Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Archives related to: Neumann, J. B. (Jsrael Ber)

titleJ. B. Neumann papers, 1915-1967.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionCorrespondence, writings, printed material, and photographs relating to Neumann's work as a well-known art dealer in New York City during the second quarter of the century.

REELS NJBN 1-NJBN 5: Correspondence with many notable American and European artists, art critics, museum directors and others. [Correspondents are listed according to reel number].

REEL NJBN 1: Correspondents include George Ault, Milton Avery, Alfred Barr, Leonard Baskin, Maurice Becker, Eugene Berman, George Biddle, Oscar Bluemner, Ilya Bolotowsky, Adelyn Breeskin, Henri Burkhard, Bryson Burroughs, Alexander Calder, Mary Callery, Jean Charlot, Sheldon Chaney, Alfred Churchill, Joseph Cornell, Andrew Dasburg, Stuart Davis, Marcel Duchamp, Albert E. Einstein, Louis Eilshemius, Juliana R. Force, Arnold Friedman, Lee Gatch, Adolph Gottlieb, Thomas Handforth, George O. (Pop) Hart, Leon Hartl, Marsden Hartley, Alonzo Hauser, Zolton Hecht, Carl Holty, Ilonka Karasz, Bernard Karfiol, Karl Knaths, Benjamin Kopman, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Clare Leighton, Jean Liberte, Richard Lippold, Jacques Lipchitz and Louis Lozowick.

REEL NJBN 2: Loren MacIver, George L.K. Morris, Robert Motherwell, Ben Nicholson, Isamu Noguchi, George O'Keeffe, Jose C. Orozco, Walter Pach, Henry Poor, Abraham Rattner, Man Ray, Ad Reinhardt, Boardman Robinson, Arnold Ronnebeck, Anne Ryan, Jimmy Savo, Josef Scharl, Charles Sheeler, Joseph Solman, Moses Soyer, Eugene Speicher, Maurice Sterne, Alfred Stieglitz, Mark Tobey, Franklin C. Watkins, Max Weber, James L. Wells, Warren Wheelock, Arthur Young, Carl Zigrosser and William Zorach.

REEL NJBN 3: Josef Albers, Max Beckmann, Jean Charlot, Joseph Cornell, Sidney Delevante, Lee Gatch, Carl Holty, W. & Mrs. Nina Kandinsky, Karl Knaths, Marie Menken, Carl Milles, E. R. Robinson, Clifford Odets, Amedee Ozenfant, Hila Rebay, Abraham Rattner, Bernard Reder and Curt Valentin

REEL NJBN 4: Alexander Archipenko, Hans Arp, Marcus Behmer, Heinrich Campendonk, Marc Chagall, Lovis Corinth, Lyonel Feininger, Lion Feuchtwanger, Paul Gangolf, Marcel Gromaire, George Grosz, Gerhardt Hauptmann, Martin Heidegger, Jean Hélion, Emil Jannings, Wasily Kandinsky, Felix Klee, Manfred Lehmbruck, J. C. Orozco, Ida Rapaport-Chagall, Hilla Rebay, Claude Roger-Marx, Georges Rouault, Galka Scheyer, Gino Severini, Alfred Stieglitz, Ernst Toller, Forbes Watson, Max Weber and Stefan Zweig.

REEL NJBN 5: Jankel Adler, Josef Albers, Hans Arp, Alexander Archipenko, Baader, Hans Beckmann, Marcus Behmer, David Burliuk, Alexander Calder, Else Cassirer, Heinrich Campendonk, Marc and Ida Rapaport-Chagall, Lovis Corinth, Otto Dix, Katherine Dreier, Dulberg, Albert Einstein, James Y, Ewers, Lyonel Feininger, Lion Feuchtwanger, Conrad Felixmuller, Alfred Flechtheim, Leonard Frank, Eduard Fuchs, Paul Gangolf, Dr. Will Grohmann, Marcel Gromaire, Walter Gropius, Waldemar George, Stefan Grossman, Karl Glaser, Paul Guillaume, Wolfgang Gurlitt, R. Becker, Olaf Gulbansson, Peggy Guggenheim, George Grosz, Richard Harlfinger, H. Haller, Jean Hélion, Fritz Huf, Ludwig Hardt, Hofer, Jakob Hegner, Erich Heckel, Martin Heidegger, F. M. Jansen, Dr. Robert Jungk, R. Janthur, Jaeckel, Max Jacob, Emil Jannings, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst L. Kirchner, Erich Klossowski and Oskar Kokoschka.

REELS N69/93-N69/94: Correspondence, including letters from William Valentiner; writings; clippings; obituary notice; New Art Circle catalogs, announcements; photographs of Neumann by Helen Balfour Morrison (ca. l950), Clarence White (1925), and Hans Namuth (ca. 1950), of Neumann with his wife by Foka, New York (ca. 1935), and one of Edvard Munch, 1905; and posters.

