Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Rudolph de Harak, 2000 April 27. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of textile designer Ruth Reeves measure 1.1 linear feet and date from circa 1880 to 1967. Found are biographical materials, scattered correspondence, writings on textile design, printed material, artwork, photographs, and scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of textile designer Ruth Reeves measure 1.1 linear feet and date from circa 1880 to 1967. Found are biographical material, scattered correspondence, writings on textile design, printed material, artwork, photographs, and scrapbooks.
Biographical records include biographical sketches, travel papers, and divorce records. Correspondence is scattered but includes letters from Ruth Reeves to her daughter Judith. Most of Reeves' general correspondence is from family and friends. A teaching file for a course on textile design at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art contains notes, lecture drafts, and sketches. Writings by Ruth Reeves are on textile design and may include drafts with handwritten notes. Artworks include painted sketches and prints by Ruth Reeves. Photographs include portraits of Reeves, snapshots of her family and travel photos. Of note is a portrait of cartoonist Art Young by Berenice Abbott.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection, the papers are arranged as one series.
Series 1: Ruth Reeves Papers, circa 1880-1967 (Box 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Ruth Reeves (1892-1966) was a textile designer, educator, and painter active in New York City, New York and India. She is known for having designed rugs for Radio City Music Hall.
Ruth Reeves was born in Redlands, California in 1892 to John Chapenou and Jennie Martafel Reeves. First, she studied art in California but moved to New York City to attend Pratt Institute in 1911. In 1913, she earned a scholarship to the Art Students League. Her formal art education focused on painting but due to finances, Ruth left school and took freelance jobs as an illustrator and textile designer. In Paris, she worked as an illustrator for Fairchild Publications and remained in Paris to study under Fernand Léger.
Reeves' first exhibition was with The American Designers' Gallery where she showed textiles. She experimented using screen print and vat dye techniques to create household textiles. In addition to her design career, Reeves served as national supervisor for the Index of American Design under the Federal Art Project and taught at the Cooper Union. In 1956, she accepted a Fulbright grant and moved to India to study Indian textile techniques.
Ruth Reeves married Donald Robert Baker, with whom she had three daughters. Ruth Reeves died in 1966 in New Delhi, India.
Provenance:
The Ruth Reeves papers were donated by her daughter, Judith Baker Katzman in 1971 and 1972.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Textile designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of artist Ellen Lanyon measure 62.6 linear feet and 84.47 GB and date from circa 1880-2015, bulk 1926-2013. Biographical material; correspondence; interviews; writings; journals; project files; teaching files; exhibition files; personal business records; printed and broadcast material; scrapbooks; photographic material; artwork; sketchbooks; as well as sound and video recordings and digital material, provide a comprehensive view of Lanyon's career and of art circles in Chicago and New York. Correspondence with artists and friends make up a significant portion of the collection. Project and exhibition files reflect her professional and artistic career. Thousands of slides and photographs document her life and artwork over seven decades, and over seventy sketchbooks are filled with student sketches, portraits of friends and family, and preliminary drawings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist Ellen Lanyon measure 62.6 linear feet and 84.47 GB and date from circa 1880-2015, bulk 1926-2013. Biographical material; correspondence; interviews; writings; journals; project files; teaching files; exhibition files; personal business records; printed and broadcast material; scrapbooks; photographic material; artwork; sketchbooks; as well as sound and video recordings and digital material, provide a comprehensive view of Lanyon's career and of art circles in Chicago and New York.
Biographical material documents Lanyon's major life events and includes calendars; addresses and contacts; life documents; awards; diplomas and school records; resumes; horoscope readings and natal chart; residence documents; personal memorabilia; family papers and memorabilia; digital material; and items relating to Lanyon's memorial.
Correspondence, both personal and professional, consists of letters, postcards, holiday and greeting cards exchanged with family, friends, artists, collectors, publishers, print shops, museums, galleries, and cultural and educational institutions. Some material is in digital format. Notable correspondents include Judy Chicago, Leon Golub, Red Grooms, Richard Hunt, Joyce Kozloff, Lucy Lippard, Gladys Nilsson, Irving Petlin, Edward Plunkett, Dorothea Rockburne, Miriam Schapiro, Buzz Spector, May Stevens, and Michelle Stuart.
