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Mitchell Siporin papers

Creator:
Siporin, Mitchell, 1910-1976  Search this
Names:
Federal Art Project  Search this
Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960  Search this
Cheney, Sheldon, 1886-  Search this
Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970  Search this
Millman, Edward, 1907-1964  Search this
Nordness, Lee  Search this
Rowan, Edward Beatty, 1898-1946  Search this
Extent:
5.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Date:
1913-1990
Scope and Contents:
Biographical information, correspondence, photographs, writings, research and subject files, works of art, motion picture film, interview transcripts, financial material, printed material and miscellany relating to Mitchell Siporin.
Personal photographs of Siporin, stage sets and art work by him.
Circa 1000 letters relating to his painting, his teaching, his service as a war artist during World War II and the Federal Art Project, including letters from Sheldon Cheney, Edith Halpert, Edward Rowan, Holger Cahill, Edward Millman, Max Abramowitz, Lee Nordness, and others; biographical material; notes and lectures; art history research files; sketches; price lists for his art works; expense accounts and tax records; blueprints and architectural plans; photographs, including WWII photographs and photographs of his art work; reproductions of his art work; exhibition catalogs; and clippings.
Letters from Siporin to his brother and sister-in-law, Seymour and Mary Sipporin, as well as letters to Siporin from Jack Levine and Carl Holty. Writings, including scripts for lectures, journal articles, an unfinished novel by Siporin, a journal describing his experience in North Africa during WWII as a war photographer and painter, notes taken during sabbaticals, and a eulogy written by Siporin for Henry Varnum Poor. Photographs of Siporin with friends and family, including Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Peter Pollack, Edward Millman, and Philip Guston and a portrait of Siporin by Arnold Newman, as well as Siporin's artwork. Subject files, including the Woodstock Art Conference, American Artists' Congress, the American Federation of Arts, WWII, the Army at War exhibit, Siporin's involvement in the WPA, as well material on Siporin's Haymarket drawings used for a 1934 issue of Left Front magazine. Works of art including two studies for St. Louis, Missouri, Post Office murals, and a sketch of Siporin by S.P. Kaufman.
A VHS video and DVD copy, transferred from 16mm motion picture film, showing Siporin at work on his St. Louis frescoes (b&w, 3 min., no sound). Interview transcripts of an interview with Siporin conducted by Geofrrey Swift as well as an interview with Siporin conducted by Melvyn Bragg for the BBC. Financial records, including sales contracts. Printed material, including exhibition catalogs and programs, and newspaper clippings as well as an exhibition poster from Babcock Galleries. Also included is a small amount of material relating to Jennie Siporin, Mitchell Siporin's mother.
Biographical / Historical:
Mitchell Siporin (1910-1976) was a painter and photographer from Newton, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
The collection has been donated in several installments beginning in 1978 when Siporin's widow Miriam lent materials for microfilming (reels 1328 and 1332). She also donated materials at that time and again in 1992, at which time it was also microfilmed (reels 2011-12 and 2061). In 2003, Judith Siporin, Siporin's daughter, donated the materials previously lent on reel 1332 and 16mm motion picture film. In 2005 Mary Siporin, Mitchell Siporin's sister-in law donated papers, and in 2008 Judith donated another installment.
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.
Topic:
Documentary photography  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- United States  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
War in art  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Identifier:
AAA.sipomitc
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92709be4b-97ef-4585-b106-7b7fdb159762
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sipomitc

The New Deal art projects an anthology of memoirs Edited by Francis V. O'Connor

Editor:
O'Connor, Francis V.,  Search this
Subject:
Federal Art Project  Search this
Physical description:
ix, 339 pages illustrations 28 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1972
Topic:
New Deal art  Search this
Kunst  Search this
Call number:
N8837 .N53
N8838 .N53
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_11178

Lucile Lloyd papers, circa 1880-1991, bulk 1920-1941

Creator:
Lloyd, Lucile  Search this
Subject:
Stickney Memorial Art School  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Lucile Lloyd papers, circa 1880-1991, bulk 1920-1941. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women muralists  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6265
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216604
AAA_collcode_lloyluci
Theme:
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216604

Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996

Creator:
Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003  Search this
Subject:
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich)  Search this
Cahill, Holger  Search this
Rothko, Mark  Search this
Coggeshall, Calvert  Search this
Hicks, Edward  Search this
Still, Clyfford  Search this
Calder, Alexander  Search this
Gorky, Arshile  Search this
Charlton, Maryette  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel  Search this
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice)  Search this
Johns, Jasper  Search this
Horwitt, Will  Search this
DeFeo, Jay  Search this
Christo  Search this
Nevelson, Louise  Search this
Sheeler, Charles  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this
Karpel, Bernard  Search this
Copley, Alfred L.  Search this
Davis, Stuart  Search this
Newman, Barnett  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Byars, James Lee  Search this
Mather, Eleanore Price  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr.  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu  Search this
Chryssa  Search this
Levy, Julien  Search this
Asher, Elise  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad  Search this
Scharf, William  Search this
Matisse, Pierre  Search this
Bontecou, Lee  Search this
Canady, John  Search this
Picasso, Pablo  Search this
Guggenheim, Peggy  Search this
Sterne, Hedda  Search this
World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Rockefeller University  Search this
Smith College. Museum of Art  Search this
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey  Search this
Chase Manhattan Bank  Search this
Municipal Art Exhibition (1st : 1934 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Mark Rothko Foundation  Search this
Smith College  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
PepsiCo, Inc.  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Citation:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Corporations -- Private collections  Search this
Art -- Private collections  Search this
Folk art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6469
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215653
AAA_collcode_milldoro
Theme:
Women
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215653
Online Media:

Dorothy C. Miller papers

Creator:
Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003  Search this
Names:
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Chase Manhattan Bank -- Art collections  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Mark Rothko Foundation  Search this
Municipal Art Exhibition (1st : 1934 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this
PepsiCo, Inc.  Search this
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- Art collections  Search this
Rockefeller University  Search this
Smith College -- Students  Search this
Smith College. Museum of Art  Search this
World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.) -- Art collections  Search this
Asher, Elise, 1914-  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this
Bontecou, Lee, 1931-  Search this
Byars, James Lee  Search this
Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this
Canady, John  Search this
Charlton, Maryette  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
Chryssa, 1933-  Search this
Coggeshall, Calvert, 1907-1990  Search this
Copley, Alfred L.  Search this
Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this
Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948  Search this
Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849  Search this
Horwitt, Will  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Karpel, Bernard, 1911-1986  Search this
Levy, Julien  Search this
Mather, Eleanore Price, 1910-  Search this
Matisse, Pierre, 1900-1989  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 -- Art collections  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Scharf, William, 1927-  Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this
Sterne, Hedda, 1910-2011  Search this
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980  Search this
Extent:
34.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Date:
1853-2013
bulk 1920-1996
Summary:
The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's private art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Miller's work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files of her husband Holger Cahill about his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is a scattered documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Also found is Dorothy Miller's collection of artists' Christmas cards and photographs of Miller and others. An addition to the papers includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number professional files are included, the majority of the addition relates to her personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Her work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files related to Miller's husband Holger Cahill and his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Artwork includes scattered sketches and drawings enclosed with correspondence and original Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists. Photographs of Miller date from 1926 - circa 1950.

Scattered biographical material mostly concerns Miller's education at Smith College and awards and honorary degrees that she received. Extensive correspondence and subject files document her professional and personal relationships with family, friends, colleagues, museums, art dealers and artists, as well as her research interests. Individual files may contain a mix of correspondence with, as well as about, the person or subject, compiled research documents, printed materials, and scattered photographs. Files are found for Lewin Alcopley, Alfred Barr, Betty Parsons Gallery, Cahill family members, Lee Bontecou, James Byars, Holger Cahill, Alexander Calder, Christo, Chryssa, Calvert Coggeshall, John Canaday, Maryette Charlton, Stuart Davis, Jay DeFeo, Lorser Feitelson, Arshile Gorky, Peggy Guggenheim, Grace Hartigan, Will Horwitt, Jasper Johns, Julien Levy, Pierre Matisse, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Isamu Nauchi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Kay Sage, Charles Sheeler, Hedda Sterne, travel, Clyfford Still, William Scharf, among many others.

Detailed records of Miller's art consulting and advisory work for the Rockefeller family include correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller and David Rockefeller about building their personal collections of contemporary and folk art, meeting notes and minutes, research notes and writings, and printed materials. The largest group of records concerns the writing and publication of The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. Miller's curatorial work for David Rockefeller and the Rockefeller University's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall art collection is documented in Series 4 through curatorial files, correspondence, printed materials, photographs and slides, artists files, and design records.

Series 5 contains files relating to Miller's work as the first art consutant to the Chase Manhattan Bank and the building of the corporation's extensive collection of contemporary art. There is a draft of Miller's text for the bank's published catalog, Art At Work: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection. A smaller set of records is found in Series 6 documenting Miller's work on the Art Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including files about selecting artwork for the World Trade Center during the early 1970s. Files concerning Miller's advisory work with additional public and private clients, boards, and commissions are arranged in Series 7 and 8 and concern the Amstar Corporation, Fidelity International Bank, First National Bank of Tampa, First National City Bank, Inmont Corporation, Pepsico, United Mutual Savings Bank, the Empire State Plaza Art Commission, the Hancock Shaker Village, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Mark Rothko Foundation, the Museum of American Folk Art, and the Smith College Museum of Art.

Miller's papers include a small group of files relating to the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP)created by her husband Holger Cahill when he was director of the FAP, Holger Cahill. A small series is devoted to Miller's work with Eleanore Price Mather researching and writing Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdom and Other Paintings. A series of general research files contain miscellaneous research notes and photographs related to Miller's interests in early American art and folk art. Series 12 contains important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center.

Works of art are primarily in the form of Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists including Elise Asher, Lyonel Feininger, Bernard Karpel, and Irene Rice Pereira. A small group of photographs includes photographs of Miller from 1926-circa 1950 and a few photographs of others.

The addition includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number of professional files are found here, the majority of material relates to Miller's personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection. Scattered correspondence, inventories, research, and notes created by curator and donor of the papers, Wendy Jeffers, are found throughout the collection. These materials date from the 1980s-2000s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 15 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1986 (Box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, circa 1912-1992 (Boxes 1-8, OV 27; 7.2 linear ft.)

Series 3: Rockefeller Family Art Collections, circa 1949-1985 (Boxes 8-12, 25; 3.9 linear ft.)

Series 4: Rockefeller University Collection, 1923-1984 (Boxes 12-13, OV 27; 1.0 linear ft.)

Series 5: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, 1959-circa 1985 (Boxes 13-14, 26; 1.4 linear ft.)

Series 6: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Art Committee, circa 1965-1987 (Boxes 14-15, OV 27; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 7: Other Corporate and Private Clients, 1968-1984 (Boxes 15-16; 1.3 linear ft.)

Series 8: Other Boards, Committees and Commissions, 1925, 1949-1985 (Boxes 16-20; 3.6 linear ft.)

Series 9: Works Project Administration Federal Art Project Files, 1935-1979 (Box 20, OV 27; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 10: Edward Hicks Catalog, 1934-1984 (Boxes 20-22; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 11: Research Files, 1930s-1980 (Boxes 22-23; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 12: Exhibition Files, 1932-1986 (Box 23; 0.6 linear ft.)

Series 13: Works of Art, circa 1924-circa 1982 (Boxes 23-25; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 14: Photographs, 1926-circa 1970s (Boxes 24-25; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 15: Addition to the Dorothy C. Miller Papers, 1853-2003, bulk 1920-1996 (Boxes 28-38, OVs 39-41; 9.9 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Dorothy Canning Miller (1904-2003) worked in New York City as a highly influential curator of contemporary and folk art at the Museum of Modern Art and as the first curator of the museum. Later, she was the primary art consultant for Nelson A. Rockefeller, the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Port Authority of and New Jersey. Dorothy Miller was also married to Holger Cahill, director of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Dorothy C. Miller was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts in 1904 and received her Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in 1925. She was first introduced to modern art through classes at the Newark Museum taught by John Cotton Dana and Holger Cahill. Miller joined the curatorial staff of the Newark Museum in 1926. The museum was one of the first to organize exhibitions of American folk art, American Primitives (1930-1931) and American Folk Sculpture (1931-1932). Miller worked with Cahill and others on the exhibition and developed a life-long interest in folk art.