REEL 3533: Papers relating to Wassily Kandinsky, who was represented by Neumann, including a postcard from Kandinsky, 1921; correspondence with Nina Kandinsky; receipts, 1927 and one 1936 for a Kandinsky painting sold by Neumann; lists of works; exhibition announcement, 1936; and a clipping. [All but printed material and postcard were filmed on NJBN 3, fr. 130-164.]

REEL 3947: A scrapbook. 1925-1967, containing printed material, a letter, and a drawing, possibly by Neumann; and printed material.

UNMICROFILMED: Primarily printed material, including: announcements and catalogs for New Art Circle, 1924-1957; Artlover, "J.B. Neumann's Bilderhefte," and Artlover publications: exhibition catalogs and announcements, 1927-1967; 2 bound editions of World House Galleries catalogs, 1958-1960; 10 issues of "Americana," 1932-1933; "Art Front," 1936 March; and "New Masses," 1934 May 29 and 1936 Dec. 15. Also included are a few letters; "Obituary for Curt Valentin," 1954; and a guestbook, 1929-ca. 1935.
extent5.0 linear ft. (on 9 microfilm reels) reels NJBN 1-5; N69/93-94; 3533; and 3947
formatsCorrespondence Photographs Clippings Scrapbooks Exhibition Catalogs
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationCorrespondence (reels NJBN1-4) was lent for microfilming by Neumann's widow, Elsa Schmid, 1966-1969. Correspondence (reel NJBN5) was lent by Schmid to the Museum of Modern Art in 1962 for microfilming, and a copy of this film was later given to AAA. A small group of letters, mainly regarding Wassily Kandinsky, on reel NJBN 3, were later donated by Schmid's friend, Eva Lee, and refilmed, with a few additional items, on reel 3533. Schmid donated papers on reels N69/93-94 and the unmicrofilmed material 1967-1969. Additional groups of printed material were received from Joy Weber, Max Weber's daughter, in 1976, and Neil Richmond, 1978.
updated03/16/2023 10:29:45
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titleJ.B. Neumann Papers, 1921-1960.
repositoryThe Museum of Modern Art
descriptionPapers consist of Neumann’s publications, exhibition catalogs, manuscripts, lecture notes, and personal documents as well as copies of correspondence from artists and photonegatives of artwork. Prominent correspondents are Max Beckmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Edvard Munch, and Georges Rouault. A microfilm exists of additional letters from artists.

Unpublished manuscripts are "Confessions of at Art Dealer" (chapters on Munch, Beckmann, Rouault, and Klee) and "Klee in America" (largely photographs of artwork). The papers also include all issues of Neumann’s irregular periodicals J.B. Neumann’s Bilderhefte (Berlin, 1920-1922) and Artlover (New York, 1926-1945).

Biographical or historical data
German-American art dealer, lecturer, critic, and publisher who gave support to many modern artists.

Location
MoMA Museum Archives

Call Number
J.B. Neumann papers
extent4.5 linear ft. 3 reels of microfilm 9 boxes
formatsMicrofilm Correspondence Slides Ephemera Manuscript
accessThe records are open for research and contain no restricted materials.
record linkhttp://www.moma.org/research/archives/EAD/Neumannf.html
record sourcehttps://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991009769239707141
finding aidOnline and in repository
acquisition informationThe Papers were a gift to the Museum Library from Elsa Schmidt Neumann, J. B. Neumann's widow, in 1962. They were transferred from the Museum Library to the Museum Archives on April 28, 1997, and re-processed adhering to archival principles.
updated11/29/2022 15:49:50
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titleLily Harmon papers, 1930-1996.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionPrimarily research files and notes, subject files, interview tapes and transcripts, correspondence, writings, and other materials compiled by Harmon for a never-published biography of art dealer J.B. Neumann, titled The Art Lover.

Found are photocopies of J.B. Neuman's correspondence with Karl Nierendorf, Clifford Odets, Elsa Schmid, and Alfred Stieglitz; photocopies and other materials from the J.B. Neumann Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Center, including photocopies of the magazine published by Neumann titled Art Lover Library, 1930-1957 (volume 1, 1930 is original bound volume), copyprints and photocopies of photographs of Neumann, his family, and of other subjects; interview transcripts and audio tapes with numerous artists conducted in the mid-1980s; research notes and files; and subject files on numerous artists (all photocopies).

