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Lester Burbank Bridaham papers, 1912-1986

Catalog Data

Creator:
Bridaham, Lester Burbank, 1899-1992  Search this
Subject:
Albright, Ivan  Search this
Barton, Macena  Search this
Biesel, Charles  Search this
De Diego, Julio  Search this
Eboli, Jules  Search this
Florsheim, Richard A.  Search this
Krans, Olof  Search this
Lee, Gypsy Rose  Search this
Nicolaïdes, Kimon  Search this
Bishop, Isabel  Search this
Rickey, George  Search this
Schnakenberg, H. E. (Henry Ernest)  Search this
Spears, Ethel  Search this
Art Institute of Chicago  Search this
Colonial Craft Survey for Massachusetts  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Society for Contemporary American Art  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
7.4 Linear feet, (partially microfilmed on 2 reels)
Access Note / Rights:
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.
Summary:
Correspondence, writings, art works, scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and files on Julio De Diego and Kimon Nicolaides and other topics, related to Bridaham's career as an artist and writer.
REEL 8: Printed material, including articles written by Bridaham for periodicals (1950-1957), 15 exhibition catalogs (1928-1968), clippings by and about Bridaham (1930-1959), 6 press releases (1956-1957), a transcript of a radio discussion which included Bridaham (1951), 2 advertisements, a lecture announcement (1957), instructions on using egg tempera for Bridaham's students, a guide book to the Louisiana State Museum (1956), brochures about Strathmont Museum (1958), and resumes.
REEL 3: Material related to Kimon Nicolaides, including a radio address given by him, 1933; publicity for his book THE NATURAL WAY TO DRAW; exhibition catalogs; clippings; press releases; and a photograph of one of his sculptures. [Microfilm title: Kimon Nicolaides papers]
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence with Kimon Nicolaides and Henry Schnackenberg (1921-1923), Julio De Diego (1941-1952), Ethel Spears (1961), Isabel Bishop (1975), and George and Edith Rickey. Letters to Mamie Harmon concern a Nicolaides exhibition and book (1938-1941). Writings include nine v. of diaries (1946-1954) kept during his tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago, and notes and drafts for an unpublished book (1938-1982).
Subject files concerning Ivan Albright's poetry, the Colonial Craft Survey for Massachusetts (1935), Olof Krans (1939), the reorganization of the Metropolitan Museum's photographic department (1949), Romanesque and Gothic sculpture and the Society for Contemporary American Art. A file (1921-1983) on Julio De Diego contains Bridaham's research materials, sketches and drawings by the artist, a journal kept by De Diego in New York (1932) and photographs of De Diego, his family including third wife Gypsy Rose Lee, friends and art works. Kimon Nicolaides' file (1921-1986) contains his writings and drawings (1928), drawings by Vivian Gordon and Howard Ahrens (1923-1986), photographs and other research materials.
Printed materials consists of clippings (1930-1972), "The Chicago Artist" newsletter (1938), press releases, a book cover, Artists Equity publications (1952-1953), posters, exhibition catalogs and anouncements and membership cards. Photographs show Bridaham, friends, National Art Week activities with Macena Barton, Charles Biesel, Jules Eboli and Richard Florsheim, his studio and drawings (1928-1949). Other materials include over 150 prints and drawings (1927-1977) of Moroccan scenes, Colorado wildflowers and other subjects, resumes, an illustrated notebook of Bridaham's plans for art works (1931-1932) and a list of his works (1974).
ADDITION: Material concerning the latter part of Bridaham's life, including original works of art, photographs, a dream sketchbook (1945), a notebook devoted to Julio de Diego; Bridaham's letters to Jeanette Fowler, 1989-1990 and other correspondence, 1940s-1950s; and printed material.
Citation:
Lester Burbank Bridaham papers, 1912-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
35mm microfilm reels 3 and 8 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Writings by Kimon Nicolaides are photocopies.
Location of Originals:
Writings by Kimon Nicolaides: Location of originals unknown.
Related Materials:
Lester Bridaham photographs and papers relating to gargoyles, 1895-1987, are located at The Getty Research Institute Special Collections.
Biography Note:
Museum director, art historian, painter, and printmaker; d. 1992. Bridaham received a degree in chemical engineering from M.I.T. and studied art history at Harvard's Fogg Museum from 1936-1937. He received a 1931 American Field Service fellowship for study in France and Morocco, and studied studio art at the Art Students League under Kimon Nicolaides and Kenneth Hayes Miller. Between 1938 and 1954, Bridaham was a staff officer at the Art Institute of Chicago. He was also the director of the Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans, and of the Strathmont Museum, Elmira, N.Y. He is the author of Gargoyles, Chimeras and the Grotesque in French Gothic Sculpture.
Language Note:
Some material in Julio De Diego files are in Spanish.
Provenance:
Donated 1974-1987 by Lester Burbank and Dorothy Bridaham. In 1996, an additional 0.8 ft. was donated from the Jeanette Fowler estate.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6825
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208952
AAA_collcode_bridlest
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208952