Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970

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A Finding Aid to the Ben Shahn Papers, 1879-1990 , bulk 1933-1970, in the Archives of American Art, by Stephanie Ashley

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Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory
• Appendices

Biographical Information

Ben Shahn (1898-1969) was a social realist painter, muralist, printmaker, photographer, illustrator, and teacher who worked primarily in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey. He was most active in the 1930s through the 1950s and worked on several federally funded arts projects, including the Farm Security Administration's photographic documentation project of rural America during the Depression.

Ben Shahn was born in Kovno, Lithuania and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1906 where he settled in Brooklyn, and later Roosevelt, New Jersey, after becoming a naturalized citizen in 1918.

Following an apprenticeship as a lithographer from 1913-1917, Shahn studied at New York University, the City College of New York, and the National Academy of Design from 1919-1922. He married Tillie Goldstein in 1922 and they had two children, Judith and Ezra.

Two years after Shahn's first solo exhibition at the Downtown Gallery in 1930, his Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, a series of 23 gouaches about the Sacco and Vanzetti trial of the 1920s, was exhibited at the Downtown Gallery to critical and public acclaim. The exhibition marked the beginning of Shahn's reputation as one of the most important social realist painters in America. Shahn's commitment to social and political justice found a natural outlet in mural painting when, in 1933, he was hired to assist Diego Rivera on the labor and industry mural Man at the Crossroads, for New York City's Rockefeller Center. The mural was destroyed amid controversy in 1933 before it was completed, but Shahn had learned much about the art of fresco painting during the project and was inspired by the potential of the mural as a unique art form for presenting life's struggles and stories to a large public audience. Between 1933 and 1937 Shahn worked on various murals for other buildings, including New York's Central Park Casino (circa 1934) and Riker's Island Prison (1934), none of which saw completion. In 1937, however, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) commissioned Shahn to execute a mural for the Community Center in the town of Jersey Homesteads, later Roosevelt, New Jersey, which Shahn completed in 1938. Shahn settled in Jersey Homesteads the following year and remained there for the rest of his life. Other important mural commissions followed for the Bronx Central Post office (1939) and the Social Security Building in Washington DC (1942).

One of Shahn's assistants on the Jersey Homesteads mural was Bernarda Bryson, whom he had met in 1933 when she came to New York to interview Rivera about the Rockefeller Center mural controversy for an Ohio newspaper. Shahn and Bryson became lifetime companions and had three children, Susanna, Jonathan and Abigail, although they did not marry until shortly before Shahn's death in 1969. Shahn and Tillie Goldstein were divorced in 1944.

Shahn had enrolled with the federal Public Works of Art Project in 1934, and between 1935 and 1938 he and Bryson travelled across country as Shahn photographed poverty-stricken areas and documented rural life for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the Resettlement Agency. Shahn's interest in photography developed in the early 1930s when, encouraged by his friendship with Walker Evans, he began photographing street scenes and people in New York City. He later used the images as the basis for many of his prints and paintings.

In 1942 Shahn began working for the Office of War Information (OWI) and was instructed to produce posters and pamphlets explaining to citizens the necessities of wartime, such as the need for secrecy and food rationing. Ultimately, only two of Shahn's posters were ever used; the rest were rejected as being too harsh for their intended audience. Shahn later worked for the Congress of Industrial Organization Political Action Committee (CIO-PAC), producing posters for the 1944 campaign to re-elect Roosevelt, who he believed in deeply. He was promoted to director of the CIO's Graphic Arts Division for the 1946 congressional campaign following Roosevelt's death, but that job ended when the election went poorly for the Democratic party.

Shahn returned increasingly to painting and a retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art in 1947. He also became more active in academia as an accomplished writer, teacher and lecturer. He received honorary doctorates from Princeton University and Harvard University, and become the Charles Eliot Norton professor at Harvard in 1956. Shahn's Norton lectures were collected and published as the influential The Shape of Content in 1957. He also began to work as a commercial artist for a variety of companies and publications including CBS, Time, Harper's, and the Container Corporation of America. Shahn believed, however, that the artist's ideas and integrity must always be reflected in his commercial art. He refused to compromise on this point and was very selective in his choice of commercial commissions. Shahn illustrated many books and articles, designed sets for stage productions such as New York Export: Opus Jazz, choreographed by Jerome Robbins, and designed mural mosaics for synagogues, universities and private homes.