Fourteen interviews are with Ellen Lanyon conducted by various interviewers on behalf of a number of organizations and consist of transcripts, sound recordings, and video recordings, some in digital format.
Writings include general writings, lectures, presentations, and thirty-seven notebooks by Lanyon. A few writings by others about Lanyon and several sound recordings of lectures by other artists are also found here.
Twenty-five journals intermittently record Lanyon's reflections on her day-to-day life including her work, obligations, and relationships.
Project files include professional activities and files documenting projects and commissions. Files may contain project proposals, correspondence, printed and digital material, applications, contracts, research notes, invoices, receipts, notebooks, sketches, plans, organizational records, and photographic material. Three multi-year projects are extensively documented, including theMiami Metamorphosis mural, Riverwalk Gateway mural, and Hiawatha Rail Line mural.
Teaching files consist of correspondence, memoranda, course descriptions and proposals, rosters, administrative documents, and printed material from a number of institutions, including Cooper Union, where Lanyon taught from the 1970s to her retirement in 1993.
Exhibition files include files for individual exhibitions, exhibitions by women artists, and chronological files. Files may contain correspondence, inventories, consignment records, layout plans, printed and digital material, and photographic material.
Personal business, inventory, and estate records document the financial and administrative history of Lanyon's career and artworks.
Printed material, broadcast material, and published video recordings document Lanyon's career, art movements in Chicago and New York, and the women's movement in art. Files may contain books, booklets, broadsides, radio and television broadcasts, brochures, exhibition announcements and catalogs, lecture announcements, news and magazine clippings, newspapers and newsletters, periodicals, press releases, programs, video recordings, digital material, source material, and posters.
Eight scrapbooks contain predominantly clippings and exhibition material documenting Lanyon's career.
Photographic material consists of thousands of prints, slides, transparencies, digital photographs, and negatives of Lanyon, family, friends, artists, places, and artwork.
A small number of artworks include a self-portrait Lanyon carved in wood, a childhood painting, a photo collage, sketches, and one folder of assignments for an art course. Artworks by others are a hand colored photograph album by Marcia Palazzolo and prints distributed by Landfall Press.
Seventy-one sketchbooks are filled with student sketches, portraits of friends and family, and preliminary drawings done in pencil, watercolor, and colored pencil.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as fifteen series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1880-2014, bulk 1926-2015 (5.3 linear feet; Box 1-6, 62, 3.94 GB; ER01-ER04)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-2013 (14.3 linear feet; Box 6-20, 1.51 GB; ER05-ER11)
Series 3: Interviews, circa 1975-2012 (0.7 linear feet; Box 20-21, 7.07 GB; ER12-ER19)
Series 4: Writings, Lectures, and Notebooks, circa 1947-2015 (3.2 linear feet; Box 21-24, 0.712 GB; ER20-ER24)
Series 5: Journals, 1967-2013 (1 linear foot; Box 24-25)
Series 6: Project Files, 1952-2014 (5.8 linear feet; Box 25-31, 62, OV 66, 13.42 GB; ER25-ER32)
Series 7: Teaching Files, 1953-2010 (0.9 linear feet; Box 31)
Series 8: Exhibition Files, circa 1944-2013 (2.7 linear feet; Box 32-34, 63, 3.87 GB; ER33-ER37)
Series 9: Personal Business, Inventory, and Estate Records, circa 1950-2015 (3 linear feet; Box 34-37, 9.10 GB; ER38-ER46)
Series 10: Printed and Broadcast Material, and Published Video Recordings, 1937-2013 (13.3 linear feet; Box 37-49, 63, OV 67-77, 2.18 GB; ER47-ER49)
Series 11: Scrapbooks, 1946-2013 (0.6 linear feet; Box 49-50)
Series 12: Photographic Material, circa 1920-2015 (7.7 linear feet; Box 50-57, 63, 42.44 GB; ER50-ER71)
Series 13: Artwork, circa 1938-1979 (0.2 linear feet; Box 58, 63)
Series 14: Sketchbooks, circa 1940-2010 (3.4 linear feet; Box 58-60, 64, 65)
Series 15: Unidentified Sound and Video Recordings, and Electronic Records, circa 1974-2013 (0.5 linear feet; Box 60-61)
Biographical / Historical:
Ellen Lanyon (1926-2013) was an American painter and printmaker working in Chicago and New York. She was born in Chicago, Illinois to Howard and Ellen (Nellie) Lanyon. Lanyon received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1948 and married classmate and artist Roland Ginzel that same year. In 1950, she received her MFA from the University of Iowa. As part of her post graduate work, Lanyon studied at the Courtauld Institute, University of London on a Fulbright Fellowship.
