TABLE OF CONTENTS

Collection Overview

Administrative Information

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Separated Material

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Biographical, 1908-1964, undated

Correspondence, 1922-1968, undated

Subject Files, 1940-1958, undated

Writings, 1923-1971, undated

Teaching, 1921-1952, undated

Financial Records, 1923-1971, undated

Scrapbooks, 1910-1961

Printed Matter, 1913-1987, undated

Audio/Visual Materials, circa 1935-1986, undated

Miscellaneous, 1916-1966, undated

Photographs, 1904-1964, undated

Alexander Archipenko

A Finding Aid to the Alexander Archipenko Papers, 1904-1986 (bulk 1930-1964), in the Archives of American Art

by Catherine S. Gaines

2002

Contact Information
Reference Department
Archives of American Art
Smithsonian Institution
Washington. D.C. 20560
www.aaa.si.edu/askus

Administrative Information

Provenance

In 1967, the Alexander Archipenko papers, previously on deposit at Syracuse University, were loaned to the Archives of American Art for microfilming by his widow Frances Archipenko Gray. In 1982, Ms. Gray donated most of the material previously loaned and microfilmed on reels NA1-NA25 to the Archives of American Art, along with additional items. The previously microfilmed and unmicrofilmed portions of the Alexander Archipenko Papers have been merged, arranged and described in accordance with standard archival practice. The collection has been remicrofilmed on reels 5826-5839; loaned items not received with the 1982 gift are available on reels NA11-NA12, NA16-NA18 and NA20-NA22.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Catherine S. Gaines in 2002.

Preferred Citation

Alexander Archipenko papers, 1904-1986 (bulk 1930-1964). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Alternative Forms Available

The collection is on microfilm reels 5826-5839, and NA11-NA12, NA16-NA18 and NA20-NA22 and is available through interlibrary loan.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Alexander Archipenko 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.

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Related Material

After Archipenko's death, his widow hired Donald H. Karshan to be Curator of the Archipenko Collection and Director of the Archipenko Archive, a position he held circa 1966-circa 1970. Karshan was closely involved with the Archipenko memorial exhibition that traveled widely in the United States, 1967-1969. Karshan's files related to this exhibition have been organized as a distinct collection, the Donald H. Karshan papers. This material has been separated and treated as a distinct collection titled Donald H. Karshan Papers relating to Alexander Archipenko.

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Separated Material

The Donald H. Karshan papers relating to Alexander Archipenko have been separated from the Alexander Archipenko papers. Between 1966 and circa 1970, Karshan was closely involved with the Archipenko memorial exhibition, 1967-1969, and served as the Curator of the Archipenko Collection and Director of the Archipenko Archives after Archipenko's death.

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Biographical Note

Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964) was the son of an engineer/inventor and grandson of an icon painter. Among the first modern sculptors of the 20th century to be associated with the Cubist movement, Archipenko was known for his innovative use of concave space. His major contribution was the realization of negative form through use of a hole to create a contrast of solid and void. His sculpto-paintings united form and color; begun in 1912, these polychromed constructions are among the earliest mixed-media works known, and sometimes incorporated objects. Eventually, his Cubist-inspired work evolved into the simplified, abstract shapes for which he is best known. Although known primarily as a sculptor, Archipenko produced paintings, drawings, and prints as well.

At age 15, Archipenko began studying art at the University of Kiev in his native city; he was expelled three years later for criticizing the teachers. He then went to Moscow where he worked on his own and exhibited in several group shows; his first solo exhibition was held in the Ukraine in 1906.

Archipenko made Paris his home from 1908 until the outbreak of World War I. Soon after his arrival, he enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts; this association lasted but two weeks, and marked the end of Archipenko's formal training. He continued to study art by spending large amounts of time visiting art museums and painting on his own. During this period he began exhibiting in the Salon des Independents with the Cubists, and as a member of the "Section d'Or" participated in that group's exhibitions. His first one-man exhibition in Germany was held at the Folkwant Museum (1912) and his work was featured in the Armory Show (1913).

In 1912, at the age of 25, Archipenko established an art school in Paris, an endeavor he continued throughout his life. He spent the war years working quietly outside of Nice, and soon afterwards circulated an extensive exhibition of his works throughout Europe. In 1921, Archipenko settled in Berlin, opened an art school there, and married sculptor Angelica Bruno-Schmitz who was known professionally as Gela Forster.

Archipenko's reputation was solidly established and the majority of his ground-breaking work - adaptation of Cubist ideas to sculpture, sculpto-paintings and incorporation of negative space in sculpture - was accomplished prior to his 1923 arrival in the United States. His most innovative work executed in America was the Archipentura, invented circa 1924 and patented in 1927, a machine with rolling cylinders that displayed "animated paintings" using motion and light. Other creations of particular interest are carved Lucite sculptures, illuminated from within, that were executed in the mid-1940s.

Upon settling in the United States in 1923, Archipenko opened his art school in New York City; a summer school was established in Woodstock, New York the following year. Within a few years, Archipenko had purchased land near Woodstock and began construction of a home, personal studio, and buildings for the school. At various times during the 1930s, Archipenko resided in Chicago and Los Angeles, and operated schools while living in those cities. For many years during the 1940s, Angelica served on the sculpture faculty at the Escuela de Belles Artes in San Miguel Allende, Mexico.

In addition to running his own schools, Archipenko taught at a number of colleges and universities, running workshops, and serving as a visiting professor. He wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophy of art and theories of creativity, publishing several articles and a book, Archipenko: Fifty Creative Years, 1908-1958 (1960).

Angelica Archipenko died in 1957. Three years later Archipenko married sculptor Frances Gray, a former student. During the early 1960s, the couple traveled extensively on a lecture tour that accompanied solo exhibition to several German cities. Archipenko died in New York City, February 25, 1964.

The following chronology is excerpted from Alexander Archipenko: A Centennial Tribute by Katherine Janszky Michaelsen and Nehama Guralnik, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1986 and Archipenko: The Sculpture and Graphic art, Including a Print Catalogue Raisonne by Donald Karshan, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, Tubingen, Germany, 1974)

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Scope and Content Note

The Alexander Archipenko papers measure 18 linear feet, and are dated 1904-1986, with the bulk created between 1930 and 1964. The sculptor's personal and professional life is documented by correspondence, financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, and photographs documenting his art, exhibitions, travel, teaching activities, and the Archipenko Art School. Archipenko wrote and lectured extensively about his philosophies of art and the relationship between art and nature. The papers include drafts, notes, and final manuscript of published and unpublished writings, and notes, outlines, transcripts, and sound recordings of some of his lectures.

Correspondence concerns both personal and professional matters. Among Archipenko's personal correspondents are relatives and friends in the Ukraine, wife Angelica during her extended stays in Mexico and California, and other women. Professional correspondence with dealers, curators, scholars, collectors, colleges and universities 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 also survive.

Records concerning the Archipenko Art School are sparse, with only one photograph of students in Berlin, 1921. 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 Archipenko's 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. Paid bills include 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. Among the Alexander Archipenko Papers is a fair amount of printed matter that consists primarily of clippings about Archipenko and exhibition catalogs with related announcements and invitations. Miscellaneous items include books about Archipenko, catalogs of museum collections containing works by Archipenko, and reproductions. 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 circa 1924 and patented in 1927.

Photographs are of people, Archipenko's 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.

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Series Descriptions/Container Listing