Since the 1930s Shahn had been represented by Edith Halpert at the Downtown Gallery, but his relationship with her was always contentious on the subject of payments Shahn received for commercial work, and became increasingly so as his income from such sources increased. Finally, in 1968, Shahn wrote to Halpert telling her that after ten years of "an accumulation of ill-feeling, discomfort and recrimination between us" he felt compelled to end their dealer-artist relationship.

By the time of Shahn's break with Halpert his health had begun to fail. He died of a heart attack following surgery in a New York City hospital on March 14, 1969.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The papers of social realist painter, photographer, illustrator, printmaker, and teacher Ben Shahn (1898-1969) measure 24.6 linear feet and date from 1879-1990, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1970. The bulk of the collection consists of over 14 linear feet of incoming letters from artists, writers, colleagues, publishers, art organizations, galleries, and universities and colleges. Also found are biographical materials, project and source files, printed material, artwork by Shahn and others, photographs taken of and by Shahn, interview transcripts, and audio and video recordings.

Biographical material and family records include a 1924 passport for Shahn and his first wife, Tillie, biographical sketches of Shahn, and award certificates received by him.

Letters are primarily written to Shahn from family members, artists, writers, colleagues, publishers, art organizations, galleries, and universities and colleges. Notable correspondents include Leonard Baskin, Alexander Calder, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Joseph Hirsch, Leo Lionni, John Bartlow Martin, George and Marian Nakashima, Clifford Odets, Charles Olson, Robert Osborn, Diego Rivera, Jerome Robbins, Selden Rodman, James Thrall Soby, Raphael Soyer, and William Carlos Williams. A small number of scattered letters from Shahn can also be found throughout the series.

Project files document approximately twenty-one of Shahn's commissions, including murals for the community center at Jersey Homesteads, the Bronx Central Annex Post Office, the Social Security Building in Washington D.C. , and the William E. Grady Vocational High School. The files also document his involvement in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Roosevelt, in addition to projects for schools, temples and private homes.

Financial and legal records include consignment records, loan agreements, royalty statements and receipts for artwork sold.

Notes and writings are by Shahn and others including Alan Dugan, W. H. Ferry, Theodore Gusten, and John Bartlow Martin. They include lists of artwork, many of which are annotated.

Artwork includes a sketchbook and several unbound sketches and lettering by Shahn, in addition to drawings and prints by others including Shahn's children, Mario Casetta and Stefan Martin.

Source files contain printed material and photographs relating to topics depicted by Shahn in his artwork such as children, dams, farming, houses, industry, mines and miners, slums, war and workers. These files also contain scattered photographic prints by FSA and OWI photographers including Shahn, Jack Delano, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, and John Vachon.

Printed material includes news clippings covering Shahn and his career as well as subjects of interest to Shahn. Also found are exhibition catalogs and announcements for exhibitions for Shahn and others, and reproductions of Shahn's artwork including publications illustrated by him.

Photographs are of Shahn, his family and friends and colleagues including Alexander Calder, Jerome Robbins, Charles Sheeler, David Smith and William Zorach. Also included are photographs taken by Shahn of New York City and for the FSA in the 1930s, as well as photographs of artwork by Shahn. Photographs by others include one photo each by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee and Arthur Rothstein.

The collection also contains transcripts of eight radio, television and motion picture interviews of Shahn and a reel of 16mm motion picture film transferred to VHS from the BBC-TV program "Monitor," in addition to three reels of audio tape interviews of Shahn by Tony Schwartz and Arlene Francis. Artifacts include a Christmas greeting in the form of a sock.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as 12 series:

