Smithsonian's Archives of American Art

02/20/2024

Announcing our latest batch of oral history transcripts with women who made lasting and significant contributions to the history of art and culture in the United States. Read transcripts of oral history interviews with: Emily Hall Tremaine, Jean Lipman, Barbara Neville Parker, Marjorie Phillips, Ruth Armer, Constance Lebrun Crown and David Lebrun, Arline Custer, Gertrude Kasle, Suzanne La Follette, Joy Hakanson Colby, and Jane Blaffer Owen.

The Archives of American Art is currently working on a multi-year initiative to convert legacy oral history typescripts to digital form and to make them available on the Archives’ website.

This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

📸: Jean Lipman in her home library, ca. 1955. Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers, 1848. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📸: Emily Hall von Romberg, ca. 1920s-ca. 1930s. Emily Hall Tremaine papers, circa 1890-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📸: Mimi Jacobs. Ruth Armer, ca. 1975. [Photographs of artists taken by Mimi Jacobs, photographer], 1971-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

02/18/2024

It's o-fish-ially Pisces season ♓

Pisces friends, if you're reel-ing for some artists, look no further than your fellow Pisces artists 🐟 Some notable Pisces found at the Archives of American Art include:

1️⃣ Wallace Berman, born February 18, 1926
2️⃣ Augusta Savage, born February 29, 1892
3️⃣ Diane Arbus, born March 14, 1923
4️⃣ Constantin Brancusi, born February 19, 1876
5️⃣ Winslow Homer, born February 24, 1836

📸:
1. Charles Brittin. Wallace Berman, Artie Richer, David Meltzer and Bob Alexander with a sculpture by Wally Hedrick, 1957. Wallace Berman papers, 1907-1979.
2. Andrew Herman. Augusta Savage with her sculpture Realization, circa 1938. Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, circa 1920-1965.
3. Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone. Diane Arbus teaching a photography workshop, circa 1969. Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone papers, circa 1860-2011.
4. Jeanne Robert Foster. Photograph of Henri P. Roche,Constantin Brancusi, and John Quinn, 1922. Aline and Eero Saarinen papers, 1906-1977.
5. Winslow Homer, ca. 1907. Macbeth Gallery records, 1947-1948.

02/16/2024

📣The finding aid to the Beatrice Levy papers is now online! 🎉 Levy (1892-1974) was an etcher in Chicago and La Jolla, CA. She was President of the Chicago Society of Artists, Supervisor of the Works Progress Administration Art Project Gallery, and Supervisor of the Easel Painting Division in 1936 for the Federal Art Project. Levy’s papers include 45 diaries, financial records, photographs of Levy in her studio, and sketches by Levy of friends, travel locations, and architecture. To learn more about the collection, visit https://s.si.edu/3OFPz3P.


📷 1. Miniature diaries, 1921-1940. Beatrice S. Levy papers, 1890-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷 2. Photograph of Levy in the studio, circa 1920. Beatrice S. Levy papers, 1890-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷 3. Pastel and painted sketches, 1930s-1940s. Beatrice S. Levy papers, 1890-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷 4. Sketches, various locations - Chicago, 1945. Beatrice S. Levy papers, 1890-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

02/15/2024

The papers of Washington, D.C.-based mixed media artist Cleve Overton have been digitized and are now available online! 😃

The papers include biographical materials; correspondence (including letters from Overton to his wife Jude Andreasen while she was in Africa); writings, exhibition files, project files, printed materials, subject files, and photographs and photograph albums of Cleve, his family, events, artwork, and exhibitions. The papers measure 3.8 linear feet and date from circa 1928-2022, bulk 1948-2020.

Visit https://s.si.edu/CleveOverton to view the digitized collection!