Harmon's personal papers include resumes; copies of letters from friends, family, dealers and others; photographs of Harmon's paintings; writings, including poems, excerpts from diaries, autobiographical essays, and her autobiography FREEHAND; photocopies of various mss. drafts of Harmon's biography of Neumann, The Art Lover, and related writings by Harmon, including The Art Dealer and the Playwright, and Synopsis of Art Lover, ca. 1987-1990 ; a transcript of an interview of Harmon conducted by Karl Fortress, 1967; magazine and newspaper clippings; exhibition announcements and catalogs; and miscellany.

Interviewees include: Dore Ashton, Sally Avery, Alfred Barr, Phillip Bruno, Al Copley, Dorothy Dehner, Bettina Drew (about Nelson Algren), Elsie Driggs (also found is a video interview and transcript of Driggs by Merryman Gatch, n.d.), Ben Hertzberg, Leonard Hutton, Lewis Isaacs, Max Kahn, Katharine Kuh, Johanna Neumann Lamm, Frances Manacher, Peter Neumann, Albrecht Neumann, Nolbert Rothbaum, Margarete Schultz, Joseph Solman, Margarete Sapanel, Hugh Stix, Ilse Vogel with Howard Knotts, and Edward M.M. Warburg.

Bio / His Notes:
Painter and sculptor; New York City. Harmon worked for the influential art dealer J.B. Neumann, and spent several years preparing a biography of him which was never published. As an artist, she lived in Europe in the early part of the century, and worked on WPA art projects in the 1930s.
extent6.0 linear ft.
formatsCorrespondence Interviews Writings Notes
accessUnmicrofilmed: use requires an appointment.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
finding aidPartial box inventory is available.
acquisition informationDonated 1983 and 1998 by Lily Harmon.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:49
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titleWassily Kandinsky papers, 1911-1940 (bulk 1921-1937).
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionRussian-born artist considered to be one of the creators of abstract painting. Papers document Kandinsky's teachings at the Bauhaus, his writings, his involvement with the Russian Academy of Artistic Sciences (RAKhN) in Moscow, and his professional contacts with art dealers, artists, collectors, and publishers.

Biographical/Historical Note
Wasily Kandinsky [Vasilii Vasil'evich Kandinskii] was born in 1866 in Moscow, Russia and died in 1944 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He is considered one of the first creators of purely abstract painting.
extentca. 2 linear ft.
formatsWritings Manuscript Correspondence
accessOpen for use by qualified researchers.
record linkhttp://archives2.getty.edu:8082/xtf/view?docId=ead/850910/850910.xml;query=;brand=default
record sourcehttp://hdl.handle.net/10020/cat76560
finding aidIn repository and on repository's Web site
acquisition informationAcquired by the repository in 1985.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:55
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titleCorrespondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1929-1961, n.d.
repositoryUniversity of Pennsylvania
descriptionAmong the subjects covered in this folder of friendly, general correspondence are J. B. Neumann’s appreciations of Carl Zigrosser’s books, information about the work of his wife, and letters concerning Philadelphia Museum of Art purchases from Neumann.

Biography/History:
J. B. Neumann was an innovative art dealer in New York City. He was married to artist Elsa Schmid.

Contained in:
Carl Zigrosser Papers, ca. 1891-1971. Folder 1213.

Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts
Call Number: Ms. Coll. 6
extent23 items (24 leaves).
formatsCorrespondence
accessIn general, the Carl Zigrosser Papers may be examined by qualified researchers in the reading room of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania. Photocopying of Zigrosser materials is at the discretion of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The receipt of photocopies does not grant publication rights without the written permission of the University of Pennsylvania and the literary executors of the authors in question.
record sourcehttp://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu
finding aidAvailable in electronic form and in repository.
acquisition informationGift June 1972
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleElsa Schmid papers, 1910-1967.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionPersonal and professional correspondence, including letters fom Henry Varnum Poor, Max Weber, Boris Anrep, Helen Chase, Edward Waldo Forbes, Warren Wheelock, Abraham Walkowitz, Alfred H. Barr, Georgia O'Keeffe, Barbara Morgan and Josef Albers; a photograph file of her mosaics; clippings; catalogs and drawings relating to the mosaics or their subject matter; files on Van Wyck Brooks, Father Martin D'Arcy, John Dewey, and Dikran Kelekian; notes and lecture material; magazine articles; catalogs; and other miscellaneous printed material. Some of the letters are to J. B. Neumann.