In the late 1940s, Lanyon began exhibiting her work and was featured in several Chicago and Vicinity Annual shows as well as the Momentum exhibitions. Influenced by surrealism, magic realism, and the work of the Chicago Imagists and the Hairy Who, Lanyon's subjects range from portraits of friends and family, to objects from her collection of curios, to flora and fauna. She produced paintings, drawings, print editions, artist's books, and some ceramics. In addition to her own artwork, Lanyon took on numerous commissions including the Riverwalk Gateway murals in Chicago, the Hiawatha Transit murals in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a variety of illustration work.
Lanyon was active in many professional organizations and women's organizations including the College Art Association (CAA) and the Women's Caucus for Art. She organized panels at CAA, contributed writings and editing to journals, including Heresies, and served on a variety of panels and juries. Lanyon was also on the Board of the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting, which she attended in her youth. Over the course of her career, she taught at many colleges and universities, including Cooper Union, where she was Associate Professor.
Throughout her career, Lanyon participated in exhibitions around the country, including a retrospective of her work at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in 1999. She was also the recipient of many awards and grants including the Logan Price and a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
Lanyon and Ginzel had two children, Andrew and Lisa Ginzel.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Ellen Lanyon conducted by James Crawford in 1975.
Provenance:
A majority of the collection was donated in 2015 by Andrew Ginszel, Ellen Lanyon's son and executor. Lanyon also donated material in 1990. Portions of the collection were lent for microfilming from 1977-1981 by Lanyon and subsequently donated.
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.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings 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.
An interview of Sidney Gordin conducted 1965 Sept. 2, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.
Gordin speaks of immigrating to the United States from Shanghai, China in 1922; being the class artist in grade school; attending Brooklyn Technical High School; studying at the WPA art school at the Brooklyn Museum for a summer; attending the Cooper Union School of Art; encountering Cubism; working as a commercial artist and making cartoons; teaching at the Pratt Institute; and alternating, as inspiration strikes, between painting and sculpture; and Constructivist philosophy. Gordin also mentions Ralph Rosenborg, Tom Eldred, Carol and Wallace Harrison, Edward Alden Jewell, Pablo Picasso, Byron Thomas, Morris Kantor, Hans Hofmann, Paul Clay, Jackson Pollock, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Sidney Gordin (1918-1996) was a sculptor and educator from Berkeley, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 1 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.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- Berkeley -- Interviews Search this
Family correspondence includes 5 folders of letters written by Cox to family members, primarily his mother, Louise Cox, from circa 1916-1922 and 5 folders of Louise Cox's letters, primarily to Allyn Cox, from 1916 to the 1940s.
Cox's relationships with his siblings is documented in 6 folders of correspondence with his sister, Caroline Cox Lansing, and 3 folders of correspondence with his brother, Leonard Cox, and Leonard's wife, Sylvia.
There are two letters from Kenyon Cox to his half brother William Cochrane, in addition to a biographical sketch of Kenyon Cox, probably written by William, and a letter to Kenyon Cox from Bertha Beckwith. Ethel Cox's correspondence, 1915-1937, consists primarily of letters to her mother and documents her first trip abroad in 1920. Two additional folders of letters from circa 1915-circa 1940s and one from 1941-1971 include correspondence with others, including Allyn Cox, whom she married in 1927.