• Series 1: Biographical and Family Records, 1879-1984 (Box 1, OV 36; 0.2 linear ft.)
• Series 2: Letters, 1929-1990 (Boxes 1-25, 35, OVs 36-38; 14.4 linear ft.)
• Series 3: Project Files, 1933-1975 (Boxes 25-26; OVs 36-37; 1.03 linear ft.)
• Series 4: Financial and Legal Records, 1934-1988 (Boxes 26-27, 35; 0.81 linear ft.)
• Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1933-1988 (Boxes 27-28; 1.62 linear ft.)
• Series 6: Artwork, circa 1930s-1965 (Boxes 28, 35; 11 folders)
• Series 7: Source Files, circa 1900s-1960s (Boxes 28-30, 35; 1.81 linear ft.)
• Series 8: Printed Material, 1912-1988 (Boxes 30-33, 35, OV 39; 3.22 linear ft.)
• Series 9: Photographs, circa 1900-1969 (Boxes 33-35; 0.86 linear ft.)
• Series 10: Interview Transcripts, 1943-1968 (Box 34; 0.25 linear ft.)
• Series 11: Audio and Video Recordings, 1959-1968 (Box 34; 0.25 linear ft.)
• Series 12: Artifacts, circa 1930s-circa 1960s (Box 34; 2 items)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The Ben Shahn papers were donated in several installments between 1967-1991 by Shahn's widow, Bernarda Bryson Shahn.

Separated and Related Materials

In 1969, Bernarda Bryson Shahn loaned addresses and essays by Shahn, 7 royalty statements, and 3 letters from publishers for microfilming. After filming, the material was returned to the donor. The loaned material is available on 35 mm microfilm reel N70-6 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan, which is not described in the container list of this finding aid. However, many of Shahn's writings on this microfilm were included in subsequent donations to the Archives of American Art.

The Archives of American Art holds four oral history interviews with Ben Shahn: 1964 Apr. 14 interview conducted by Richard K. Doud for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project in which Shahn speaks of his travels and work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the American image as portrayed by FSA; 1965 Jan. 17 interview; 1965 Oct. 3. interview conducted by Harlan Phillips for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project; and 1968 Sept. 27 interview conducted by Forrest Selvig. Most of these interviews have transcripts available online.

The Archives also holds the Bernarda Bryson Shahn papers, circa 1947-2005, and two oral history interviews with Bernarda Bryson Shahn: 1983 Apr. 29 and 1995 July 3.

How the Collection was Processed

The Ben Shahn papers were received in several installments and microfilmed on reels D143-D148, 133-135 and 5006-5027. Funding from the Sarah I. Schieffelin Residuary Trust supported a portion of the microfilming. The microfilm was described in a finding aid by Jean Fitzgerald in 1995. All accessions were physically and intellectually merged, processed, arranged and described in 2009-2010 by Stephanie Ashley and digitized in 2011 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Access to original papers requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Ben Shahn papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Available Formats

The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2011 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website.

How to Cite this Collection

Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical and Family Records, 1879-1984 (Box 1, OV 36; 0.2 linear ft.)

This series includes biographical sketches for Shahn maintained by Downtown Gallery, various award certificates received by Shahn over the course of his career, a 1924 passport for Shahn and his first wife, Tillie Goldstein, and various family legal records including the divorce papers of Ben and Tillie Shahn, copies of Jonathan Shahn's birth certificate and Ezra Shahn's doctorate certificate, and indenture papers for a branch of Bernarda Bryson Shahn's family. Also found in this series are resume details for Bernarda Bryson Shahn and two cards showing her membership in the Author's Guild.

Records are arranged alphabetically by folder title. This series has been scanned in entirety.

Series 2: Letters, 1929-1990 (Boxes 1-25, 35, OVs 36-38; 14.4 linear ft.)

This series consists primarily of letters written to Shahn throughout his career from family, friends, artists, business associates, government contacts, universities and colleges, galleries and other art organizations and institutions. Overall, there are very few letters from Shahn to be found, and scattered letters and copies of letters written by him are generally noted in the Container Listing.

The series includes many letters from artist, writers and colleagues including Leonard Baskin, Mirella Bentivoglio, Alexander Calder, Clifford Odets, Walker Evans, W. H. (Ping) Ferry, Fred Friendly, Dorothea Lange, Leo Lionni, John Bartlow Martin, George and Marian Nakashima, Clifford Odets, Charles Olson, Rudy Pozzati, Diego Rivera, Edwin Rosskam, Jerome Robbins, Selden Rodman, James Thrall Soby, Raphael Soyer and William Carlos Williams. Also found are a number of letters, many of them illustrated, from Robert Osborn, one letter each from Montgomery Clift, Pablo Picasso and Pete Seeger, and two letters from Robert Rauschenberg.

