; Mexico; Diego Rivera; Miguel Covarrubias; and the Artists Union.
DECEMBER 10, 1973 Session: His reaction to the Spanish Civil War- avoided direct involvement; Stuart Davis; Gorky; Andre Breton; David Hare; Marcel Duchamp; John Graham; Julien Levy; his artist friends dying at the peak of their success; Leger; Stirling Calder; associating himself with the laboring class; Buckminster Fuller; being American; expanding the possibilities of sculpture; his Associated Press Building project in Rockefeller Center, it being done in stainless steel instead of bronze; John Collier; Japanese-American Citizens League; organizing Nisei Artists and Writers Mobilization for Democracy; Jeanne Reynal; going to Poston, Ariz. to assist with American Indian Service camp under John Collier and becoming an internee there; returning to New York in 1942; Bollingen Foundation; trip around the world in 1949; and Philip Guston.
DECEMBER 18, 1973 session: Best work in studio; reaction against expressionism; artists protesting against the Establishment; his objection to the WPA, influenced by William Zorach; exhibiting in group show called, "Fourteen Americans at the Museum of Modern Art"; show at Egan Gallery in 1949; accepting art in its most aesthetically pure form without reference to social issues; movement in Japan since war to get away from refinement of Japan; Yoshiro Hiro responsible for Gutai and the happenings; his work, "Monument to Heroes," using bones; his work takes years to do; materials used in his work; his work, "Cronos"; doing theater stage sets for the Library of Congress including, "Appalachian Spring" and "Herodiade"; wants a given space which he can call his own and do something with it, has to be a work of art.
DECEMBER 26, 1973 Session: Show with Charles Egan in 1948 arranged by de Kooning; applying to the Bollingen Foundation to write a book on leisure, which was never written; traveling to Italy, Egypt, and India for two years; being removed from the New York scene with Franz Kline and de Kooning; his light objects; sculpture as environment; respect for material; Mondrian and his art deriving from nature; his time in Japan in 1931; visiting Japan in 1951; working in stone; projects in Japan; Taniguchi; Antonin Raymond; designing Japanese gardens; discovery of Zen; Hasegawa Saburo; Skidmore; Hans Knoll; Edison Price; Italy in the 1960s; Peter Gregory; Henry Moore; Louis Kahn; UNESCO; Noguchi Foundation and Plaza Company; Shoji; Eleanor Ward; and his autobiography, "A Sculptor's World."
Biographical / Historical:
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was a Japanese American sculptor based in Long Island City, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 25 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