📷1: Album of Cleve Overton and Artwork - "Cleve at Work", circa 1980-circa 2015. Cleve Overton papers, circa 1928-2022, bulk 1948-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷2: Cleve Overton Letters to Jude Andreasen in Senegal, 1984 August. Cleve Overton papers, circa 1928-2022, bulk 1948-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷3: Notes, circa 1969-2018. Cleve Overton papers, circa 1928-2022, bulk 1948-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷4: Album of Cleve Overton, Family and Friends (Part 1 of 2), circa 1935-circa 1970. Cleve Overton papers, circa 1928-2022, bulk 1948-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷5: Album of Cleve Overton and Artwork - "Cleve at Work", circa 1980-circa 2015. Cleve Overton papers, circa 1928-2022, bulk 1948-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

02/13/2024

Recently completed oral history interviews with textile artists Sonya Clark, Sheila Pepe, and Margaret Roach Wheeler are now available at the Archives of American Art. As our oral historian Ben Gillespie writes, “[t]heir interviews join a growing chorus at the Archives that illuminates the intricacy of craft as an expressive, essential art.” Learn more about these artists and their interviews on our blog: s.si.edu/42FAQM6.

Screenshot from video oral history with Sonya Clark, 2022.
Screenshot from video oral history with Margaret Roach Wheeler, October 24, 2022.

02/13/2024

This Galentine’s Day we dove into the Lucy Lippard papers and found this gem of a postcard from Howardena Pindell! Writing about the image on the postcard, her message is brief: “This you have to see to believe. Love, Howardena.” The image features the Florida Swimming Pool, which was originally built for the MGM technicolor movie "Easy to Love" (1953) starring Esther Williams, and was filmed in part at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida.

Pindell recalls a fond memory of meeting Lippard at the Museum of Modern Art in her 2012 oral history interview. She recalls was working on a Max Ernst exhibition that Lippard was curating and notes, “we also were born on the same day, except different years. We became friends and she really was my mentor.”

Here’s to and ! 🥂👭

1️⃣ and 2️⃣: Front and back of Howardena Pindell postcard to Lucy Lippard, January 5, 1975. Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s–2007.

02/11/2024

🏈🎨 Sketching on the scrimmage line: Football 🤝 Visual Artists

Read more about the artist behind this photo, John Steuart Curry, and how he ended up drawing on the sidelines (or 50 yard line?) on our blog: s.si.edu/2Iqhalx

📸 : Photograph of John Steuart Curry sketching a football practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1936 or 1937 / unidentified photographer. John Steuart Curry and Curry family papers, 1848-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

02/10/2024

🎉 Happy Year of the Dragon🎉 This mythical being is associated with leadership, good fortune, charisma, and intelligence. Artists in our collections born in the year of the dragon include Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), Joan Snyder (b. 1940), David Em (b. 1952), and Janine Antoni (b. 1964). We hope our fellow dragons (1976, 1988, 2000, and 2012) feel the good fortune of the dragon🐉 this Lunar New Year!

📷: Philip Reisman. Philip Reisman holiday card, 195-. Philip Reisman papers, 1904-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

02/09/2024

Avel C. de Knight (1921-1995) was an African American painter, educator, and art critic. Born in New York to parents from Barbados and Puerto Rico, he attended Pratt Institute before serving in a segregated United States Army unit in World War II. After the war, he studied at the École de Beaux-Arts, the Grand Chaumière, and the Académie Julian in Paris under the G.I. Bill. He returned to the United States in 1956 and in 1957 began reviewing New York exhibitions for France-Amérique. He also taught at the Art Students League and later at the National Academy School of Fine Arts. De Knight was also an Academician of the National Academy of Design, and his works are held in collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the University of Richmond Museums.

The Avel C. de Knight papers is available to researchers and can be found at: https://s.si.edu/48VjNIi. Also available is an oral history interview with Avel C. de Knight at: https://s.si.edu/4bjta5V.



📷 Portrait Photograph of Avel de Knight, ca. 1980. Avel de Knight papers, 1947-2003, bulk 1957-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷 Print Reproduction of "Nubia," undated. Avel de Knight papers, 1947-2003, bulk 1957-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷 Menu Cover Design L'Escargot Restaurant, 1982. Avel de Knight papers, 1947-2003, bulk 1957-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

02/08/2024

Charles Henry Alston (1907–1977) worked primarily in New York City as a painter, muralist, illustrator, and educator. He was part of the Harlem Renaissance movement in the 1930s and helped form the Harlem Art Workshop and the Harlem Artists Guild.

The scattered papers of African American and Harlem Renaissance painter, muralist, illustrator, sculptor, and educator Charles Henry Alston (1907–1977) measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1924–1980. The bulk of the collection documents his personal and professional relationships with figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Correspondence includes general correspondence; letters concerning Alston's artistic endeavors; and personal letters from friends and family. Found is a copy of a thank you note from Eudora Welty to John Woodburn for a jacket design presumably by Alston; letters from Harlem Renaissance figures and personal friends Romare Bearden, Byron Brown, Jacob Lawrence, and Hale Woodruff.