Documentation of Shahn's career covers his employment with the FSA, the OWI, and the CIO-PAC, his speaking and teaching engagements for many universities and colleges such as Famous Artist Schools, Inc., Harvard University, Princeton University, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and his commercial work for a variety of companies and publications including CBS, Harper's, Pantheon Books, Time, and Container Corporation of America. Files for Downtown Gallery record Edith Halpert's representation of Shahn's work and ultimately the disagreements that led to the dissolution of the dealer-artist relationship in 1968. Documentation of the legal aspects of Shahn's career can be found in letters from his lawyer, Martin Bressler, and include a copy of the letter in which Shahn states his final dissolution of his professional relationship with Halpert, and records of Shahn's legal dealings with Spiral Press, and Arnold Fawcus of Trianon Press. Letters also supplement the Project Files with documentation of some of Shahn's private and public commissions.

This series also contains letters that Bernarda Bryson Shahn continued to receive after Shahn's death in 1969. These posthumous letters are primarily requests to view Shahn's papers, or inquiries about Shahn and his work.

The series provides scattered documentation of Bernarda Bryson Shahn's career including her illustration work for Atlantic Monthly, Charles Scribner's Sons, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., Grossman Publisher, Inc., and Macmillan Company.

Letters from Judith Shahn to her parents provide insight into her career as an artist and also into that of her husband, poet Alan Dugan.

Letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent. All correspondents with 5 or more letters associated with their name are housed in a named file. The remaining letters are filed as "Miscellaneous" at the end of the named files for the relevant letter of the alphabet. Named and miscellaneous files are followed by: posthumous letters; letters of correspondents for whom only first names are known; letters with illegible signatures; and unsigned letters respectively.

This series has been scanned in entirety.

Series 3: Project Files, 1933-1975 (Boxes 25-26; OVs 36-37; 1.03 linear ft.)

Project files document approximately twenty-one of Shahn's commissions. Some projects are more fully documented than others with files containing correspondence tracing the evolution and execution of a project, including some letters from Shahn, in addition to proposals, contracts, scattered notes and sketches, blueprints, specifications, financial and printed material, and photographs. However, some projects listed here were ultimately never executed or are represented by only a few items such as receipts, specifications, and photographs. The series includes files for some of Shahn's most important mural commissions such as those for the Jersey Homesteads community center, the Bronx Central Post Office, and the Social Security building in Washington D.C.

Files documenting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Roosevelt, New Jersey, include contact prints of the memorial's designer, Shahn's son Jonathan Shahn, and his portrait bust of Roosevelt, in addition to a photograph of Ben Shahn at the dedication ceremony for the memorial.

Files are arranged chronologically. This bulk of this series has been scanned with the exception of negatives and some oversized blueprints and plans.

Series 4: Financial and Legal Records, 1934-1988 (Boxes 26-27, 35; 1.62 linear ft.)

Shahn's art-related financial material includes consignment records, loan agreements, and royalty statements, in addition to receipts for artwork sold, receipts for publication of artwork, and receipts for honoraria and other payments. Much of the series consists of routine transactions not necessarily related to Shahn's work including bank records, miscellaneous receipts, records of medical expenses, and insurance records.

Three folders at the end of the series contain legal documents and records relating to a police report of a case in which Shahn had assisted by drawing a sketch of a criminal suspect.

The series is partially scanned. Routine and personal financial records and tax records have not been scanned.

Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1933-1988 (Boxes 27-28; 1.62 linear ft.)

This series contains notes and writings by Shahn and others, in addition to lists of artwork, addresses and engagement calendars.