After four years at the Newark Museum, Miller moved to New York city, hoping to get involved with the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and, likely, to be with Holger Cahill, with whom she lived with on 8th Street prior to their marriage in 1938. Between 1930 and 1932 she took odd jobs and worked with Mrs. Henry Lang cataloging, researching and installing Lang's collection of Native American art Lang donated to the Montclair Art Museum. At the same time, Holger Cahill was serving as Acting Director of the Museum of Modern Art during an absence of Director Alfred H. Barr. In 1932, Cahill asked Miller to assist him with curating the American Painting and Sculpture, 1862-1932 exhibition at MoMA, and together they also curated the First Municipal Art Exhibition, 1934 at the Rockefeller Center.

In 1934, Barr hired Miller as his assistant and one year later appointed her as MoMA's first curator. Miller spent the next 35 years organizing many of this country's most important exhibitions of contemporary art and building personal relationships with new artists and photographers, as well as the collections of MoMA. Miller retired from MOMA in 1969 and focused more on her art consulting work begun in the late 1950s.

Dorothy Miller's most notable client was Nelson A. Rockefeller. She assisted and advised Rockefeller as he acquired a vast personal collection of modern art - some of which was later donated to MoMA. Just prior to her retirement, Miller organized a large exhibition of Rockefeller's collection. The exhibition catalog written by Miller was the basis for the book she worked on with Rockefeller up until and following his death in 1979, ultimately published as The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. In the preface, Rockefeller credited Miller with being one of the four people to whom he was indebted "for the understanding and endless joy I have found in the collecting of modern art in all forms."

Miller also served as the primary art consultant for projects to furnish federal spaces, including Henry Kissinger's State Department office suite, and the official Vice-Presidential residence at the Admiral's House in Washington D.C.

In 1959 Miller was invited to join the art collection committee of the Chase Manhattan Bank and served on the committee until the mid-1980s, contributing her expertise to the development of one of this country's oldest and largest corporate collections of modern and contemporary art.

Miller was also an advisor to other members of the Rockefeller family, including David Rockefeller, and assisted with developing the art collections of Rockefeller Institute/University. From 1960 through the late 1980s Miller was a member of the art committee for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANJY) and was responsible for selecting much of the artwork for the World Trade Center in the 1970s. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Hancock Shaker Village, the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Empire State Plaza in Albany, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Museum of American Folk Art. She also became a member of the Mark Rothko Foundation Board of Directors after the litigation following Rothko's death between Rothko's executors and his daughter.

In the mid-1970s Miller assisted the Whitney Museum of American with planning an exhibition and supporting catalog of the work of folk artist Edward Hicks. Although the exhibition and catalog were only partially realized in 1980, Miller and Eleanore Price Mather compiled and published a book on Hicks, Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdoms and Other Paintings, published in 1983.

In 1982-1983 Miller received the Art Dealers Association Special Award, an honorary degree from Williams College, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture governor's award. In 1984 she was named honorary trustee of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1985 the Smith College Museum of Art honored her important contributions to museum connoisseurship with the exhibition Dorothy C. Miller: With An Eye to American Art.

Dorothy Miller died in 2003 at the age of 99 at her home in Greenwich, New York.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with Dorothy C. Miller. The first was conducted by Paul Cummings between May 26, 1970 and September 28, 1971, and details Miller's life from childhood up to, and including, her years at the Museum of Modern Art. The second was conducted by Avis Berman on May 14, 1981 and covers Miller's relationships with Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still. Also found among the holdings of the Archives are the papers of Holger Cahill, Dorothy Miller's husband and colleague.

The Museum of Modern Art Achives holds Dorothy Miller's papers related to her curatorial work at the museum.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Dorothy C. Miller via Wendy Jeffers between 1986 and 1997, and Reid White, Executor of Miller's estate, in 2004. Two subsequent additions were donated by Wendy Jeffers in 2014 and 2015.
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:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Corporations -- Private collections  Search this
Art -- Private collections  Search this
Folk art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Citation:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.milldoro
See more items in:
Dorothy C. Miller papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f1ed6cb6-f194-4b76-a8dd-fce3352c09b8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-milldoro
Online Media:

Rockwell Kent papers

Creator:
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this
Names:
American Artists' Congress  Search this
Artists League of America  Search this
Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Citizens' Committee for Government Arts Projects  Search this
Farmers Union of the New York Milk Shed  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Federal Writers' Project  Search this
International Workers Order  Search this
Macbeth Gallery  Search this
National Farmers' Union (U.S.)  Search this
National Maritime Union of America  Search this
United American Artists  Search this
United Office and Professional Workers of America  Search this
United Scenic Artists  Search this
Boyesen, Bayard  Search this
Chamberlain, J. E.  Search this
Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916  Search this
Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland), 1880-1964  Search this
Daniel, Charles, 1878-1971  Search this
Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen), 1862-1928  Search this
DuBois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963  Search this
Fitzgerald, James, 1899-1971  Search this
Freuchen, Peter, 1886-1957  Search this
Gellert, Hugo, 1892-1985  Search this
Gottlieb, Harry, 1895-  Search this
Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943  Search this
Hays, Lee, 1914-1981  Search this
Henri, Robert, 1865-1929  Search this
Jones, Dan Burne  Search this
Keller, Charles, 1914-2006  Search this
Miller, Kenneth Hayes, 1876-1952  Search this
Nearing, Helen  Search this
Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983  Search this
Pach, Walter, 1883-1958  Search this
Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966  Search this
Rasmussen, Knud, 1879-1933  Search this
Reeves, Ruth, 1892-1966  Search this
Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976  Search this
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945  Search this
Ruggles, Carl, 1876-1971  Search this
Seeger, Pete, 1919-2014  Search this
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 1879-1962  Search this
Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977  Search this
Wildenstein, Felix, 1883-1952  Search this
Zigrosser, Carl, 1891-  Search this
Extent:
88 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Poems
Sketches
Business records
Photographs
Drawings
Date:
circa 1840-1993
bulk 1935-1961
Summary:
The Rockwell Kent papers measure 88.0 linear feet and date from circa 1840 to 1993 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1935 to 1961. The collection provides comprehensive coverage of Kent's career as a painter, illustrator, designer, writer, lecturer, traveler, political activist, and dairy farmer.
Scope and Content Note:
The Rockwell Kent papers measure 88 linear feet and date from circa 1840 to 1993 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1935 to 1961. The collection provides comprehensive coverage of Kent's career as a painter, illustrator, designer, writer, lecturer, traveler, political activist, and dairy farmer.

Circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the papers are highlighted in an article by Garnett McCoy ("The Rockwell Kent Papers," in the Archives of American Art Journal, 12, no. 1 [January 1972]: 1-9), recommended reading for researchers interested in the collection. The collection is remarkably complete, for in the mid 1920s Kent began keeping carbon copies of all outgoing letters, eventually employing a secretary (who became his third wife and continued her office duties for the remainder of Kent's life).

Series 1: Alphabetical Files contain Kent's personal and professional correspondence, along with business records of the dairy farm and associated enterprises; also included are printed matter on a wide variety of topics and promotional literature relating to organizations and causes of interest to him. Voluminous correspondence with his three wives, five children, and other relatives, as well as with literally hundreds of friends, both lifelong and of brief duration, illuminates Kent's private life and contributes to understanding of his complex character. Among the many correspondents of note are: his art teachers William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, and Kenneth Hayes Miller; fellow artists Tom Cleland, Arthur B. Davies, James Fitzgerald, Hugo Gellert, Harry Gottleib, Marsden Hartley, Charles Keller, and Ruth Reeves; collectors Duncan Phillips and Dan Burne Jones; critics J. E. Chamberlain and Walter Pach; and dealers Charles Daniel, Felix Wildenstein, and Macbeth Galleries. Kent corresponded with such diverse people as Arctic explorers Peter Freuchen, Knud Rasmussen, and Vilhjalmar Steffanson; composer Carl Ruggles and songwriters Lee Hays and Pete Seeger; civil rights pioneers Paul Robeson and Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois; writers Bayard Boyesen, Scott and Helen Nearing, and Louis Untermeyer; and art historian and print curator Carl Zigrosser.

Kent's interest and involvement in the labor movement are reflected in correspondence with officials and members of a wide variety and large number of unions and related organizations, among them: the Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Farmers' Union of the New York Milk Shed, International Workers Order, National Maritime Union, and United Office and Professional Workers of America. Of special interest is his participation, often in leadership roles, in various attempts to organize artists. Files on the American Artists' Congress, Artists League of America, The Artists Union, United American Artists, and United Scenic Artists contain particularly valuable material on the movement.

A supporter of New Deal efforts to aid artists, Kent was actively interested in the various programs and often was critical of their limitations; he advocated continuing federal aid to artists after the Depression abated. The Kent papers include correspondence with the Federal Arts Project, Federal Fine Arts Project, Federal Writers Project, and the War Department, as well as correspondence with the Citizens' Committee for Government Art Projects and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the subject.

Kent's professional correspondence documents exhibitions, sales, consignments, and reproduction of prints and paintings. He kept meticulous records of his advertising commissions and illustration work. Detailed correspondence with publishers and printers indicates Kent's involvement in the technical aspects of production and provides a good overview of the publishing industry during the mid-twentieth century.

Business records of Asgaard Farm include records of the dairy and transfer of ownership to its employees, tax and employee information, and documents concerning several related business ventures such as distributor ships for grain, feed, and farm implements.

Series 2: Writings consists of notes, drafts, and completed manuscripts by Rockwell Kent, mainly articles, statements, speeches, poems, introductions, and reviews. The Kent Collection given to Friendship House, Moscow, in 1960, was augmented later by a set of his publications and the illustrated manuscripts of many of his monographs. Also included are a small number of manuscripts by other authors.

Series 3: Artwork consists mainly of drawings and sketches by Kent; also included are works on paper by other artists, many of whom are unidentified, and by children.

Series 4: Printed Matter consists of clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, brochures, broadsides, programs, and newsletters. These include items by and about Kent and his family, as well as articles written and/or illustrated by him, and reviews of his books. There is also material on a variety of subjects and causes of interest to him. Additional printed matter is included among the alphabetical files, mainly as attachments to correspondence.

Series 5: Miscellaneous includes biographical material, legal documents, and memorabilia. Artifacts received with papers include textile samples, a silk scarf, dinnerware, ice bucket, and rubber stamp, all featuring designs by Rockwell Kent. Also with this series are a variety of documents including a phrenological analysis of an ancestor, lists of supplies for expeditions, a hand-drawn map of an unidentified place, and technical notes regarding art materials and techniques.

Series 6: Photographs includes photographs of Kent, his family and friends, travel, and art number that over one thousand. Also included here are several albums of family and travel photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series. Series 1 is arranged alphabetically. The arrangement of the remaining series is explained in each series description. Note that sealed materials that became available in 2000 were microfilmed separately on reels 5740-5741, but have integrated into this finding aid.

Missing Title

Series 1: Alphabetical Files, circa 1900-1971, undated (Reels 5153-5249, 5256, 5740-5741)

Series 2: Writings, 1906-1978, undated (Reels 5249-5252, 5741)

Series 3: Art Work, 1910-1972, undated (Reels 5252, 5741)

Series 4: Printed Matter, 1905-1993, undated (Reels 5252-5254)

Series 5: Miscellaneous, 1859-1969, undated (Reels 5254, 5741)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1840-1970, undated (Reels 5254-5255, 5741)
Biographical Note:
Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), an energetic and multitalented man, pursued many interests and careers during his very long and active life. At various times he was an architect, draftsman, carpenter, unskilled laborer, painter, illustrator, printmaker, commercial artist, designer, traveler/explorer, writer, professional lecturer, dairy farmer, and political activist.

While studying architecture at Columbia University, Kent enrolled in William Merritt Chase's summer school at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. He then redirected his career ambitions toward painting and continued to study with Chase in New York. Kent spent a summer working and living with Abbott H. Thayer in Dublin, New Hampshire, and attended the New York School of Art, where Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller were his teachers.

