Alvarez, Mabel, b. 1891 d. 1985

Mabel Alvarez papers, 1898-1987

2.3 linear ft. (on 4 microfilm reels)
Reel(s): 5672-5675

The collection documents both her painting career as well as her personal life through correspondence, original writings, sketches, printed material, diaries and journals, financial records, and scrapbooks.

Biographical material includes passports, a copy of a birth certificate, handwritten genealogy of the Alvarez family, list of art awards received between 1943 and 1969, and a high school report card from Berkeley High School dated 1907.

Found are personal letters, including one from Mabel's father, Luis F. Alvarez, as well as letters from art institutions regarding art exhibitions. Institutions include the University of California, Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Otis Art Institute, and the San Joaquin Pioneer Museum. Also found are original and unpublished writings by Alvarez such as poetry and short stories.

Found are exhibition catalogs of Alvarez's solo or group exhibitions including a catalog for the exhibition, "Painting and Sculpture from 16 American Cities" from the 1933 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Publications such as "The American Magazine of Art," "Art in America," "Art Forum," and "Art News" are also found. Newspaper clippings feature articles on the professional lives of Alvarez's brother and nephew and also critical reviews of Alvarez's exhibitions.

Sketchbooks contain pencil and color pencil drawings as well as scattered notes. One sketchbook, although undated, contain sketches completed during her stay at a nursing home. Also included are six small notebooks with handwritten notations of personal finances and art works sold including final selling price.

Found are four notebooks containing sketches of animals, landscapes, and people as well as notes from books and lectures by Stanton Macdonald Wright. The largest series of the collection, these personal diaries and journals record daily activities and personal thoughts and feelings. Scattered throughout the diaries and journals are letters and sketches. Included are two scrapbooks, one dismantled, containing mostly newspaper clippings and scattered letters, exhibition announcements, drawings, and other material.

Donated in 1988 by Glenn Basset, Alvarez's dealer and friend.

How to Use this Collection

• Microfilm reels 5672-5675 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
• Please read the Finding Aid for more detailed information on this collection.
• Selected images of documents in this collection are online.
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