The series is arranged as 3 subseries:

• 5.1: Notes and Writings by Shahn, circa 1933-1986
• 5.2: Writings by Others, About Shahn, circa 1950s-1988
• 5.3: Writings by Others, Not Shahn-Related, 1935-1966

5.1: Notes and Writings by Shahn, circa 1933-1986

This series contains addresses, calendars, and lists of artwork, many of which are annotated with prices, in addition to miscellaneous notes written by and to Shahn which include scattered sketches and doodles. The bulk of the series consists of drafts and transcripts of lectures and statements given by Shahn over the course of his career. The writings found here include material used in some of Shahn's most well-known lectures such as those he gave as Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University from 1956-1957 (collected and published by Harvard University Press as The Shape of Content in 1957), on subjects such as artists in colleges, the biography of a painting, nonconformity, and the education of an artist.

Addresses, calendars, lists and notes are followed by writings arranged in rough chronological order and alphabetically by title thereafter. The bulk of this series has been scanned with the exception of some addresses and business cards and some miscellaneous notes.

5.2: Writings by Others, About Shahn, circa 1950s-1988

This series is arranged alphabetically by author and has been scanned in entirety.

5.3: Writings by Others, Not Shahn-Related, 1935-1966

Writings found here, primarily in the form of transcripts, are on subjects of interest to Shahn many of which were presumably used as source material for his artwork, sparked his interest in a particular commission such as those by John Barlow Martin, or were given to him as possible commissions for illustrations.

See index for list of writings.

This series is arranged alphabetically by author with details provided in the index. The bulk of this series has been scanned with the exception of the full text of some writings.

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1930s-1965 (Boxes 28, 35; 11 folders)

This small series contains several sketches by Shahn in addition to artwork by others including childhood drawings of his children, Ezra and Judith, and prints by friends including Mario Casetta and Stefan Martin. Unbound sketches by Shahn include what is probably an original drawing of Shahn's childhood friend, Willie Snow, circa 1910-1920.

Artwork by Shahn is followed by artwork by others, arranged alphabetically by artist. This series has been scanned in entirety.

Series 7: Source Files, circa 1900s-1960s (Boxes 28-30, 35; 1.81 linear ft.)

Source files contain printed material, primarily newspaper clippings, and photographs relating to topics depicted by Shahn in his artwork, including children, dust, farming, houses, mines and miners, slums, war and workers.

Of particular note are the file for "Children" which includes one of the clippings Shahn used as a source for Girl Skipping Rope (1943); scattered photographic prints by FSA and OWI photographers including Shahn and Jack Delano, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, and John Vachon; files for "Steel Country," which include prints of photographs taken by Shahn on his 1938 assignment to Ohio as a photographer for the Historical Section of the Resettlement Administration; and a group of photographs of Louis Armstrong's 1956 visit to the Gold Coast.

Files are arranged alphabetically by subject. The bulk of this series has been scanned with the exception of large groups of news clippings.

Series 8: Printed Material, 1912-1988 (Boxes 30-33, 35, OV 39; 3.22 linear ft.)

Printed material includes exhibition announcements and catalogs for many Shahn exhibitions, dating from some of his earliest shows at the Downtown Gallery including The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1932. A large portion of the series consists of clippings and articles from newspapers and other publications documenting events in Shahn's career. Scattered reprints of essays written by Shahn are found here, as well as scattered articles illustrated by Shahn such as John Barlow Martin's "The Blast in Centralia No. 5," published in Harper's in 1948. One item of particular note in Clippings is a copy of the publication the Jewish Daily Forward, from April 1936. There are also 14 issues, and a paste-up layout of the 1930s publication Art Front.

In addition to clippings about Shahn, Clippings Reference Files contains primarily photographs from newspapers on a wide range of political and human interest subjects.

The bulk of this series has been scanned; only representative samples of large groups of clippings have been scanned and typically only the covers and relevant pages of publications have been scanned.

Series 9: Photographs, circa 1900-1969 (Boxes 33-35; 0.86 linear ft.)

Photographs are of Shahn and family members, friends and colleagues in addition to photographs taken by Shahn. Found here are prints of photographs Shahn took in New York City in the early 1930s when his interest in photography was developing, as well as prints from some of his finest images taken for the FSA and the Resettlement Administration.