Critically and financially, Kent was a successful artist. He was very well known for his illustration work--particularly limited editions of the classics, bookplates, and Christmas cards. He was a prolific printmaker, and his prints and paintings were acquired by many major museums and private collectors. During the post-World War II era, Kent's political sympathies resulted in the loss of commissions, and his adherence to artistic conservatism and outspoken opposition to modern art led to disfavor within art circles. After many years of declining reputation in this country and unsuccessful attempts to find a home for the Kent Collection, Kent gave his unsold paintings--the majority of his oeuvre--to the Soviet Union, where he continued to be immensely popular.

An avid traveler, Kent was especially fascinated by remote, Arctic lands and often stayed for extended periods of time to paint, write, and become acquainted with the local inhabitants. Between 1918 and 1935, he wrote and illustrated several popular books about his experiences in Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, and Greenland. In the 1930s and 1940s, Kent was much in demand as a lecturer, making several nationwide tours under the management of a professional lecture bureau; he spoke mainly about his travels, but among his standard lectures were some on "art for the people."

In 1927, Kent purchased Asgaard Farm at AuSable Forks, New York, in the Adirondacks, where he lived for the remainder of his life, operating a modern dairy farm on a modest scale for many years.

As a young man, Kent met Rufus Weeks, became committed to social justice, and joined the Socialist Party. Throughout his life, he supported left-wing causes and was a member or officer of many organizations promoting world peace and harmonious relations with the Soviet Union, civil rights, civil liberties, antifascism, and organized labor. Kent was frequently featured as a celebrity sponsor or speaker at fund-raising events for these causes. In 1948, he ran unsuccessfully as the American Labor Party's candidate for Congress. Kent's unpopular political views eventually led to the dissolution of his dairy business, resulted in a summons to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and prompted the U.S. State Department to deny him a passport, an action that subsequently was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kent wrote two autobiographies, This Is My Own (1940) and It's Me, O Lord (1955). In 1969, he was the subject of an oral history interview conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
In 1969, Rockwell Kent donated his papers to the Archives of American Art; textile samples were received in 1979, and his widow gave additional papers in 1971 and 1996. Letters to Rockwell Kent from wives Frances and Sally, sealed during Sally Kent Gorton's lifetime, became available for research after her death in 2000, and further material was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2001 by the Estate of Sally Kent [Shirley Johnstone] Gorton.
Restrictions:
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not microfilmed or digitized 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:
Painters -- New York (State)  Search this
Topic:
Designers -- New York (State)  Search this
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Politics and culture  Search this
Authors -- New York  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects  Search this
Dairy farms  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State)  Search this
Illustration of books  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Art and war  Search this
Commercial art  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Function:
Labor unions
Genre/Form:
Poems
Sketches
Business records
Photographs
Drawings
Citation:
Rockwell Kent papers, circa 1840-1993, bulk 1935-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.kentrock
See more items in:
Rockwell Kent papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw97edd9940-eb61-4562-9583-def2da778b6a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-kentrock

Oral history interview with Paul and Alberta von Ottenfeld Babcock, 1965 May 1

Interviewee:
Babcock, Paul G.  Search this
Interviewer:
McGlynn, Betty Lochrie Hoag  Search this
Subject:
Babcock, Alberta von Ottenfeld, 1910-1992  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Paul and Alberta von Ottenfeld Babcock, 1965 May 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Mosaics  Search this
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Painters -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
New Deal  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12315
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213239
AAA_collcode_babcoc65
Theme:
New Deal
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213239
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Boris Gorelick, 1964 May 20

Interviewee:
Gorelick, Boris, 1912-  Search this
Interviewer:
McGlynn, Betty Lochrie Hoag  Search this
Subject:
Gorky, Arshile  Search this
Shahn, Ben  Search this
Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
American Artists' Congress  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Boris Gorelick, 1964 May 20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art front  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Designers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Architecture & Design  Search this
New Deal  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12336
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213492
AAA_collcode_goreli64
Theme:
Architecture & Design
New Deal
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213492

Oral history interview with Charles W. White, 1965 March 9

Interviewee:
White, Charles, 1918-1979  Search this
Interviewer:
McGlynn, Betty Lochrie Hoag  Search this
Subject:
Federal Art Project  Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Charles W. White, 1965 March 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- United States  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
African American artists  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American military personnel  Search this
African American educators  Search this
Theme:
African American  Search this
New Deal  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11484
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213975
AAA_collcode_white65
Theme:
African American
New Deal
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213975

Beniamino Bufano papers, circa 1910-1972

Creator:
Bufano, Beniamino, 1898-1970  Search this
Subject:
Goetz, William  Search this
Manship, Paul  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Citation:
Beniamino Bufano papers, circa 1910-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6132
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216348
AAA_collcode_bufabeni
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216348

Hilda Pertha papers, 1938-2018

Creator:
Pertha, Hilda, 1911-2011  Search this
Subject:
Nesjar, Carl  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Diaries
Interviews
Citation:
Hilda Pertha papers, 1938-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Scrapbooks  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16214
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)368430
AAA_collcode_perthild
Theme:
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_368430

Beniamino Bufano papers

Creator:
Bufano, Beniamino, 1898-1970  Search this
Names:
Federal Art Project  Search this
Goetz, William, 1931-1988  Search this
Manship, Paul, 1885-1966  Search this
Extent:
2.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1910-1972
Summary:
The papers of sculptor Beniamino Bufano measure 2.7 linear feet and date from circa 1910 to 1972. The collection sheds light on the artist's career through personal and professional papers, printed materials, photographic materials, and scrapbooks that contain primarily letters, clippings, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor Beniamino Bufano measure 2.7 linear feet and date from circa 1910 to 1972. The collection sheds light on the artist's career through personal and professional papers, printed materials, photographic materials, and scrapbooks that contain primarily letters, clippings, and photographs.

Personal and professional papers include scant biographical materials, letters of approval and disapproval regarding the placement of St. Francis of Assisi in California, a framed letter from Bufano to Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin, writings by Bufano on peace, and a proposal for the San Francisco Art Commission's Open Air Art Exhibit that was drafted by Bufano while serving as commissioner. This series also includes photographs, negatives, and transparencies of Bufano, his studio, and artwork.

Printed materials include articles and clippings about Bufano's art, controversies he was involved in, and his lifestyle; reproductions of Bufano's work; travel ephemera; and miscellaneous printed materials including topics of interest to Bufano.

