The collection is arranged into four series. Series 1: Correspondence, 1950-1982 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1) Series 2: Writings, circa 1962-1978 (0.1 linear feet: Box 1) Series 3: Printed Material, 1949-1985 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-2 OV 3) Series 4: Photographic Material, 1962-1980 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Access Note / Rights:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Summary:
The papers of painter and assemblage artist Alfonso Ossorio measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1949 to 1985. The papers document Ossorio's career through correspondence, writings, printed material, and photographs.
Citation:
Alfonso Ossorio papers, 1949-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Materials lent for microfilming on reel 2000 and portions of the collection microfilmed on reel 3888 are available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Location of Originals:
Letters from Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner are photocopies or transcripts. Location of the originals is unknown.
Use Note:
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.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Alfonso Ossorio conducted by Forrest Selvig, November 19, 1968. Material on reel 2000 including correspondence with Thomas Gibson Fine Arts, Ltd., Morris J. Pinto, and Jackson Pollock; correspondence, loan agreements, and clippings concerning Pollock's painting "Lavender Mist"; and cancelled checks, bank statements and other financial material, were returned to Ossorio after microfilming and are not described in the collection Container Inventory.
Biography Note:
Filipino American painter and assemblage artist Alfonso Ossorio (1916-1990) was based primarily in the New York area and was a key figure in the Abstract Expressionist and Art Brut movements.
Born in Manila, Philippines, in 1916, Ossorio immigrated to the United States with his family in 1930, settling in the Portsmouth area of Rhode Island and studying fine art at Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1950 Ossorio was commissioned by the parish of St. Joseph in Victorias City, Negros Occidental in the Philippines, to paint a mural which would be known as "The Angry Christ." In the late 1940s Ossorio settled in New York and later purchased the Creeks, an estate in East Hampton where he thereafter spent the majority of his time. From the late 1940s on Ossorio explored abstraction and formed crucial friendships with Jackson Pollock and Jean Dubuffet. In the 1960s he began to create assemblages that he called congregations, and his work was included in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and elsewhere.
Language Note:
Letters from DuBuffet are in French.
Provenance:
The collection was donated 1980-1981 by Alfonso A. Ossorio. An addition fron an unknown source was donated in 1985.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