Also of note are 3 folders of correspondence and records relating to the disposition of Kenyon Cox's Estate undertaken by Allyn Cox and his siblings in the late 1950s-1960s. The correspondence documents gifts of Kenyon Cox's paintings, drawings, and personal archives to various institutions including Bowdowin College, Columbia University, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. Additional correspondence related to this disposition, as well as correspondence with members of Cox's extended family, may be found in 2.2: General Correspondence.
Collection 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. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and are not served to researchers. Use of archival audiovisual recordings 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.
Collection Citation:
Allyn Cox papers, 1856-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Smithsonian Institution. Libraries. Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design Branch Search this
Extent:
2.5 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes) (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Serials (publications)
Date:
1864-1977
Descriptive Entry:
These materials were accumulated over time in the Library of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum (CHM). Most were produced before the Cooper Union Museum was transferred to the
Smithsonian Institution in 1968, and some predate the establishment of the Museum itself in 1896. The publications include an incomplete series of Cooper Union annual reports
beginning with the fifth report published in 1864. The series ends with an excerpt from the Smithsonian Institution annual report for fiscal year 1969, in which the Cooper-Hewitt
Museum was first listed as a bureau of the Institution.
The materials also contain volumes one through three of the Chronicle of the Museum for the Arts of Decoration of the Cooper Union; biographical information about significant
figures in the Museum's history; checklists, descriptions, and essays based on the Museum's collections; reports by the Director, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Council for
the Cooper Union Museum from 1907 to 1927; texts of talks given at the Museum; and histories of the Museum written by staff members.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 598, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design Branch, Publications and Reports
The Eve Peri papers are scattered and consist of biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, printed material, artwork, and photographs.
Included are address books; a certificate; a clipping on John F. True, likely Peri's grandfather; estate records; calling cards and travel papers; copies of birth and divorce records; receipts, many from a trip to Rome in 1964; printed materials regarding Peri's art and general art; fragments of a mixed media scrapbook; and printed and original designs for clothing and embroidery.
Correspondence includes letters from friends and institutions. Signed letters are from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Flair Magazine, J.M. Joubert, and John Rothchild. Other letters are illegible, unsigned or with first names only. Letters from 1964 congratulate Peri on an exhibit of her works in Rome, Italy. Also found is an unsent letter from Peri to Wanda Nordstrom. Many of the clippings include designs of women's embroidered clothing designed by Peri. Photographs are of Peri, in her studio and working on her works of art; of friends and family; homes and buildings; travel; and of works of art.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Collection Citation:
Eve Peri papers, circa 1900-1996, bulk 1939-1966. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Dore Ashton conducted 2010 November 21 and 2011 March 9, by George W. Sampson, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Ashton's home, in New York, New York.
Ashton talks about growing up politically active; protesting the internment of the Japanese Americans during WWII; attending The New School and then Harvard University; briefly working as a gallery receptionist; writing her first reviews for Art Digest; Howard Devree hiring her as a writer for The New York Times; travels and living in Europe; writing feature pieces about individual artists for The New York Times; writing for Cahiers d'art; her relationships Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Billy Kluver, Robert Rauschenberg, Octavio Paz, and others; marriage to Adja Yunkers; teaching at Cooper Union; interest in Latin American Art; flirting; being a "dedicated reader of Nietzsche"; visits to the Cedar Tavern; being a peacenik; and other topics. She recalls Jeanne Reynal, Mario Pedrosa, Alger Hiss, Peter Selz, Peter Orlovsky, David Smith, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Dore Ashton (1928-2017) was an art historian in New York, New York. George W. Sampson (1951-) is an arts administrator in Charlottesville, Virginia.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 memory cards. Duration is 2 hr., 57 min.