Family photographs include pictures of Judith and Ezra Shahn as children and a young Susanna Shahn. Photos of friends and colleagues include a picture of Shahn and Alexander Calder at the Porta Portese in Rome, circa 1957, and a photo of Shahn with Palma Biccarelli (Director of the Modern Museum in Rome), Louisa Calder and Renato Gattuso, circa 1957. Other friends and colleagues pictured in this series include: Morris Cantor, William Cummings, Jack Eastman, Laura Eastman, Martha Graham, Bartlett Hayes, Helen Hayes, Senator Javits, Harry Knight, Loren Macivor, Joe Ormai (working on the Social Security Building mural, circa 1941), Amadee Ozanfant, Jerome Robbins, Nelson Rockefeller, Nate Saltenstall, Charles Sheeler, David Smith, James Thrall Soby, Monroe Wheeler, and William Zorach. There is also a photo of Shahn at Trianon Press in Paris, France, with M. Crompe Pochoiriete.

Also found are photos of Shahn receiving Honorary Doctorates from Harvard and Princeton Universities and a medal from George Biddle.

Photographs taken by Shahn of New York City in the 1930s include prints of photos used for his paintings Handball (1939) (see Box 34, Folder 6) and Blind Accordion Player (1945) (see Box 34, Folder 10).

Photographs taken by others include a mounted print inscribed on the back: "Hello Ben, Dorothea Lange. Made in St. George, Utah, 1956"; a photograph by Walker Evans, circa 1929, and two FSA photos taken by Russell Lee and Arthur Rothstein.

This series has been scanned in entirety, with the exception of photographic negatives.

Series 10: Interview Transcripts, 1943-1968 (Box 34; 0.25 linear ft.)

This series includes transcripts of 8 interviews of Shahn and panel discussions in which he participated. See Series 11: Audiovisual Material for the actual recordings of three of the interviews: Monitor: A Film About Ben Shahn's America, and interviews of Shahn by Arlene Francis from 1965 and 1968.

Interviews are arranged chronologically. This series has been scanned in entirety.

Series 11: Audio and Video Recordings, 1959-1968 (Box 34; 0.25 linear ft.)

This series consists of recordings of a BBC-TV film Monitor: A Film About Ben Shahn's America and 3 7" reel-to-reel recordings of two interviews of Shahn by Arlene Francis (see Series 10: Interview Transcripts for transcripts), and a 1963 recording, "Four Sound Stories from Tony Schwartz," (not transcribed).

This series has not been digitized.

Series 12: Artifacts, circa 1930s-circa 1960s (Box 34; 2 folders)

Only the first item in this series has been scanned.

List of Writings from Series 5.3

Writings are listed alphabetically by author; writings by unidentifed authors appear at the end of the list.