Bio / His Notes:
Mosaicist, painter, sculptor; Rye, N.Y. Married to art dealer J. B. Neumann.
extent1.0 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 1 reel) reel 953
formatsCorrespondence
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationThe donor, Peter Neumann, is Schmid's son.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleIlse-Margret Vogel papers, [circa 1949-1993].
repositoryArchives of American Art
description Letters, photographs, exhibition catalogs, writings, an interview, printed material and miscellany regarding Vogel's career as a children's book illustrator and gallery owner. Approximately 100 letters and postcards from J. B. Neumann; photographs of Vogel, J. B. Neumann, Howard Knotts, Markus Krause and others; catalogs published by Neumann’s gallery New Art Circle at 41 East 57th Street in New York City and several catalogs published by Galerie Gerd Rosen, Berlin; two annotated books, "Galerie Gerd Rosen: Die Avantgarde in Berlin, 1945-1950," by Markus Krause, 1995, and "What I Believe by Bertrand Russell, 1925"; a 1985 interview on cassette of Vogel conducted by Lily Harmon; newspaper clippings.

Biographical and Historical Note
Children's book illustrator and gallery owner; New York, N.Y. Prior to moving to the United States from Berlin, Vogel opened the Galerie Gerd Rosen, the first modern art gallery in Berlin in the 1940s.
extent0.6 linear ft.
formatsPhotographs Interviews Sound Recording Correspondence Writings
accessUse requires an appointment.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationDonated 2007 by Howard Knotts, c/o Nancy Lindbloom. Knotts was Vogel's husband.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleLee Gatch papers, 1925-1979.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionCorrespondence, notebooks, writings, photographs, catalogs and other publications.

REEL D160: Letters from Gatch's dealer J.B. Neumann, detailing his financial difficulties, Marian Willard of Willard Gallery, collector Duncan Phillips, who discusses a catalog he is writing on Gatch, and painter and collector Max Kahn; photographs of Gatch, ca. 1934; a commonplace book, 1925-1937, which also includes food recipes and an inventory of Gatch's paintings; clippings; and catalogs.

REEL NLG-1: Mainly correspondence with Phillip Bruno of World House Galleries concerning the pricing and delivery of paintings. Gatch comments specifically on "Veronica's Veil" and "Gothic Night." Also included are social notes from Elsie Driggs Gatch to Josephine Bruno, playbills from performances of Merriman Gatch, clippings, and photographs.
REEL N69-137: an autobiographical sketch; letters, 1934-1965, from Lewis Mumford, Katharine Kuh, and others, commending his work, from J.B. Neumann and Duncan Phillips, discussing sales of his painting, and from Max Kahn, commenting generally on art matters; brief essays by Gatch on his paintings "Jurassic Frieze" and "World's End," and the development of his painting; a book of poems inscribed by the author, Power Dalton; and catalogs.

REEL 1: Letters to Elsie Driggs, 1934-1935, commenting on his art theories, his plans for Yaddo, and his financial situation; an exchange between Gatch and Bruno, commenting on his use of texture; one letter from Duncan Phillips, discussing an article he is preparing on Gatch. Also, a typescript comment by Gatch on the aim of his art, a certificate from the New York Institute of Mechanics, 1941, and a National Institute of Arts and Letters citation, 1965.

REEL 2812: 36 photographs of Gatch, his homes, and studios, ca. 1927-1963; 3 exhibition catalogs; and a letter, February 8, 1979, from Robert J. Koenig to Merriman Gatch regarding "The Acrobats" by her father.

UNMICROFILMED: Photographs, printed material, several letters, a student notebook, and memorabilia.

Bio / His Notes:
Painter; New York, N.Y.
extent 1.0 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 5 reels)
formatsMicrofilm Correspondence Notebooks Writings Photographs
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationDonated 1963-1979 by Gatch and his wife Elsie Driggs Gatch, except for material on reel NLG-1, which was lent for microfilming, as well as portions of the unmicrofilmed material, which were donated 1971 by Mrs. Leonard Strauss (6 snapshots), who was working on a master's thesis on Gatch, and by Gatch's sister, Sister Mary Rachel Gatch (2 letters, and printed material).
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleWillard Gallery records, 1917-1973.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionCorrespondence; scrapbooks; material on David Smith; records relating to Lee Gatch; notebooks on Morris Graves and Mark Tobey; and miscellany.

REEL NWI-1: Four notebooks, 1936-1959, with reproductions of works by Morris Graves, and three notebooks, 1917-1959, with reproductions of works by Mark Tobey.

REEL NLG-1: Correspondence between Gatch and Marian Willard, concerning Gatch's business relations with dealer J. B. Neumann, exhibitions and sales. Also included are clippings and biographical notes.

REEL NDSmithA: Card file of sculpture by David Smith, including title of work, date, material, size and price.