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.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Art School Search this
Extent:
3.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Date:
1958-1994 (bulk 1970-1992)
Summary:
The papers of Jake Berthot measure 3.9 linear feet and date from 1958-1994, with bulk dates from 1970-1992. The papers document Berthot's career as a painter and art professor through correspondence, writings, personal business files, printed material, photographic material and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Jake Berthot measure 3.9 linear feet and date from 1958-1994, with bulk dates from 1970-1992. The papers document Berthot's career as a painter and art professor through correspondence, writings, personal business files, printed material, photographic material and artwork. The correspondence series comprises a significant portion of the collection, documenting personal and professional-- including educational-- activities and relationships Berthot had. The writing series contains writings by Berthot and others. Writings by Berthot include 3 notebooks; essays on art and creative writing; gallery layout plan notes and miscellaneous notes including an annotated calender page. Writings by others include typescript essays on Berthot and creative writing, namely poetry. Also found are personal business records which contain an exhibition price list, artwork shipping invoices and miscellaneous personal receipts including travel reciepts and ticket stubs. The printed material series extensively documents Berthot's life and career as an artists through exhibition catalogs, flyers and announcements, news and magazine article clippings and personal ephemera such as basketball cards, travel attraction brochures and retail catalogs. Also found are a number of exhibition flyers and announcements sent to Berthot from other artists. Photographic material contains photographs of Berthot, his friends and family as well as photographs and slides of images of Berthot's and other artists' works of art. The Artwork series includes drawings, small paintings, and other works of art created by Berthot, as well as works created by other artists, including Sam Messer; former students; and Berthot's family.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series
Correspondence, circa 1962-1994 (1.5 Linear feet: Box 1-2)
Writings, circa 1971-1994 (0.2 Linear feet: Box 2)
Personal Business, 1958-1989 (3 Folders: Box 2)
Printed Material, circa 1963-1994 (1.6 Linear feet: Box 2-4, OV 6-7)
Photographic Material, circa 1961-1992 (0.2 Linear feet Box 4-5)
Artwork, circa 1970-1992 (0.2 Linear feet Box 5, OV 8)
Biographical / Historical:
Jake Berthot (1939-2014) was an abstract painter and art professor from New York. Born in Niagra Falls, NY, Berthot grew up in Clearfield, Pennsylvania before moving to New York City after high school and enrolling at Pratt Institute in 1960. In 1961 he began teaching classes at Pratt which marked the beginning of his career as an art professor. Berthot subsequently taught classes at Cooper Union (1974–81), Yale University (1982-92), the University of Pennsylvania (1993) and the School of Visual Arts (1994 -2013).
Throughout his career as an artist Berthot's work frequently appeared in solo and group exhibitions in both commercial and public galleries. His painting were included in the Whitney Museum of American Art's Annual in 1969 and again in 1973; The Corcoran Biennial in 1975; the Venice Biennale, 1976; New Painting – New York at the Hayward Gallery in London in 1979; American Art: 1950 to the Present at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1979; New Works on Paper in 1981 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1984, among other exhibitions. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981 and a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1983.
His work is held in multiple collections including those of The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery, The Phillips Collection, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum among many more.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by Jake Berthot.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Citation:
Jake Berthot papers, circa 1958-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Photographs, business correspondence, printed matter, writings, and miscellaneous files documenting Wilmarth's career as a sculptor and printmaker, 1956-1987, and his teaching activities at Cooper Union, 1970-1980.
Photographs, color transparencies, and color slides of pieces of Wilmarth's studio at the time of his death (with estate inventory), of works owned by collectors and museums, and of some destroyed pieces. Business correspondence concerns gallery representation, exhibitions, sales, proposals and commissions, and grants and awards; also documented is Wilmarth's "Studio for the First Amendment," and a dispute with Andre Emmerich Gallery in 1978. Miscellaneous files include information on artists' rights with sample contracts; notes on shipping, crating, framing, and related services, with invoices; detailed installation instructions, both general and for specific pieces; insurance and damage claims.
Printed matter consists mainly of reviews and criticism, exhibition catalogs, and invitations. Records concerning Wilmarth's teaching career include photographs of works by individual students, installation views of student exhibitions, class rosters and grade sheets, course descriptions, class assignments/problems, correspondence with college administrators, and ephemera (possibly souvenirs collected by students on a class trip).
