Christopher, William R., b. 1924 d. 1973
Painter(Show Bio)
William Christopher papers, 1946-1972
ca. 3315 items.
Papers of William Christopher relate to his career as a painter, as well as aspects of his personal life; notably, documenting his participation in the Civil Rights movement.
Personal and business correspondence; a file of material on Christopher's civil rights activities, including diaries recounting his experiences in the Montgomery, Ala. demonstration, 1965, and meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr.; material on Christopher's physical disabilities; journals and address books commenting on friends, attitudes toward art, notes on the Great Dance, a work record of the Mammon altarpiece and a salesbook; miscellaneous financial papers; drawings, sketches and loose notes; photographs of Christopher's cabinet work, friends, including Jared French, Edward Laning, and others, Christopher's Hartland, Vt. house, and models; catalogs and announcements; early sections of a 16mm film made by Christopher and abandoned after 1958.
Among the principal correspondents in this collection are actress Osceola Archer, collector Henry Crapo, and Edward Laning. Others include Glenway Wescott, Richmond Barthé, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Allen Porter, Bernard Perlin, Laen Wertenbaker, Josef von Sternberg, Henry W. Butler, John Cowles, Mike Nevelson, George Tooker, Joseph Hirsch, and Pennington Haile. Galleries represented in the correspondence include Nexus, Terrain, Banfer, and Joan Peterson.
Unmicrofilmed addition: Correspondence, 1952-1973 and undated, a fraction of this with H. Robinson; three photographs; one sketch; and miscellany.
Donated 1972-1973 by William Christopher.
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