REELS N69-114 & N69-116: Scrapbooks, 1936-1969, including clippings, catalogs, photographs and occasional correspondence documenting Marian Willard's founding in 1936 of the East River Gallery, later (1938) the Neumann-Willard Gallery; her introduction of rental art, an innovation in the American art trade, and gallery exhibitions of various artists. Considerable exhibition and critical material for artists regularly shown by the Gallery is included: Lyonel Feininger, David Smith, Loren MacIver, David Hayes, Mark Tobey, Ezio Martinelli and Louis Schanker. Also included letters one from Lyonel Feininger, Lewis Mumford and Archibald MacLeish, congratulating Miss Willard on the Gallery's opening.

REELS N69-116-N69-118: Scrapbooks, 1928-1969, containing photographs, exhibition catalogs, critical articles, incidental correspondence, and price lists for the following artists: Juan Luis Bunuel, Sylvia Braverman, Leo Kenney, Thomas Stearns, Lenore Tawney, Morris Graves, David Hayes, Genichiro Inokuma, Tadashi Sato, Richard Lippold, Philip McCracken, Charles Seliger, and Mark Tobey.

REEL 822: A scrapbook of the Willard Gallery, 1972 and a scrapbook containing clippings and announcements about Ann Wilson, 1972, and about William Pettet, 1973.

REEL 986: Correspondence file on David Smith, 458 letters, 1940-1956 and 1966. Included are correspondence between Marian Willard and Smith, letters to Willard from Smith's wife, Dorothy Dehner, and other correspondence with the Gallery relating to Smith. In addition there are press releases, lists of Smith's works, exhibition catalogs, biographical material, and miscellany.
extent1.4 linear ft. (on 9 microfilm reels) reels NWI-1, NLG-1, NDSmithA, N69-114, N69-116-N69-118, 822 & 986
formatsCorrespondence Scrapbooks Notes Clippings Inventories
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationMaterial on reels NWI-1, NLG-1, N69-114, N69-116-N69-118 & 822 lent for microfilming 1959-1974; and material on reels NDSmithA & 986 donated 1966 & 1974 by Marian Willard.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleJosef Albers letters to J. B. Neumann, 1934-1947.
repositoryArchives of American Art
description40 letters to J. B. Neumann from Josef Albers, primarily in German, and an article by Alexander Dorner on Albers.
extent41 items (on partial microfilm reel). roll 911
formatsCorrespondence
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationLent for microfilming 1966 by the Brooklyn Museum, Department of Prints. Location of Original: Originals in the Brooklyn Museum, Department of Prints.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleMax Kahn papers, 1949-1993.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionCorrespondence, photographs, works of arts, printed material and financial records regarding artists Lee Gatch, J.B. Neumann, Curt Valentine and Max Beckmann. Also included are letters to Kahn regarding museum gifts.

UNMICROFILMED: Letters regarding museum gifts are from H. W. Catling, Julia Robertson, Evelyn Harrison, J. Carter Brown, Earl A. Powell, III, Virginia Mecklenburg, Ruth Fine and others.

REEL 1128: A card file on paintings by Gatch, 1925-1957, listing title, date, size, exhibition history, locations of reproductions, present location. In addition, there is a photograph of "My Three Aunts" with descriptive notes.

Bio / His Notes:
Dealer, collector; New York, N.Y. Gave financial support to painter Lee Gatch. Kahn was associated with J.B. Neumann from 1947-1953, and with Grace Borgenicht 1953-ca. 1960.
extent0.6 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 1 reel) reel 1128
formatsCorrespondence Photographs Works of Art Printed Materials Financial Records
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationMaterial on reel 1128 lent for microfilming 1976 and unmicrofilmed material donated 1976 by Max Kahn and in 2007 by David Strauss, Kahn's cousin. Location of Original: Reel 1128: Originals returned to Kahn after microfilming.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleBalcomb Greene interview, 1972 Mar. 13.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionAn interview of Balcomb Greene conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art. Greene speaks of his background as the son of a minister and growing up in various parish towns in Iowa; attending Syracuse University as a psychology major; beginning to draw and write; teaching at Dartmouth College; going to Paris in 1930-1931; his involvement with the Federal Art Project; getting his Master's at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; teaching at Carnegie Institute; the American Abstract Artists group; working with models and photographs; the development of his own painting; collages;

color theory; his change from abstract to representational painting; figure and landscape painting; working with a spray gun; his painting technique and his use of light; his dislike for acrylics; style and personalization in art; exhibitions at New Art Circle, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, the Saidenberg Gallery, the Forum Gallery and others; going to Paris in 1960; and the contemporary art scene. He recalls J.W. Swinden, J.B. Neumann and Bertha Schaefer.