Alston’s papers and more are available to the public in-person and online. The is on a mission to collect, preserve, and make available the rich tapestry of American art. Today, our efforts provide millions of unique website visitors per year access to learn more about the lives and stories of artists who make up our nation's collective art history.

Help us forward our mission to ensure that the full spectrum of American art history is made available to the world by donating toward preservation through digitization today. Visit https://www.aaa.si.edu/support today.

02/03/2024

Happy Groundhog Day! We’re all waiting like Bill and Cecilia Beaux for Punxsutawney Phil to tell us that Spring is on its way!


📸: Cecilia Beaux at Green Alley in winter, circa 1910. Cecilia Beaux papers, 1863-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📸: Scene from the movie Groundhog Day (1993).

02/01/2024

To celebrate the start of Black History Month, join us in exploring our Guide to the Papers of African American Artists and Related Resources. The 78-page guide provides information on artists, links to our collections, links to oral history transcripts, and related resources. Go to s.si.edu/Guides to see the complete guide.



📸1. Front cover of Guide to the Papers of African American Artists and Related Resources.
📸2. Sample of an artist information page featuring Renee V. Cox.
📸3. The first page of the oral history interview list.
📸4. Sample of the Related Resources section.
📸5. Page of the guide featuring a photograph from the Senga Nengudi papers.

01/31/2024

The Archives of American Art is excited to announce that, thanks to you, many of our have been solved! 🕵️‍♂️🔎❔

Mysteries of the Archives of American Art involves the public in helping identify unknown figures in photographs across the Archives collections. Thank you to everyone who participated -- with your help, we have new information on these selected photos.

To view more mysteries, please visit s.si.edu/Mysteries

01/30/2024

Julio de Diego was a painter born in Madrid, Spain in 1900. De Diego immigrated to the United States in 1924, where he began work as a commercial artist doing fashion illustrations. De Diego eventually transitioned to painting and exhibited at institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art. During the 1930s he traveled through Mexico where he spent some time designing ballet sets and costumes.

The Archives is home to the Julio de Diego papers consisting of scrapbooks of correspondence and clippings, sketches, and sketchbooks. The Archives also holds the Lester Burbank Bridaham papers which contain additional correspondence, photographs, sketches, and research material on De Diego. Both collections are available to view, and the finding aid to the Julio de Diego papers can be found online at s.si.edu/3nQuh9o.


📷1. Photograph of Julio de Diego, circa 1946. Lester Burbank Bridaham papers, 1912-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷2. Sketch, undated. Julio de Diego papers, 1921-1959. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷3. Sketchbook, 1958-1959. Julio de Diego papers, 1921-1959. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📷4. Mail Art, undated. Lester Burbank Bridaham papers, 1912-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

01/29/2024

In her essay for the Fall 2024 Archives of American Art Journal, a special issue devoted to oral archives, University of Minnesota Art History PhD candidate and Minnesota Historical Society curator Angelica J. Maier offers an in-depth analysis of art dealer and collector Martha Jackson’s 1969 interview for the Archives, discussing the complexities and nuances of conducting research using oral histories: “I listen not only to what she is saying, but also to how she says it. I look for the repeated themes in her answers to the interviewer. Rather than parrot the chronological facts of her life, I attempt to describe her values, ambitions, and vision.”

To read Maier's article on Martha Jackson, go to s.si.edu/47ETUed
To read Martha Jackson’s 1969 Oral History Interview, visit s.si.edu/427KuXA
For more on the Archives of American Art Journal, see s.si.edu/427XUkQ

01/27/2024

Ana Mendieta submitted this artwork, "Microscopic view of the umbilical cord," in response to a 1976 questionnaire for the exhibition "What is Feminist Art?" at the Women's Building.

© The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC

Art

1️⃣ - 2️⃣: Ana Mendieta. Microscopic view of the umbilical cord, 1976. Woman's Building records, 1970-1992.

