Ashton, Dore, b. 1928

Dore Ashton papers, 1849-1983 (bulk 1931-1983)

9.1 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 10 reels)
Reel(s): 5143-5152

Biographical material, correspondence, financial material, art work, notes, subject files, writings, printed material, and photographs document the career of art critic and author Dore Ashton.

REELS 5143-5152: Biographical material, 1963, consists of the Mather Award certificate for distinction in art and architectural criticism. Correspondence, 1952-1983, primarily concerns Ashton's publications and is with friends and artists including Philip Guston, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Philip Pearlstein, David Smith, Mark Tobey, and Adja Yunkers. Financial records, 1958-1977, consist of miscellaneous receipts. Art work, undated and 1949-1952, consists of drawings by unidentified artists and a print by Lichtenstein.

Subject files are on artists and art critics, exhibitions, Ashton's books, and miscellaneous topics, and include letters, typescripts, and printed material. Among the files on individuals are Allan Kaprow, Richard Lindner, Miriam Schapiro, Mark Tobey, Jack Tworkov, Adja Yunkers; topics "Angry Arts", "Black Art", "Film", "Printmaking", "Symbolism"; and books, A Joseph Cornell Album, Poets and the Past, Yes, But...A Critical Study of Philip Guston, The Unknown Shore, Robert Rauschenberg's Drawings for "Dante's Inferno", and a biography of Rosa Bonheur. The file for A Joseph Cornell Album contains a letter with an illegible signature dated 1849.

Writings, 1952-1977, consist of miscellaneous typescripts and typescripts for specific publications including Arts and Architecture, Das Kunstwerk, London Studio, Studio International, and XXieme Siecle. The typescripts are primarily about exhibitions, including Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, and George Segal. Printed material, 1931-1981, includes clippings, galley proofs, group exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, and booklets. Photographs, undated and 1959, are of art work by a variety of artists, ranging from Albrecht Durer to Robert Rauschenberg.

UNMICROFILMED: Photographs (b&w, 8x10) of works of art, ordered from various dealers or repositories by Ashton. The photographs are alphabetically arranged by artist and represent modern, old master, American and European artists, among them Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Jean Dubuffet, Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Theodore Stamos, and Clyfford Still, among many others.

Donated 1982-1997 by Dore Ashton.

How to Use this Collection

• Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment and is limited to AAA's Washington D.C. storage facility.
• Microfilm reels 5143-5152 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
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