Archipenko, Alexander, b. 1887 d. 1964

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

18.0 linear ft. (microfilmed on 23 reels)
Reel(s): 5826-5839; NA11-12, NA16-18, NA 20-22, and NA 25:

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 Also found are drafts, notes, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished writings and notes, outlines, transcripts, and audio recordings of some of his lectures.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 Archipenkos 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 Similar documentation of unpublished writings, as well as notes, outlines, and some transcripts of lectures and talks survive, also.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 Archipenkos 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, Archipenkos 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 Archipenkos years in France; passports and wills: articles by and about Angelica Archipenko and a color reproduction of her portrait by Leo Katz; Angelicas reminiscences of Walter Spies; and excerpts from her diaries.

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.

How to Use this Collection

• Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm.
• 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.
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