Scrapbooks were compiled after Bufano's death by his friend and volunteer assistant William Goetz. They include clippings and writings about Bufano, letters, writings by Bufano, press releases for unveiling ceremonies, fact sheets relating to Bufano's travels, and photographs of Bufano working, his artwork around the San Francisco area, scenes from his studio, and Bufano working with others, including Goetz.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.

Series 1: Personal and Professional Papers, circa 1943-1970 (Box 1; 8 folders)

Series 2: Printed Materials, 1922-1972 (Box 1, 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Scrapbooks, circa 1910-1972 (Box 1-4; 2.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Italian-born sculptor Beniamino Bufano (1898-1970) was active primarily in San Francisco for most of his career. Bufano was known for his large-scale monuments and modernist work which often featured smooth and rounded animal forms.

Bufano was born in San Fele, Italy, and moved to New York in 1901. He studied at the Art Students' League under James Fraser, Herbert Adams, and Paul Manship. In 1914, Manship invited Bufano and Robert Treat Paine to work in San Francisco on sculptures for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and in 1915 Bufano won first prize in an art exhibition held by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Bufano married in 1918 and moved to California where he met art patrons Sara Bard Field and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. This patronage allowed Bufano to travel to China, where he studied glazing and became friends with Sun Yat-Sen, India, Cambodia, and elsewhere for the next several years; he was profoundly influenced by his experiences on this and subsequent trips.

Bufano returned to San Francisco in 1921 and taught at the San Francisco Art Institute until 1923 when he founded the short-lived Davinci School of Allied Arts. In 1925 he launched a solo exhibition at the City of Paris Galleries which, over the next eight years, traveled to other locations in the Uninted States and abroad including Paris, London, Berlin, and Moscow.

During this time, Bufano spent two years in Paris where he completed St. Francis of Assisi, which he intended to give to the City of San Francisco and which became perhaps his best known and most controversial work.

In the 1930s Bufano was employed by the Works Progress Adminstration's Federal Arts Project, during which time he completed some of his abstracted bronze and stone animals and a statue of Sun Yat-sen. In 1946 he established Bufano Studios Inc., also known as Bufano Society for the Arts, with a nine-person board of directors.

Also an educator, Bufano lectured on art over the radio and in classrooms, and in the 1960s taught at the University of California at Berkeley and the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. He held a position on the San Francisco Arts Commission from 1944-1948, serving as commissioner in 1947.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Pauline B. Goetz in 1997.
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:
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Citation:
Beniamino Bufano papers, circa 1910-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bufabeni
See more items in:
Beniamino Bufano papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw999bd9450-715a-42f9-9cfe-c9368ab05fa2
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bufabeni

Hilda Pertha papers

Creator:
Pertha, Hilda, 1911-2011  Search this
Names:
Federal Art Project  Search this
Nesjar, Carl, 1920-2015  Search this
Extent:
10.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Diaries
Interviews
Date:
1938-2018
Summary:
The papers of painter and author Hilda Pertha measure 10.5 linear feet and date from 1938 to 2018. The collection comprises biographical materials, correspondence, journals, writings, professional and project files, personal business records, printed materials, artwork, and photographic materials that document Pertha's early textile design work, and her subsequent painting, and writing career in Mendocino and Europe.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and author Hilda Pertha measure 10.5 linear feet and date from 1938 to 2018. The collection comprises biographical materials, correspondence, journals, writings, professional and project files, personal business records, printed materials, artwork, and photographic materials that document Pertha's early textile design work, and her subsequent painting, and writing career in Mendocino and Europe.

Biographical materials consist of appointment books, resumes and chronologies, a transcript of an interview of Pertha conducted by Joan Marler, and a recording of family at Christmas. Correspondence is with family, galleries, buyers and collectors, and others including Carl Nesjar, Mirl Simmons, and Justin Stone. The collection also contains 6 journals, writings that include 74 notebooks with notes on museums in Europe, artworks by Pertha, and other topics, as well as manuscripts of articles for the magazine West Art, and drafts for a book about painting.

Pertha's professional files include sound recordings relating to symposiums and workshops, scrapbooks, and guestbooks. Project files include material regarding Pertha's work on the Federal Art Project, and photographs and sketches for floral themed paintings. Pertha's business records include gallery files, consignment and sales records, and artwork and price lists. Printed materials relate to Pertha's career, her exhibitions, and writings for art magazines. Artwork consists of nature sketches and drawings, ink and abstract sketches, and designs for textiles. Photographic materials include photographic prints, negatives, slides, and transparencies of Pertha, friends, exhibitions, Norway, and artwork along with digital images of Pertha's artwork that were cataloged by Connie Korbel-Mickey.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1944-2010 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1948-2018 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 3: Journals, 1982-2002 (0.2 linear feet; Box 12)

Series 4: Writings and Writing Projects, 1938-2018 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 3-5)

Series 5: Professional Files, 1950s-2002 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 6: Project Files, circa 1940s-2000s (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 6-7)

Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1955-2010 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)

Series 8: Printed Materials, 1940-2011 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 11)

Series 9: Artwork, 1940s-circa 2010 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 9-11)

Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1950s-2011 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 10-11)
Biographical / Historical:
Hilda Pertha (1911-2011) was an author and painter in Mendocino, California and Europe, who worked primarily in oil.