Arrangement:
I. Works in the Wilmarth estate. II. Works owned by others. III. Awards and grants. IV. Commissions and proposals. V. Packing, shipping, and installation notes. VI. "Emmerich War." VII. Studio for the First Amendment. VIII. Studios. IX. Exhibitions. X. Writings. XI. Reviews. XII. Correspondence. XIII. Teaching. XIV. Miscellaneous. Exhibitions filed alphabetically by the name of the museum or gallery, and correspondence arranged alphabetically within the subcategories of publications, individuals, museums and galleries; all other material is arranged chronologically.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, printmaker, and educator; New York, N.Y. d. 1987 B.F.A., Cooper Union, 1965.
Provenance:
Donated 1989. Material is from the artist's studio, and was donated by his widow, Susan Wilmarth.
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:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
0.8 Linear feet ((microfilmed on 2 partial reels))
12 Items (Addition)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1937-1996
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, letter essays, writings, project files, printed material, works of art, and photographs primarily regarding Dowden's positions as head of the Design Department at Cooper Union Art School (CUAS) for 32 years and Director of the Yale summer art school in Norfolk, Connecticut. Also included are papers of Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden.
REELS 4884-4885: Biographical material consists of memorial tributes and obituaries, 1982. Correspondence, 1952-1980, is with friends and colleagues, primarily concerning the Cooper Union Art School and it's publications and projects, calligraphy, and the Yale-Norfolk art school, 1952-1982. Among the correspondents are Rudolf Arnheim, painter Byron Thomas, and Floyd Starr of the Starr Commonwealth for Boys, where Dowden had gone as a boy. Letters, written in essay form, 1955-1978, by Dowden regard Anne Ophelia's botanical drawing publications, his health concerns, travel plans, and general thoughts. Writings, ca. 1960, concern Dowden's philosophy of art in relation to CUAS.
Also included are files regarding CUAS publications, Green Camp, Dowden's participation as an art juror, the Yale summer art school, and Byron Thomas's death and memorial service, 1978. Printed material, 1940-1976, includes exhibition announcements and catalogs, CUAS publications, newspaper and magazine clippings, and reproductions of Dowden's art work. Original art work by Raymond and Ophelia include ink drawings and pencil sketches. Photographs are of family and friends, works of art and exhibition installations, and friends while Dowden was a resident fellow at the Tiffany Foundation in 1929 and 1932.
Unmicrofilmed addition: Biographical material, writings, an outline of a book on design, exhibition announcements, printed material, and photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Painters; New York, N.Y. Raymond Dowden taught design at Cooper Union Art School, New York, N.Y., and is known also for his calligraphy work. His wife, Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden, was a botanical artist. Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden died in 2007.
Provenance:
Donated 1978-1982 by Raymond Baxter Dowden and Anne Ophelia Dowden; and in 1990 and 2004 by Anne Dowden.
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:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Josef Presser and Agnes Hart papers, 1913-1980, bulk 1940-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Abraham Walkowitz papers, 1904-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation of American Art
Murphy, John Francis, 1853-1921 -- Catalogues raisonnés Search this
Extent:
16.7 Linear feet ((on 21 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Place:
Arkville (N.Y.) -- Pictorial works
Date:
1761-1973
Scope and Contents:
Biography and catalogue raisonné of J. Francis Murphy by Emerson Crosby Kelly, M.D., and correspondence relating to Dr. Kelly's interest in Murphy. Personal papers of J. Francis Murphy and Adah Clifford Smith Murphy include diaries and notebooks, correspondence, Smith and Murphy family documents, financial records, printed matter, artifacts, photographs, and works of art.
Research notes, drafts, and manuscript of an unpublished biography, "J. Francis Murphy, N.A., (1853-1921): Tints of a Vanished Past," and illustrated catalogue raisonne of the works of J. Francis Murphy by Emerson Crosby Kelly (1953). Kelly corresponded with friends and relatives of the Murphys, with owners of Murphy paintings, publishers, printers, and possible financial backers for his book. Also documented is Dr. and Mrs. Kelly's involvement in the sale of "Weedwild," the Murphy's Arkville, N.Y. home, to the Pestalozzi Foundation of America.