Bio / His Notes:
Painter; New York, N.Y. Died 1990.General

Note:
Sound quality is poor.

extentSound recordings: 2 sound tape reels (3 hours 30 min.) ; 5 in. Transcript: 56 p. (on partial microfilm reel) reel 4210
formatsSound Recording Microfilm Transcript
accessTranscript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationThis interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleReuben Nakian interviews, 1981 June 9-June 17.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionAn interview of Reuben Nakian conducted by Avis Berman for the Archives of American Art. Nakian speaks of his childhood, growing up in New York City; his early interest in art; early ventures in sculpture; working for Paul Manship; meeting Daniel Chester French; teaching; early influences; his European travels; techniques and materials; the relationship of artists and suffering;

his portrait busts of other artists; dealers he has been affiliated with, including Edith Halpert and Valentine Dudensing; animal sculptures; his Babe Ruth sculpture; critical and public reaction to his work. He recalls Constantin Brancusi, Marcel Duchamp, Raoul Hague, William Zorach, Gaston Lachaise and J. B. Neumann. The third voice heard on the tape is that of Nakian's assistant, Don Ross, who helps prompt Nakian to recall certain incidents.

Bio / His Notes:
Sculptor; Stamford, Ct. Died 1986.
extent4 sound cassettes (105 p. transcript)
formatsSound Recording Transcript Online Transcript
accesstranscript available on repository's web site
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationThese interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleBen-Zion interview, 1982 Aug. 3 - Sept. 21.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionAn interview of Ben-Zion conducted by Barbara Shikler for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Ben-Zion speaks of his family's background in Ukraine and Poland and their arrival in the United States after the death of his father. He remembers working as a writer for a Hebrew newspaper in the Bronx, the writing block he suffered in reaction to Nazi atrocities in Europe, and his turn to art with the patronage of J. B. Neumann.

He recalls exhibiting with The Ten, meeting Mark Rothko through the Gallery Secession, and the rift that developed among members of The Ten.
He describes his own commercial success, the influence of Jewish tradition upon his choices of subject matter, and his relationship with the Jewish Museum in New York. He discusses a period in which he stopped painting and returned to writing, and his later interest in sculpture. He speaks of his writings and his work habits.
extentSound recording: 3 sound cassettes : analog. Transcript: 90 p. (on partial microfilm reel) reel 4937
formatsSound Recording Microfiche Transcript Online Transcript
accesstranscript available on repository's web site
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationThis interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation. Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleJosé de Creeft papers, 1908-1982.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionBiographical data; membership files; award certificates; letters; correspondence files; business records; an interview transcript; sketches; notes; writings; subject files; project files; exhibition files; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs and photograph albums.

REEL D150: Biographical material and documents; artists' statements; a typescript of an interview conducted by Jules Campos; letters concerning exhibitions and involvement in art organizations, 1959-1963; letters and photographs concerning projects ALICE IN WONDERLAND, 1957, THE PICADOR, and the STONE MOUNTAIN CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL competition, 1961-1962; exhibition catalogs, 1949-1962; typescript of de Creeft's essay "Roosty Was My Friend", 1957; a scrapbook on De Creeft compiled by Rosamund Frost; a scrapbook of clippings, 1927-1942; photographs of de Creeft in his studio and with friends including Alexander Calder, 1936-1951; and 3 photograph albums of family members and of works.

REELS 375-378: Travel and emigration documents, 1916-1939; award certificates, 1944-1963; letters, 1911-1972, from friends, students, and colleagues, including Ramon Aspillaga, Alexander Calder (invitation: Calder's Circus 12/15/36), Joseph Escudar, and Gil Gomez; letters, 1922-1972, concerning De Creeft's teaching career, membership in art organizations, exhibitions, and business with dealers and galleries, including The Contemporaries, Galeria Sudamericana, and the Passedoit Gallery; notes; sketches; clippings, 1932-1971; and exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1929-1970;

Also included are photographs, 1915-1971, of: de Creeft, his family, and his works, de Creeft with friends in Paris, 1915; de Creeft and his wife Lorrie Goulet with Raphael Soyer, posing with Soyer's portrait of them; of Gertrude Lawrence (3), 1932; art juries, 1949-1964, which include Chaim Gross, Jacques Lipchitz, Theodore Roszak, and William Zorach; and of students, friends, and faculties of Black Mountain College, Art Students League, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and the Norton School of Art, including Joseph Albers, Alexander Calder, Julio De Diego, Walter Gropius, J. B. Neumann, and Abraham Rattner.