01/27/2024

Happy ! 🎉

This year marks the 10th anniversary of our very first Shelfie Day post back in 2014. Even though some of the faces have changed over the years, our staff is continually dedicated to growing our collections and making them an invaluable resource for our brilliant researchers! 🙌🏽

📸 1. Photograph of AAA staff with collections, 2024.
📸 2. Photograph of AAA staff between shelves, 2014.

01/25/2024

👨‍🎨 👩‍🎨 👨‍🎨 👩‍🎨 🎨 Sometimes you have to join forces to make a difference. During the New Deal, artists came together to reshape the foundation of the arts and infrastructure in the United States, and along the way they formed organizations to advance their interests as workers and to make sure work could go on sustainably.

Boris Gorelick was born in Russia in 1911 and emigrated to New York where he created prints and painted murals as part of the Federal Arts Project in the 1930s. He later moved to California and his illustrations came to life in Popeye the Sailor and Star Trek the Animated Series.

Check out Season One Episode 3 of ARTiculated, Issues of Labor and Equity in the New Deal, to hear more about worker's rights and the art that made America: s.si.edu/ARTiculatedS1E3

🎧: Clip from oral history interview with Boris Gorelick, 1964 May 20, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

01/23/2024

Handwritten letters are one of the best way to stay in contact with your friends 📜

Enjoy this humorous letter from Frederic Edwin Church to Martin Johnson Heade on , and let's appreciate his legible handwriting!

📝: Frederic Edwin Church. Frederic Edwin Church letter to Martin Johnson Heade, 1874 Nov. 25. Martin Johnson Heade papers, 1853-1904. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

01/22/2024

Conceptual artist Roberta Allen—once a contemporary of Sol Lewitt, Dorothea Rockburne, and Hans Haacke—turned from art making to creating writing in the 1970s. Her papers are now at the Archives of American Art, and include writings, sketchbooks, personal diaries, and correspondence among other materials that document her art career. As Gilbert and Ann Kinney New York Collector Jacob Proctor writes, the collection gives “crucial insight into Allen’s life and work while expanding our understanding of postminimalism and conceptual art in the 1970s.” Learn more about the Roberta Allen Papers on our blog: s.si.edu/42ct5Ny.

1️⃣ Roberta Allen, preparatory work for the series Pointless Acts, 1976. Gelatin silver print. Roberta Allen Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
2️⃣ Roberta Allen, preparatory work for the series Negation, 1976. Gelatin silver print and ink on paper. Roberta Allen Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
3️⃣ Roberta Allen, photographic documentation of Real Ascending and Descending Arrows II, 1978. Gelatin silver print. Roberta Allen Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

01/21/2024

Friends come in all shapes and sizes, as artist Howard Hussey recalls learning from observing his mentor and friend, artist Joseph Cornell, and his woodland friends in the garden.

📷: Common squirrel; House mouse; Rat, between 1880 and 1940. Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📃: Oral History interview with Howard Hussey, 2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

01/20/2024

It's time for the age of Aquarius ♒

Calling all aquarians: see what artist (or maybe even 3!) share your birthday! Hint: it's a big season for abstract expressionism 👀 Some famous Aquarius creatives found among our collections are:

1️⃣ Robert Motherwell, born January 24, 1915
2️⃣ Alice Neel, born January 28, 1900
3️⃣ Jackson Po***ck, born January 28, 1912
4️⃣ Claes Oldenburg, born January 28, 1929
5️⃣ Betty Parsons, born January 31, 1900
6️⃣ Joan Mitchell, born February 12, 1925
7️⃣ Grant Wood, born February 13, 1891
8️⃣ Yoko Ono, born February 18, ​1933

📸:
1. Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Motherwell at their Provincetown studio, ca. 1960. Bernard J. Reis papers, circa 1913-1983.
2. Jonathan Brand. Alice Neel, 1968. Alice Neel papers, 1933-1983.
3. Herbert Matter. Jackson Po***ck painting in his studio, 1947. Jackson Po***ck and Lee Krasner papers, circa 1914-1984.
4. Charles Rapaport. Claes Oldenburg and one of his works in his show The Street at the Reuben Gallery, 1960 May. Rudi Blesh papers, circa 1900-1983.
5. Oliver Baker. Betty Parsons standing with Seymour Lipton and his work, 1961. Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, 1916-1991.
6. Joan Mitchell with her painting Untitled (1951) in her parents' apartment in Chicago, circa 1952. Michael Goldberg papers, 1942-1981.
7. John W. Barry. Grant Wood in his studio, 1931. Grant Wood papers, 1930-1983.
8. David Bourdon. Yoko Ono, John Lennon and Andy Warhol, 1971 June 5. David Bourdon papers, 1941-1998.