Diaries of J. Francis Murphy (25 vols.) contain very brief entries that faithfully record weather conditions, garden progress, and other nature notes, with occasional mention of social engagements or service on art juries; entries recorded during trips to Europe mainly list places visited with little elaboration. Notebooks (16 vols.) include painting registers, daily listings of mail sent and received, address books, and jottings relating to Indian relics, his farmland, and paintings sent to dealers. Mrs. Murphy's diaries (46 vols.) also contain very brief entries mentioning friends, social engagements, travels, and an "Account of the pictures I painted and gave away. Portraits of them. + landscapes + old houses." Her notebooks (4 vols.) contain "Notes for a book. J.F.'s".
Correspondence concerns family matters, exhibitions, sales, professional memberships, involvement with the Salmagundi Club and National Academy of Design, and the couple's finances. Whenever separated, the Murphys exchanged lengthy letters with one another; the majority of these are from husband to wife.
Receipts and invoices are mainly for art supplies, framing, and shipping costs; expense records for personal purchases and farm upkeep and improvements; taxes; and legal papers concerning a property boundary dispute and lawsuit against the Murphys.
Photographs are of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, their families and ancestors, friends, studios, "Weedwild" (country home) and surrounding Arkville, N.Y. area, landscape subjects, works of art by the Murphys, medals and certificates of award. Six tintypes are included. Photographers include: Hollinger, Moffett, Napoleon Sarony, and C. Vandyk. Commercially produced stereographs mainly depict U.S. scenes.
Art works consist of sketchbooks, oil sketches, and works of art on paper by both Murphys, Emil Carlsen, and other artists (ca. 500 items).
Other materials include exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, scrapbooks (probably compiled by Mrs. Murphy ca. 1885), medals awarded to J. Francis Murphy, copper plate etched by Adah C. Murphy, and artifacts.
Arrangement:
I. Writings and Research Notes. II. Kelly Correspondence and Miscellaneous Files. III. J. Francis and Adah Clifford Smith Murphy Papers.
Biographical / Historical:
Emerson Crosby Kelly, M.D., art collector, surgeon, and medical bibliographer; d. 1977. J. Francis Murphy, landscape painter and one of the leading tonalists of the American Barbizon school, lived and worked in New York City and Arkville, N.Y. Studied very briefly at the Chicago Academy of Design, 1875. Member of the National Academy of Design and active in the Salmagundi Club. His wife, Adah Clifford Smith Murphy, a painter and illustrator, studied at the Female Art School of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
Provenance:
The donor, Sydney Kelly, is the widow of Dr. Emerson Crosby Kelly. Dr. Kelly acquired the Murphy papers in 1949 from Hulda Gregerson, Mrs. Murphy's long-time companion, for the purpose of writing a biography and catalogue raisonne of J. Francis Murphy.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
An interview of Shirley Jaffe conducted 2010 Sept. 27 and 28, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Jaffe's studio, in Paris, France.
Jaffe speaks of living with her family in Elizabeth, NJ and Brooklyn, NY; attending Abraham Lincoln High School, Parsons School of Design, Brooklyn College, and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art; visiting the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Non-Objective Art (now the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), and The Museum of Modern Art; living on St. Mark's Place and in Brooklyn, NY ; her marriage in 1949 to Irving Jaffe; moving to Washington, DC and visiting The Philips Collection; moving to and adjusting to life in France; socializing with American artists in Paris, France; moving between New York and France; working and living in Berlin, Germany with a grant from the Ford Foundation; living independently in France; visiting the cathedrals and galleries in Italy; teaching undergraduate students; the evolution of her paintings and technique; her painting process and use of cellophane; painting on glass; murals; and her exhibitions and commissions. Jaffe also recalls Leon Friend, Morris Kantor, Pierre Bonnard, Karl Knaths, Max and Esther Gould, Jules Olitski, Michael Goldberg, Joan Mitchell, Beauford Delaney, Sam Francis, Janice Biala, Hermine Tworkov Ford, Edwin Dickinson, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Kimber Smith, Jean Fournier, Al Held, Haywood Bill Rivers, Milton Glaser, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Shirley Jaffe (1923-2016) was an abstract painter and sculptor in Paris, France. Avis Berman (1949- ) is a scholar in New York, N.Y.