UNMICROFILMED: Passports, 1939-1963; letters concerning awards, 1954-1975; files containing letters, cards, and printed material on membership in various art-related organizations, 1931-1977; letters, 1908-1982, from friends and colleagues, including Alexander Calder, Hunt Diederich, and Jacques Lipchitz; financial material, including price lists and receipts, 1909-1966; address books; an engagement calendar containing very brief annotations by de Creeft's first wife Alice Robertson Carr, 1932; lists of works, 1946-1972; drafts for THE SCULPTURE OF JOSE DE CREEFT by Jules Campos, 1968-1971; miscellaneous notes and writings, 1924-1957;

subject files containing letters and printed material concerning the New School for Social Research, 1936-1964, Norton Gallery and School of Art, 1940-1963, Black Mountain College, 1945-1970, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, 1948-1958, and the Art Students League, 1959-1980; project files contain contracts, letters, photographs, and blueprints for projects including POET, 1951, STONE MOUNTAIN CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL, 1961-1963, and ALICE IN WONDERLAND; 3 exhibition files, 1952-1975, containing letters, receipts, and printed material;
clippings, 1922-1981; a galley proof for "Statement on Sculpture" by de Creeft, 1972; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1929-1979; and photographs, 1930-1967 of de Creeft with family and friends and of works of art.

Bio / His Notes:
Sculptor; New York, N.Y. Died 1982. Born in Guadalajara, Spain and raised in Barcelona. He studied at the Academie Julian, emigrated to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1940, and taught at the Black Mountain College and at the Art Students League.
extent5.0 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 5 reels) reels D150 and 375-378
formatsInterview Sound Recording Transcript Microfilm
accessMicrofilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
finding aidFinding aid available at AAA offices.
acquisition informationMaterial on reels D150 and 375-378 was lent for microfilming in 1963 and 1972 by José de Creeft. Portions of this filmed material, which are marked on the finding aid, and additional unfilmed material were donated in 1985 by Lorrie Goulet, de Creeft's widow. Location of Original: Reels D150 and 375-378: Originals returned to Jose de Creeft after microfilming.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleOral history interview with Isamu Noguchi, 1973 Nov. 7-1973 Dec. 26.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionAn interview of Isamu Noguchi conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.

NOVEMBER 7, 1973 session: Noguchi discusses his family background; growing up in Japan; returning to the United States in 1917; his identity as an artist; Gutzon Borglum; Columbia University and studying pre-med; attending Leonardo da Vinci Art School; apprenticing to Onorio Ruotolo; quitting Columbia to become a sculptor; Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927; J.B. Neumann; Alfred Stieglitz; George Grey Barnard; James Earle Fraser; Brummer and the Brummer Gallery; studying at Chaumiere and Collarosi; working with Brancusi; meeting Sandy Calder in Paris; Stuart Davis; Morris Kantor; Andrée Ruellan; his work SPHERE; reacting against Brancusi; Eugene Schoen's; his Carnegie Hall studio; Michio Ito; Martha Graham; Buckminster Fuller; traveling in China and Japan; meeting Chi Pai Shi; John Becker; his works PLAY MOUNTAIN, MONUMENT TO THE PLOW, MONUMENT TO BEN FRANKLIN, ORPHEUS for Balanchine; designing for the stage; Audrey McMahon; Harry Hopkins; Holger Cahill; Mexico; Diego Rivera; Miguel Covarrubias; and the Artists Union.

DECEMBER 10, 1973 Session: His reaction to the Spanish Civil War- avoided direct involvement; Stuart Davis; Gorky; Andre Breton; David Hare; Marcel Duchamp; John Graham; Julien Levy; his artist friends dying at the peak of their success; Leger; Stirling Calder; associating himself with the laboring class; Buckminster Fuller; being American; expanding the possibilities of sculpture; his Associated Press Building project in Rockefeller Center, it being done in stainless steel instead of bronze; John Collier; Japanese-American Citizens League; organizing Nisei Artists and Writers Mobilization for Democracy; Jeanne Reynal; going to Poston, Arizona to assist with American Indian Service camp under John Collier and becoming an internee there; returning to New York in 1942; Bollingen Foundation; trip around the world in 1949; and Philip Guston.

DECEMBER 18, 1973 session: Best work in studio; reaction against expressionism; artists protesting against the Establishment; his objection to the WPA, influenced by William Zorach; exhibiting in group show called Fourteen Americans at the Museum of Modern Art; show at Egan Gallery in 1949; accepting art in its most aesthetically pure form without reference to social issues; movement in Japan since war to get away from refinement of Japan; Yoshiro Hiro responsible for Gutai and the happenings; his work MONUMENT TO HEROES using bones; his work takes years to do; materials used in his work; his work CRONOS; doing theater stage sets for the Library of Congress including APPALACHIAN SPRING, HERODIADE; wants a given space which he can call his own and do something with it, has to be a work of art.

