Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Additional Online Media

Catalog Data

Creator:
Jenkins, Paul, 1923-2012  Search this
Subject:
De Kooning, Willem  Search this
Jenkins, Esther Ebenhoe  Search this
Bluhm, Norman  Search this
Krasner, Lee  Search this
Baber, Alice  Search this
Erma, Thomas  Search this
Prantl, Karl  Search this
Dusanne, Zoe  Search this
Prince, Frank  Search this
Guggenheim, Peggy  Search this
Gilot, Francoise  Search this
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
New York University  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this
Type:
Travel diaries
Manuscripts
Sketches
Watercolors
Prints
Collages
Visitors' books
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Place:
China -- description and travel
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
11.1 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1915-1997 (Box 1; 9 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1930-2010 (Box 1-9, 13; 9 linear feet) Series 3: Writings, circa 1950-2003 (Box 9-10; 0.5 linear feet) Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1944-1990 (Box 10; 0.3 linear feet) Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1952-2010 (Box 10-11; 0.6 linear feet) Aeries 6: Artwork, circa 1935-2007 (Box 11-12, OV 14; 0.2 linear feet) Series 7: Photography, circa 1940-1998 (Box 12; 0.4 linear feet)
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 abstract expressionist painter and playwright Paul Jenkins measure 11.1 linear feet and date from circa 1915 to 2010. Jenkins's career in New York and Paris is documented through biographical material, family papers, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material, photographs of Jenkins in his studio and at various events, and original artwork by Jenkins and others.
Citation:
Paul Jenkins papers, circa 1915-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are an interview of Paul Jenkins, August 1969, conducted by Albert Elsen, and an oral history interview, 1968, conducted by Colette Roberts.
Biography Note:
Paul Jenkins (1923-2012) was an abstract expressionist painter and playwright in New York, New York, and Paris, France. Jenkins was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1923, and moved to Youngstown, Ohio as a teenager. After serving in the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Naval Air Corps, Jenkins studied playwriting with George McCalmon at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). In 1948, he moved to New York City, where he studied with Yasuo Kuniyoshi at the Art Students League of New York.
Over the course of his career, Jenkins experimented with multiple techniques, including oil on primed canvas, flowing paints, acrylics, watercolor, and mixed media collages. After traveling extensively and meeting many artists, Jenkins ultimately became associated with the Abstract Expressionists. His work gained the attention of other members of the art world and he held solo exhibitions at venues such as the Zoe Dusanne Gallery in Seattle and the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York. Jenkins' paintings were purchased by both museums and private collectors, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Peggy Guggenheim.
In addition to his painting, Jenkins continued to explore other creative endeavors. He experimented with sculpture, producing works for events and permanent displays, including the Sculptors' Symposium at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and the Sculpture Garden of the Hofstra Museum. His plays, such as Strike the Puma , were published and performed off Broadway in New York City. Jenkins's art served as the backdrop for multiple stage productions, and in 1978, his paintings were featured in the Academy Award nominated movie An Unmarried Woman . Jenkins also collaborated on a number of book projects, including Anatomy of a Cloud , a collection of autobiographical collages and texts.
Throughout his adult life, Jenkins split most of his time between New York and Paris. He continued to create and exhibit new works until his death in New York in 2012.
Language Note:
The collection is in English and French.
Provenance:
The papers were donated 2007-2009 and in 2012 by Paul and Suzanne Jenkins.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Medals -- Design  Search this
Painters -- France -- Paris  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13668
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)274646
AAA_collcode_jenkpaul2
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_274646