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.
Rights:
Transcript: Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from Jerome Sternstein. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Correspondents from 1936 to 1940 include Frank Lloyd Wright and the Chicago Planning Commission. Records from these years also include performance appraisals from the Federal Security Agency's National Youth Administration.
1941 to 1945 correspondents include Marcel Breuer on the purchase of a Fernand Leger painting; Walter Blucher on the Michael Reese Hospital project; Hubert H. Humphrey; Mies van der Rohe; the Federal Works Agency's United States Housing Authority; and the National Housing Agency regarding notification of personnel action.
1946 to 1950 correspondence concerns the Michael Reese Hospital project; Rexford G. Tugwell; the University of Chicago regarding enrolling for a Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology; and activities as a panel speaker for the Citizens' Housing and Planning Council of Detroit.
Correspondents from 1951 to 1955 include Hubert H. Humphrey, Leon Eugene Arnal, Jose Luis Sert, Rafael Pico, Earl H. Reed, Chester Nagel, Edward Everett Horton's (autograph), Christian Herter, Leverett Saltonstall, Nathan M. Pusey (President of Harvard University on Urban Renewal project), Peter Nash, Walter H. Blucher, and Lewis Mumford. The records also contain correspondence with Adlai Stevenson on nominating Ferd Kramer for an award; and letters of congratulations on appointment as the Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Chairman of the Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture Department of Harvard University.
Correspondents from 1956 to 1960 include William F. Buckley, Jr., on Dr. von Mises', Jose Luis Sert, Lewis Mumford, Edwin S. Burdell, President of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Lewis Mumford, Jasper D. Ward (Architect of General Electric Company) on the project "Research for Living," Rexford G. Tugwell, Leverett Saltonstall, Hubert H. Humphrey, John F. Kennedy, Paul Douglas on Senator John Sparkman's bill S. 1230, Candido Oliveras (Chairman of the Puerto Rico Planning Board on the Southern Metropolitan Area Project), Fernando Belaunde Terry, and Richard M. Bennett.
1961 to 1965 correspondents include John A. Holabird on an urban design project, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Fernando Belaunde Terry, and Francois C. Vigier.
1966 to 1970 correspondents include Lewis Mumford, Walter F. Bogner, and Abraham A. Ribicoff.
Correspondents from 1966 to 1970 include Everett McKinley Dirksen, Ralph M. Paiewonsky (Governor of the Virgin Islands), Hubert H. Humphrey, Jorge Ricardo Riba (Director of Instituto de Vivienda y Urbanismo in Panama), and Luis A. Ferre (Governor of Puerto Rico).
Correspondents from 1971 to 1975 include Fernando Belaunde Terry, and Frank O. Gehry which includes the publication Children and the City, by Olga Adams.
1976-1980 correspondents include William Saltzman, Newton S. Friedman, Arete Publishing Company, Inc. on manuscripts for an encyclopedia, and The Free Press on biographies for the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects.
1981-1985 correspondents include Jeffrey Potter on Jackson Pollock, Kazuhiko Satani of the Satani Gallery in Tokyo, Ati (Beate) Gropius Johansen, Norma Farber, Fernando Belaunde Terry, William W. Nash, Jr., Newton S. Friedman, Leone Blooston, Bruno Zevi, Robert Rosenthal, Chester Nagel, Howard Henry, Harry Seidler, and Ferd Kramer.
1986 correspondence includes sympathy cards to Charlotte Aldes Isaacs.
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Reginald R. Isaacs papers, circa 1842-1991, bulk 1928-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
