Alexander Archipenko papers, 1904-1986 (bulk 1930-1964)

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Alexander Archipenko papers, 1904-1986 (bulk 1930-1964)

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964

Alexander Archipenko papers, 1904-1986 (bulk 1930-1964)

Phy. Description:

18.0 linear ft. (microfilmed on 23 reels)

reels 5826-5839; NA11-12, NA16-18, NA 20-22, and NA 25:

Digital Reference:

Finding Aid

Additional forms:

35mm microfilm reels 5826-5839; NA11-12, NA16-18, NA 20-22, and NA 25: available for use only at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Bio / His Notes:

Sculptor, painter, printmaker, and teacher. b. Kiev, Ukraine, May 30, 1887; significant in Cubist movement during his years in Paris, 1908-1921; came to United States in 1923; operated his own school in Paris, 1912, an endeavor that continued throughout his life in Berlin, New York City, Woodstock, N.Y., Chicago, and Los Angeles. Invented animated painting, known as "Archipentura," ca. 1924 (U.S. patent issued 1927).; d. February 23, 1964 in New York, N.Y.

Archipenko's professional career as a sculptor and teacher, as well as his personal life, is documented through correspondence, financial records, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs relating to his art, exhibitions, travel, teaching activities, and the Archipenko Art School. Also found are drafts, notes, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished writings and notes, outlines, transcripts, and audio recordings of some of his lectures.

Correspondence concerns both personal and professional matters. Among Archipenko’s personal correspondents are relatives and friends in the Ukraine, wife Angelica during her extended stays in Mexico and California, and other women. Professional correspondence is with dealers, curators, scholars, collectors, colleges and universities and concerns exhibitions, sales and commissions, loans, teaching, and lecture engagements.

Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophy of art, art in nature, and theories concerning creativity and the universe. His papers include manuscripts, drafts, notes and supporting materials for his book published in 1960, "Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958." Similar documentation of unpublished writings, as well as notes, outlines, and some transcripts of lectures and talks survive, also.

Records concerning the Archipenko Art School are sparse, particularly those documenting his teaching activities prior to coming to the United States. Surviving records include printed matter, a cashbook, student roster, and scrapbook containing photographs, printed matter, and typescript copy of a statement by Archipenko, "How I Teach." Most of this material focuses on the New York and Woodstock schools, with only a few items concerning Chicago. In addition, files regarding Archipenko’s teaching activities at schools other than his own include course descriptions, student rosters, grades, and printed matter.

Financial records consist of banking records, paid bills, and miscellaneous items, including invoices and receipts for art supplies, shipping, and storage. Among the miscellaneous items are price lists, royalties paid by the Museum of Modern Art for "Woman Combing Her Hair", and sales records.

Nine scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, lecture notices, advertisements and brochures of the Archipenko Art School, and a small number of photographs. Printed materials are primarily clippings about Archipenko and exhibition catalogs with related announcements and invitations. Of special interest is a brochure about the Multiplex Advertising Machine that bears a similarity to the Archipentura, an "apparatus for displaying Changeable Pictures" Archipenko invented ca. 1924 and patented in 1927.

Photographs are of people, Archipenko’s travels and miscellaneous places, exhibitions, works of art, events, and miscellaneous subjects. Five photograph albums mainly document travels. Slides and transparencies include black and white lantern slides probably used to illustrate lectures.

Biographical papers include a wide variety of records concerning Archipenko and his first wife, Angelica Archipenko (a.k.a. Gela Forster), and second wife, Frances Gray Archipenko, including ephemera, funeral guest registers, real estate records, and floor plans of their house in Woodstock, N.Y.; legal documents including residency permits issued during Archipenko’s years in France; passports and wills: articles by and about Angelica Archipenko and a color reproduction of her portrait by Leo Katz; Angelica’s reminiscences of Walter Spies; and excerpts from her diaries.

The collection is organized into eleven series: I: Biographical Materials, 1908-1964 (0.5 linear ft.; reel 5826). Series II: Correspondence, 1922-1970 (3.25 linear ft.; reels 5826-5831). Series III: Subject Files, 1940-1958 (0.25 linear ft.; reels 5831, NA12). Series IV: Writings, 1923-1971 (3.25 linear ft.; reels 5831-5833, NA11, NA16- NA17). Series V: Teaching, 1921-1952 (0.5 linear ft.; reels 5833-5834). Series VI: Financial Records, 1923-1971 (1.5 linear ft.; not microfilmed). Series VII: Scrapbooks, 1910-1961 (2.0 linear ft.; reels 5834-3835). Series VIII: Printed Matter, 1913-1987 (3.0 linear ft.; reels 5835-5838, NA12, NA16-NA18). Series IX: Audio/Visual Materials,1935-1986 (0.5 linear ft.; reel 5838). Series X: Miscellaneous, 1916-1966 (0.5 linear ft.; reels 5838, NA22). Series XI: Photographs, 1904-1964 (3.25 linear ft.; reels 5838- 5839, NA20-NA22).

Papers were loaned by Frances Archipenko Gray for microfilming in 1967 and, in 1982, she donated the bulk of what was previously microfilmed. The 1982 gift was organized, arranged, and remicrofilmed on reels 5826-5839. Loan items not recorded with the 1982 gift are available on reels NA 11-12, NA 16-18, NA 20-22 and NA 25.

Electronic finding aid available http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/archalex.htm

Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm.

Subject-Topical:

Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century

Sculpture -- Technique

Art -- Study and teaching

Art -- Philosophy

Archipenko Art School (Woodstock, N.Y.)

Repository Loc:

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560

AAA NA11-NA12, NA16-NA18, NA20-NA22, NA25

Archipenko, Frances

Archipenko, Angelica

Fiedler,- Franz photographer.

Atelier Riess photographer.

Horizon Information Portal 3.09_74.01

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