• Barr, Alfred: "The United States at the Venice Biennale," 1954
• Bernstein, Aline: "Battle Hymn"
• Block, Lou: "Ballyhoo vs. Information," circa 1943
• Brennan, Francis: "The Picture and the Word," 1956
• Brennan, Francis: Account of trip to Russia, 1960
• Brennan, Francis: Speech for Conference of Western Association of Art Museums
• Dugan, Alan: "Society of the Free and Easy"
• Dugan, Alan: "Speech to the N.B.A"
• Durr, Clifford J.: "The Trial of Jesus as a Loyalty Hearing"
• Dye, Joan: "Juvenile Delinquency," 1956
• Endore, Guy: "Address to the School of Library Science, UCLA," 1962
• Engel, Monroe: "A Father's Geography," 1956
• Ferry, W. H.: "Black Colonies: A Final Solution"
• Ferry, W. H.: Address from the Western States Democratic Conference
• Ferry, W. H.: "Why the College is Failing," 1963
• Ferry, W. H.: "A Proposal from Ralph Helstein, Robert Theobald, and W. H. Ferry," 1963
• Ferry, W. H.: "The Triple Revolution: An Appraisal of the Major U. S. Crises and Proposals for Action," 1964
• Ferry, W. H.: "The Muddle in Education," 1964
• Fielder, Leslie A.: "Nude Croquet"
• Fuller, R. Buckminster: Letter to Mr. Higman, Conference on World Affairs, University of Colorado, 1963
• Goldburg, Rabbi Robert: Memorial prayer for John F. Kennedy, 1963
• Goldin, Judah: Translation of "The Grace After Meals"
• Gregory, Horace: "Alphabet for Joanna"
• "Vincent Van Gogh's 'Landscapes of the Soul'"
• Gusten, Theodore: "Vincent Van Gogh, We and Picasso"
• Johnson, Lyndon B.: Excerpts from Address to National Education Association, 1965
• Joyce, Robert: "The Working Artist," 1961
• Kacmarcik, Frank: "The Bible and Creative Imagination"
• Kastner, Frank: "The Bible and Creative Imagination"
• Kennedy, John F.: Statements, 1963
• Lamont, Corliss: Statement before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, 1953
• Langum, John K: "Prospects for the American Economy," 1965
• Lemon, Richard: "Campaign Song"
• Levinson, Alfred: "Cricket in the Mill"
• Lewis, Margery: "The Young American Artist"
• Martin, John Bartlow: "The Mecca Building"
• Martin, John Bartlow: "The Hickman Story"
• Martin, John Bartlow: "A Letter About Upper Michigan"
• Martin, John Bartlow: "A Trip to the Lincoln Country"
• Piel, Gerard: "Science, Disarmament and Peace," 1958
• Pines, David, editor: Statement about book "Frontiers in Physics"
• Pollack, Peter: Statement on establishment of the National Arts Foundation and the National Council on the Arts, 1963
• Reid, Alistair: "A Spelling for Sleeping"
• Reid, Alistair: "A Lesson in Music"
• Ritchie, Andrew Carnduff: "Will the Creative Arts Thrive or Degenerate During the Next Fifty Years?"
• Rodman, Selden: "Death of the Hero: A Modern Morality"
• Rodman, Selden: Reviews
• Roosevelt, Franklin Delano: Addresses to Congress, 1942
• Rosenblum, William F.: Script of Chanukah pageant and story, 1962
• Rosskam, Edwin: "Three Victims," 1960s
• Rosten, Lou: "Gandhi," 1964
• Roth, Cecil: "Had Gadya," 1965
• W.H.S.: "What Price Peace?" 1963
• Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur: "Government and the Arts," 1962
• Shyre, Paul: "The Child Buyer" Play script adapted from novel by John Hershey
• Taylor, Harold: "The First Sex: or Oedipus Unbound," 1953
• Terracini, Umberto: Preface for "The Jews of the USSR," 1966
• Tyler, Parker: Review of Exhibition by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans and M. Alvarez Bravo, 1935
• Wilder, Thornton: Playscript, "The Seven Deadly Sins - Number Six: Lust/Someone from Assisi"
• Wilder, Thornton: Playscript, "The Seven Ages of Man - Number One: Infancy"
• Wilder, Thornton: Playscript, "Childhood"
• Yeats, W. B: Playscript: "Calvary" with production notes from Theatre Intime production
• "Project by the Brooklyn Museum for a Major Exhibition of Photographs Dealing with Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans"
• "The Use of Earle Browder's Image in a Mural"
• Mr. Passow's Proposals Concerning Childhood Talent," 1966
• "Problems Connected with Education in the Fine and the Applied Arts"
• Possible chapters for a book: "Entertaining Notions" and "In the Name of Art"
• "How to...Anything"
• "New Forms vs. Reforms"
• "The Transformation of the Novel"
• "A Proposal to Establish a New and Permanent Opera Group in Boston"
• "For Michael's Sake"
• "Mino Maccari"
• "The Sacco and Vanzetti Case"
• "You the Steel Worker"
• "Steel Strike in Warren, Ohio"
• "Towards a Rural Housing Program"
• "First Draft of Resettlement Administration Primer"
• "Proposal for a Rural Community Center Program"
• "Designing Museum Buildings"
• "Food for Thought - A Creative Menu"
• "The Dustbowl"
• "President's Committee on Farm Tenancy," 1937
• "God"
• "A Portrait of the Plasma as a Many-Body Problem"
• "Story About Kay-Kay"
• "The Short Grace After Meals"
• Text for a Woman's Pamphlet
• "Metropolitan Museum"