Born in Pensauken, New Jersey, Pertha studied at the Philadelphia College of Art, the Barnes Foundation, and Settlement Music School. In the 1950s she worked as a textile designer in New York City and Europe while trying to grow her painting career. Pertha spent time in Norway where she felt a strong connection to the land and people. She befriended Norwegian artists like Carl Nesjar with whom she kept in touch throughout her life. Pertha exhibited in Norway, as well as other parts of Europe. In Mendocino, she was active at Mendocino Art Center as an exhibitor and teacher after being invited to teach by founder William (Bill) Zacha. She also wrote over 200 articles for the magazine West Art. Pertha died in 2011 in Mendocino.
Provenance:
The Hilda Pertha papers were donated in 2013 by Mila Ahern, Hilda Pertha's daughter, and in 2019 and 2022 by Connie Korbel-Mickey, Pertha's biographer.
Restrictions:
Hilda Pertha's journals in Series 3 are access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- Mendocino  Search this
Authors -- California -- Mendocino  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Scrapbooks  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Diaries
Interviews
Citation:
Hilda Pertha papers, 1938-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.perthild
See more items in:
Hilda Pertha papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw926a2f492-b8df-408e-85e3-03480bc35602
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-perthild

Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks, and papers, 1889-2001, bulk 1900-1954

Creator:
Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956  Search this
Subject:
Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen)  Search this
Kent, Rockwell  Search this
Beal, Maud Ramsdell  Search this
Cox, Edward  Search this
Bruce, Edward  Search this
Watson, Forbes  Search this
Wortman, Denys  Search this
Hancock, Walker Kirtland  Search this
Pennell, Joseph  Search this
Rowan, Edward Beatty  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Travel diaries
Love letters
Drawings
Prints
Diaries
Paintings
Photographs
Citation:
Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks, and papers, 1889-2001, bulk 1900-1954. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Drawing -- Technique  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Allentown  Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)10981
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214824
AAA_collcode_bealgiff
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_214824
Online Media:

Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks, and papers

Creator:
Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956  Search this
Names:
Federal Art Project  Search this
Beal, Maud Ramsdell  Search this
Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943  Search this
Cox, Edward  Search this
Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen), 1862-1928  Search this
Hancock, Walker Kirtland, 1901-1998  Search this
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this
Pennell, Joseph, 1857-1926  Search this
Rowan, Edward Beatty, 1898-1946  Search this
Watson, Forbes, 1880-1960  Search this
Wortman, Denys, 1887-1958  Search this
Extent:
7.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Travel diaries
Love letters
Drawings
Prints
Diaries
Paintings
Photographs
Date:
1889-2001
bulk 1900-1954
Summary:
The papers of painter and muralist Gifford Beal measure 7.7 linear feet and date from 1889 to 2001. The bulk of the collection consists of artwork, in addition to correspondence, writings, printed matter, including one scrapbook, pictorial subject files, photographs, and two scrapbooks of photographs of works of art. Artwork is primarily in the form of sketches and seventy-eight sketchbooks in a wide variety of media. Among the loose sketches are twenty-eight oil paintings on wood board or panel, and fourteen large pastel drawings on canvas depicting dancing figures in a romantic style. Artwork by other artists in the collection include prints by Arthur B. Davies, Rockwell Kent, and Denys Wortman.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter and muralist Gifford Beal measure 7.7 linear feet and date from 1889 to 2001. The bulk of the collection consists of artwork, in addition to correspondence, writings, printed matter, including one scrapbook, pictorial subject files, photographs, and two scrapbooks of photographs of works of art. Artwork is primarily in the form of sketches and seventy-eight sketchbooks in a wide variety of media. Among the loose sketches are twenty-eight oil paintings on wood board or panel, and fourteen large pastel drawings on canvas depicting dancing figures in a romantic style. Artwork by other artists in the collection include prints by Arthur B. Davies, Rockwell Kent, and Denys Wortman.

Biographical materials include membership certificates, a marriage certificate, and a travel journal kept by Beal's wife, Maud Ramsdell Beal, on their honeymoon. Personal correspondence consists primarily of love letters between Beal and Maud Ramsdell Beal. Three folders of professional correspondence contain letters from Joseph Pennell (1925); Federal Art Project staff from the Treasury Department including Ed Rowan, Edward Bruce, and Forbes Watson (1938); Walker Hancock (1951); and a series of letters signed "Hyde," from Crow Island, Massachusetts, which may have been written by Edward Hyde Cox (1953-1954).

Also found among the papers are printed materials such as exhibition catalogs, clippings, and reproductions of artwork, both loose and in a scrapbook from the 1920s; subject files containing clippings, photographs, and other pictorial references to common subjects of Beal's artwork; a few personal photographs; and photographs of works of art. Notes and writings are found among Beal's sketchbooks, including one long autobiographical essay which may have been for a lecture, a few diary entries from 1942, and extensive notes on the color, form, and lighting of his sketching subjects. In addition to a scrapbook relating to Beal exhibitions, there are also two scrapbooks containing photographs of works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1900-1909, 1942, 1953 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 1 and 5, OV 10)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1906-1954 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Printed Materials, 1900-2001 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 1, 5, OVs 11, 16)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1889-1953 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, OV 10-12)

Series 5: Photographs, 1908-1950 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2, OV 10)

Series 6: Artwork, 1900-1951 (3.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-9; OV 10, 13-20 and rolled documents 21 and 22)

Series 7: Scrapbook, circa 1919-circa 1951 (1.1 linear ft; Boxes 7, 23)
Biographical Note:
Painter and muralist Gifford Beal was born in New York City in 1879, the youngest of six children. Beal began his art training at 13, when he accompanied his older brother, Reynolds Beal, to the Shinnecock School of Art for classes with William Merritt Chase. Gifford Beal continued to study with Chase for ten years at Shinnecock, the Tenth Street Studio building in New York City, and the New York School of Art. Beal attended college at Princeton University from 1896 to 1900, and from 1901 to 1903 he also took classes at the Art Students League with George Bridgman and Frank Vincent DuMond. In 1908, Beal married Maud Ramsdell of Newburgh, New York, where the Beal family also had an estate. They had two sons, William (b. 1914) and Gifford, Jr. (b. 1917).

Beal received all of his training in the United States at a time when European art training was the norm among his peers. Beal's earliest subject matter was taken from the familiar worlds of New York City and the Hudson River Valley, where he frequently spent his summers. Later work would depict other summer homes, including Provincetown, Rockport, and Gloucester, Massachusetts. Throughout his career he explored a variety of styles in his approach to these and other representational subjects such as garden parties, the circus, Central Park scenes, and coastal scenes in the Northeast and the Caribbean.

Beal exhibited at the National Academy of Design's annual exhibition almost continuously from 1901 to 1956, was a member of the Academy from 1914, and won at least seven awards given by the Academy over the course of his career. He won his first award in 1903 from the Worcester Art Museum. He exhibited regularly in major annual exhibitions and world expositions, including the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915, where he won a gold medal.

