Emilio Sanchez papers, 1922-2012

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A Finding Aid to the Emilio Sanchez Papers, 1922-1980, in the Archives of American Art, by Stephanie Ashley

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Table of Contents:

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

Biographical Information

Emilio Sanchez was born in 1921 in Camaguey, Cuba. He left his native country in 1952 to settle in New York where he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. A prolific painter and printmaker, Sanchez received his formal education at the Art Students' League and Columbia University during the late 1930s, and had his first of many one-man shows in New York in 1949. Sanchez traveled throughout the world sketching his impressions of houses and other buildings and capturing the details of doorways, windows, light, and shadow in his paintings and prints. His paintings of residential architecture in Cuba and throughout the Caribbean are some of his best known works, but in the 1980s he turned much of his attention to the skyline of his adopted home, and was often drawn also to American cities and landscapes over the course of his career.

Sanchez's work is represented in major museums and private collections the world over, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Museum in Havana, and the Cintas Collection. He completed numerous commissions in both the United States and Mexico, has illustrated several books, including Arte del Peru Colonial by Felipe Cossío del Pomar (published in 1958 by the Fondo de Cultura Económica in Mexico), and has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions in locations such as Mexico City, Paris, Havana, Madrid, Puerto Rico, Chile, Colombia, and throughout the United States.

Sanchez died in July, 1999 at the age of 78.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The Emilio Sanchez papers comprise 5 linear feet of material dating from 1922 to 1980. The papers contain biographical information about Sanchez; letters from galleries and museums recording business transactions; letters from friends; photographs of his artwork and places he visited for inspiration; personal photographs; sketches; exhibition catalogs, announcements, and reviews; clippings; and calendars.

A major portion of the collection consists of sketchbooks and sketches that provide rich documentation of Sanchez's artistic development and his working methods, particularly from the 1950s to the 1970s. Many of the sketches have detailed notations about aspects of an image that Sanchez wanted to recall and capture in his work. Photographs also provide insight into the architecture and landscapes that provided sources of inspiration for Sanchez.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as six series. Records are generally arranged by subject category, and then chronologically.

• Series 1: Biographical Material, 1969-1977, undated (box 1; 4 folders)
• Series 2: Letters and Business Records, 1956-1979 (box 1; 25 folders)
• Series 3: Photographs, 1922-1979, undated (boxes 1-3; 51 folders)
• Series 4: Printed Material, 1950-1980, undated (boxes 3-4; 17 folders)
• Series 5: Calendars, 1967-1976 (boxes 4-5; 7 folders)
• Series 6: Sketches, circa 1940-1979, undated (boxes 5-6, sols 7-11, OV's 12-22, RD 23; 2.9 linear ft.)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Emilio Sanchez in a series of gifts between 1975 and 1980.

Separated and Related Materials

Papers of Emilio Sanchez can also be found at the Dade County Public Library in Florida.

How the Collection was Processed

The collection was processed by Stephanie Ashley in 2002.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Emilio Sanchez 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.

How to Cite this Collection

Emilio Sanchez papers, 1922-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1969-1977, undated (box 1; 4 folders)

This series contains immunization records for travel, a passport, the transcript of an interview with Sanchez in which he discusses his work in detail, as well as several résumés and biographical information about the artist, such as lists of his work in public institutions and lists of his exhibitions.

The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.

Series 2: Letters and Business Records, 1956-1979 (box 1; 25 folders)

The material in this series primarily documents business transactions in the form of letters to Sanchez from various art institutions and individuals regarding consignment, loan for exhibition, and purchase of his work. Receipts for some of these transactions and lists of works exhibited in various shows can also be found here, in addition to scattered personal letters written to Sanchez. There are no letters written by Sanchez himself. Letters to Sanchez from 1965-1969 contains plats for the school house property in Wanamaker, Pennsylvania, that Sanchez purchased for studio space but ultimately sold because the area became too industrialized.

The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically. Letters with attachments are filed by the date of the most recent letter in the group, with attached material in reverse chronological order behind it.

Series 3: Photographs, 1922-1979, undated (boxes 1-3; 51 folders)

This series contains primarily color snapshots, in addition to some black and white photgraphs, several negatives and slides, and a series of contact sheets. There are family and personal photographs; photographs taken on travels intended to be used as sources for artwork; and photographs of works of art by Sanchez. Family and personal photographs include two photographs of Sanchez with his family, including his father; photographs of Sanchez at the Fortuny Exposition in Madrid in 1964 and at a 1966 exhibition in New York City; snapshots of him on his travels; and photographs of his "father, Pepino, and girlfriend" standing by Paris posters of Sanchez's 1953 exhibition at Bernheim-Jeune in Paris.

Photographs are arranged by general subject category and then chronologically. Negatives can be found at the end of the series.

Series 4: Printed Material, 1950-1980, undated (boxes 3-4; 17 folders)

This series contains exhibition announcments, press releases, catalogs, publications, and news clippings containing information about Sanchez, and relating to one-man exhibitions of his artwork and group exhibitions in which he participated.

Series 5: Calendars, 1967-1976 (boxes 4-5; 7 folders)

This series contains eight day-book calendars with notations about appointments. There are no calendars for 1970 and 1971.

Series 6: Sketches, circa 1940-1979, undated (boxes 5-6, sols 7-11, OV's 12-22, RD 23; 2.9 linear ft.)

This series contains hundreds of original sketches by Sanchez, both loose and in sketchbooks. The sketches are primarily in pencil, but some are in ink and some are colored and include layouts for posters, and several proofs for lithographs. In addition to basic sketches capturing Sanchez's impressions drawn in a variety of locations throughout the world, the development of Sanchez's work on certain subjects is documented more fully in large groups of sketches, such as those of Boston City Hall and of his illustrations for the book Arte del Peru Colonial.

The majority of the sketches are of buildings and of architectural and interior features of buildings, particularly windows and doorways. Additional subjects include landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, flowers and plants, sunsets, and figure drawings. Many of the sketches have notations by Sanchez indicating the location in which they were made or the project they were associated with, and some are dated. Notations may also indicate the medium of artwork, or the name of the individual work, that a sketch was used for.

The series is organized into three subseries:

• 6.1: Sketchbooks, 1948-1976, undated
• 6.2: Loose Sketches, circa 1940-1979, undated
• 6.3: Oversized Loose Sketches, 1945-1979, undated

6.1: Sketchbooks, 1948-1976, undated

6.2: Loose Sketches, circa 1940-1979, undated

6.3: Oversized Loose Sketches, 1945-1979, undated

Some of the categories found in this subseries repeat, and overlap with, those found in 6.4 but the sketches are larger and are therefore stored in oversized folders. The final entry in the subseries is out of sequence but has been separated because it represents several sketches of architecture that were too large to store in oversized folders.