DECEMBER 26, 1973 Session: Show with Charles Egan in 1948 arranged by de Kooning; applying to the Bollingen Foundation to write a book on leisure; which was never written; traveling to Italy, Egypt, and India for two years; being removed from the New York scene with Franz Kline and de Kooning; his light objects; sculpture as environment; respect for material; Mondrian and his art deriving from nature; his time in Japan in 1931; visiting Japan in 1951; working in stone; projects in Japan; Taniguchi; Antonin Raymond; designing Japanese gardens; discovery of Zen; Hasegawa Saburo; Skidmore; Hans Knoll; Edison Price; Italy in the 1960s; Peter Gregory; Henry Moore; Louis Kahn; UNESCO; Noguchi Foundation and Plaza Company; Shoji; Eleanor Ward; and his autobiography A SCULPTOR'S WORLD.

Bio / His Notes:
Sculptor; Long Island City, N.Y. ; d. 1988
extentSound recording: 4 sound tape reels; 5 in. Transcript: 148 p. Audio excerpt: 1 sound file (5 min. 29 sec.) : digital
formatsInterview Transcript Online Transcript Microfilm
accessSound clip and transcript available on repository's web site.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationThese interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleIlya Bolotowsky interview, 1968 Mar. 24 - Apr. 7.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionInterview of Ilya Bolotowsky conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.

Bolotowsky, a lively raconteur, recalls a host of episodes from his personal and professional life. He speaks of his childhood in Russia and Azerbaijan; the effects of war and communism; the family's flight as refugees into Georgia and then to present-day Istanbul; and his early education with a private tutor and at a Jesuit school in Istanbul. Bolotowsky recalls his family's emigration to the United States by ship in 1923; his first impressions of New York City; and early visits to the city's museums. He relates numerous anecdotes about faculty and fellow students at the National Academy of Design, including Ivan Olinsky, Raymond Neilson, Charles Hawthorne, Amedee Ozenfant, and William Henry Johnson.
He speaks of various early exhibitions of his work, including those with the Art Students League, G.R.D. Studio, and the J.B. Neumann Gallery. He also describes a stay at Yaddo in 1934.

Bolotowsky recounts his participation in the Public Works of Art Project as a teacher of art to delinquent children; later work on the mural project of the Works Progress Administration; the picketing of WPA offices, providing anecdotes about Max Spivak and Joseph Vogel; military service during World War II, first working on a Russian dictionary of technical terms and then as a liason officer with the Soviet Air Force in Nome, Alaska.
Upon his return from the military, Bolotowsky immediately resumed his painting career, and describes his involvement with artists' organizations such as the American Abstract Artists, the American Artists' Congress, the Concretionists, the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, and the Ten; he mentions in these contexts such personalities as Byron Browne, Burgoyne Diller, Werner Drewes, Arshile Gorky, Clement Greenberg, Balcomb and Gertrude Greene, Harry Holtzman, Fernand Leger, Piet Mondrian, and Meyer Schapiro.

Bolotowsky gives an extensive description of his experiences filling in for Joseph Albers for a year at Black Mountain College, and goes on to discuss his subsequent teaching positions at the University of Wyoming (including a discussion of the impact of the Wyoming landscape on his painting), Brooklyn College, Southampton College, and SUNY New Paltz. He devotes great attention to the development of his painting, his understanding of neo-plasticism and abstraction, and his efforts in filmmaking and playwriting.

Bio / His Notes:
Russian-American abstract painter; New York, N.Y. Died 1981.
extentSound recording: 2 sound tape reels (6 hours) ; 7 in. Transcript: 197 p.
formatsSound Recording Transcript
accessACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
finding aidAn index is included at the end of the transcript.
acquisition informationThese interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. Funding for the interview was provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
updated11/12/2014 11:29:59
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titleCorrespondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1946.
repositoryUniversity of Pennsylvania
descriptionBiography/History:
Elsa Schmid was an artist, and the wife of J. B. Neumann.

Other Contributors:
Neumann, J. B. (Jsrael Ber), 1887-1961

Contained in:
Carl Zigrosser Papers, ca. 1891-1971. Folder 1520.

Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts
Call Number: Ms. Coll. 6
extent1 item (1 leaf).
formatsCorrespondence
accessIn general, the Carl Zigrosser Papers may be examined by qualified researchers in the reading room of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania. Photocopying of Zigrosser materials is at the discretion of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The receipt of photocopies does not grant publication rights without the written permission of the University of Pennsylvania and the literary executors of the authors in question.
record sourcehttp://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu
finding aidAvailable in electronic form and in repository.
acquisition informationGift, June 1972
updated11/12/2014 11:30:03
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titleCorrespondence to Van Wyck Brooks, 1958.
repositoryUniversity of Pennsylvania
descriptionContained in: Van Wyck Brooks Papers. Folder 2060

Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts
Call Number: Ms. Coll. 650
extent 1 item (1 leaf)
formatsCorrespondence
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu
updated11/12/2014 11:30:03
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