Gifford and Reynolds Beal exhibited in a two-man show in 1907 at Clausen Galleries, and the two brothers were both eventually represented by Kraushaar Galleries, where Gifford Beal had his first one-man show in 1920. Beal served as president of the Art Students League from 1916 until 1930, the longest term of any president, and taught there in 1931 and 1932.

Beal was commissioned by the Section on Painting and Sculpture of the Works Progress Administration to paint ten murals for the Allentown, Pennsylvania post office in the late 1930s. The Allentown murals depicted American revolutionaries hiding the liberty bell at Allentown. In 1941, he completed two murals in the Department of the Interior building in Washington, DC: North Country, and Tropical Country, and he painted seven panels at Princeton University in 1943 depicting the life of the nineteenth-century engineer Joseph Henry. He was awarded an honorary Masters degree by Princeton in 1947.

Retrospective exhibitions were held at the Century Club, San Francisco Museum, Des Moines Art Center, and Butler Institute in the early 1950s. Upon his death in 1956, a memorial exhibition was held at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, where Beal became a member in 1943.
Provenance:
Papers were donated to the Archives by Gifford Beal's descendants in three separate accessions. Beal's sons, William and Gifford R. Beal, Jr., donated sketches and sketchbooks in 1992 and 1993. Richard and Lewis Goff, Margaret Beal Alexander, and Telka Beal donated additional sketches, sketchbooks, and materials from Beal's studio in 2000 through the Cape Ann Savings Bank, facilitated by Kraushaar Galleries.

Margaret Beal Alexander, Beal's granddaughter, also donated personal papers of her grandparents via Kraushaar Galleries in 2000. Additional sketchbooks and a poster illustrated by Beal were donated by Beal's Estate via Kraushaar Galleries in 2007. Two scrapbooks of photographs of works of art were donated by Beal's Estate via Kraushaar Galleries in 2015.
Restrictions:
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized 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:
Painters -- New York (State)  Search this
Topic:
Drawing -- Technique  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Allentown  Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Travel diaries
Love letters
Drawings
Prints
Diaries
Paintings
Photographs
Citation:
Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks, and papers, 1889-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bealgiff
See more items in:
Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks, and papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98a8f006f-eed4-4440-a7f2-661e8073d4f6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bealgiff
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Beniamino Bufano, 1965 October 4

Interviewee:
Bufano, Beniamino, 1898-1970  Search this
Interviewer:
McChesney, Mary Fuller  Search this
Subject:
Federal Art Project  Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Beniamino Bufano, 1965 October 4. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Art and state  Search this
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
New Deal  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12135
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213351
AAA_collcode_bufano64
Theme:
New Deal
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213351
Online Media:

Kenneth Miller Adams papers, 1933-1938

Creator:
Adams, Kenneth M.  Search this
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts  Search this
Subject:
Rowan, Edward Beatty  Search this
Jones, Cecil H.  Search this
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Treasury Relief Art Project  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Place:
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945
Citation:
Kenneth Miller Adams papers, 1933-1938. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- Kansas  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- New Mexico  Search this
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- Kansas  Search this
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- New Mexico  Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- Kansas  Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- New Mexico  Search this
Art and state -- Kansas  Search this
Art and state -- New Mexico  Search this
Theme:
New Deal  Search this
Patronage  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5613
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208447
AAA_collcode_adamkenn
Theme:
New Deal
Patronage
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208447

Ruth Egri papers, 1923-1988

Creator:
Egri, Ruth, 1911-1996  Search this
Subject:
Egri, Charles  Search this
Egri, Ted  Search this
Egri, Ilona  Search this
Egri, Lajos  Search this
Fabri, Ralph  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Ruth Egri papers, 1923-1988. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Figurative painting, American  Search this
New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women muralists  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9934
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212484
AAA_collcode_egriruth
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212484

Ruth Egri papers

Creator:
Egri, Ruth, 1911-1996  Search this
Names:
Federal Art Project  Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this
Egri, Charles  Search this
Egri, Ilona  Search this
Egri, Lajos, 1888-1967  Search this
Egri, Ted, 1913-  Search this
Fabri, Ralph, 1894-1975  Search this
Extent:
1 Linear foot
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Date:
1923-1988
Summary:
The papers of muralist and illustrator Ruth Egri measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1934 to 1988. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, printed material, photographs of Egri and works of art, printed materials, sketches and sketcbooks, and writings. Also found are records relating to Egri's work with the Works Progress Administration.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of muralist and illustrator Ruth Egri measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1934 to 1988. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, printed material, photographs of Egri and works of art, printed materials, sketches and sketcbooks, and writings. Also found are records relating to Egri's work with the Works Progress Administration.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Figure painter, muralist, illustrator, educator Ruth Egri (1911-1996) was active in New York City, New York and Wilmington, Delaware. She studied at the National Academy of Design, the Art Students League, and the Master Institute of the Roerich Museum with Howard Giles. She painted and exhibited in Taos, N.M. with her brother Ted Egri. Primarily, her subject was the female figure.
Provenance:
The donor, Ted Egri, is the younger brother of Ruth Egri Holden.
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
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Figurative painting, American  Search this
New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women muralists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Ruth Egri papers, 1934-1988. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.egriruth
See more items in:
Ruth Egri papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c9f98857-7845-45bd-8593-11c78499b171
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-egriruth

George Biddle papers, circa 1910-1970

Creator:
Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this
Subject:
Brooks, Van Wyck  Search this
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo  Search this
Shahn, Ben  Search this
Sterne, Maurice  Search this
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano)  Search this
Pascin, Jules  Search this
Diederich, William Hunt  Search this
Poor, Henry Varnum  Search this
Poor, Anne  Search this
Pound, Ezra  Search this
Berenson, Bernard  Search this
Brewer, Bessie Marsh  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts  Search this
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture  Search this
Supreme Court Building (Mexico City, Mexico)  Search this
National Library Building (Rio de Janerio, Brazil)  Search this
Justice Dept. Building (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Diaries
Place:
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945
Citation:
George Biddle papers, circa 1910-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Mural painting and decoration, American  Search this
Art and state -- United States  Search this
Muralists  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
New Deal  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)7126
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209260
AAA_collcode_biddgeor
Theme:
Diaries
New Deal
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209260
Online Media:

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