01/19/2024

01/19/2024

01/19/2024

“Ideally, art, pure, is of a sphere and of no country; the first real artists, always and everywhere, have either been importers or immigrants bringing the light with them.” – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, “What is American Art,” New York Times, 1932

Oscar Florianus Bluemner argues that it is as difficult to define American art as it is to define art itself, reflecting on his experience as a Prussian immigrant to the United States. Throughout his career, this analytical side of Bluemner—and the concept of light—can be seen in how he documented art theory and techniques, as seen in this 1931 color study of snow, where he notes in German the different tones of snow depending on levels of light.

How would you describe the colors you’re seeing this winter?

💙: Oscar Bluemner. “Color studies of snow,” 1931 February?. Oscar Bluemner papers, 1886-1939. Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

01/18/2024

'Tis the ski-son to hit the hills 🎿

Get into the winter spirit by exploring Marcel Breuer's visionary site plans for the Flaine Ski Resort town in Haute-Savoie, France. ⛷️

1️⃣ Site plan for Flaine Ski Resort Town, Haute-Savoie, France, between 1960 and 1976. Marcel Breuer papers, 1920-1986.
2️⃣ Robert F. Gatje. Flaine Ski Resort in Haute-Savoie, France, not before 1969. Marcel Breuer papers, 1920-1986.
3️⃣ Yves Guillemaut. View from a balcony at the Alderbaran apartment building in the Flaine Ski Resort in Haute-Savoie, France, not before 1969. Marcel Breuer papers, 1920-1986.

01/17/2024

Meet Emily Shapiro, managing editor of the Archives of American Art Journal!

Emily oversees copy editing, images and permissions, design, and production for the Archives of American Art Journal. The AAAJ showcases new approaches and out-of-the-box thinking about primary sources. View more of Emily's favorite collections items, in our exhibition, Staff Picks: Our Favorite Items from the Collection, open now through September 1, 2024.

The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, 1st floor
8th and F Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States
Open daily 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m. through 2024.

01/16/2024

📣 Announcing our latest batch of oral history transcripts with women who made lasting and significant contributions to the history of art and culture in the United States. ✨

Read transcripts of oral history interviews with Una E. Johnson, Rosalind Bengelsdorf Browne, Karen Karnes, Ruth Cobb, Margaret E. Philbrick, Eleanor Ward, Louisa Dresser Campbell, and Liliane Lijn.

The Archives of American Art is currently working on a multi-year initiative to convert legacy oral history typescripts to digital form and to make them available on the Archives’ website. This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

📸1: Eleanor Ward, undated. Stable Gallery records, 1916-1999, bulk 1953-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
📸2: Rosalind Bengelsdorf Browne, 1936 or 1937. Rosalind Bengelsdorf Browne papers, 1910s-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

01/15/2024

Martin Luther King, Jr. not only inspired the nation, but the art world as well. Notes written (circa 1983) by J. Maurice Thomas describe Alma Thomas’s experience participating in the March on Washington in 1963 and how it inspired her painting titled “March on Washington.” Read more about Thomas's experience in the March on Washington on our blog: s.si.edu/47pszgb



📸 1: Jack Whitten. Photograph of Alma Thomas at the opening of her exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1972. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001.
📸 2-3: J. Maurice (John Maurice) Thomas. J. Maurice Thomas notes on Alma Thomas' participation in the March on Washington, 1983?. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001.

01/11/2024

What has feminism in the arts looked like throughout US history? 🎨👩‍🎨

In case you missed it, listen to Season 3, Episode 12 of our podcast, ARTiculated: Dispatches from the Archives of American Art, to find out. In this episode, "This Women's Thing: Feminism and the Arts," artists Faith Ringgold, Linda Nochlin, Ann Wilson, Emma Amos, and others, describe the trajectory of feminism they've seen in their lives and careers. 🌟

🎧 Listen to the full episode at s.si.edu/ARTiculatedS3E12.