TABLE OF CONTENTS
Series Descriptions/Container Listing
Biographical Material, 1966-1977
Personal Correspondence, 1933-1978, undated
Diary and Travel Journals, 1957-1975
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Files and Records, 1920-1982, undated
Notes and Writings, 1923-1978, undated
Hyde Park Art Center File, 1960-1977, undated
Whitney Halstead
A Finding Aid to the Whitney Halstead Papers, 1920-1982, in the Archives of American Art
by Jean Fitzgerald
May 2004
- Contact Information
- Reference Department
- Archives of American Art
- Smithsonian Institution
- Washington. D.C. 20560
- www.aaa.si.edu/askus
Collection Overview | ||
| Creator: | Whitney Halstead | |
| Title: | Whitney Halstead papers | |
| Dates: | 1920-1982 | |
| Abstract: | The Whitney Halstead papers measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1982. They document the career of art historian, educator, critic, author, and artist Whitney Halstead. Found within the papers are scattered biographical material; a diary and travel journals; writings and notes (almost one-half of the collection); scattered correspondence; miscellaneous records and printed materials documenting Halstead's tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago; audio-cassette recordings of African and native music; artists files for Jim Nutt and Joseph E. Yoakum; exhibition files; art work by Halstead and others; and photographs of Halstead, friends and colleagues, and art projects. Also found are numerous photographs, slides, and negatives of primitive art, including American Indian art by Southwest tribes. | |
| Extent: | 7.1 linear feet | |
| Language: | The records are in English. | |
Administrative Information
Provenance
The Whitney Halstead papers were donated by Theodore Halkin, the executor of Halstead's estate in 1986.
Processing Information
The papers were processed in May 2004 by Jean Fitzgerald.
Preferred Citation
Whitney Halstead papers, 1920-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Whitney Halstead 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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Index Terms | ||
| This collection is indexed in the online catalog of the Archives of American Art under the following index terms. People, families and organizations are listed under "Subjects" when they are the topic of collection contents and under "Names" when they are creators or contributors. | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| Art Institute of Chicago. School | ||
| Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, Ill.) | ||
| Nutt, Jim, 1938- | ||
| Yoakum, Joseph, 1886-1972 | ||
| Subjects-Topical: | ||
| Art critics -- Illinois -- Chicago | ||
| Art historians -- Illinois -- Chicago | ||
| Subjects-Geographical: | ||
| Chicago (Ill.) | ||
| Types of Materials: | ||
| Drawings | ||
| Journals (accounts) | ||
| Photographs | ||
| Sketchbooks | ||
| Sketches | ||
| Sound recordings | ||
| Works of art | ||
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Related Material
Additional Whitney Halstead papers are held by the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Biographical Note
Art historian, educator, critic, author, and artist Whitney Halstead was born in 1926. After receiving a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Halstead worked as an assistant in the Field Museum's anthropology department. He also taught art history at several Chicago-area universities, including the Art Institute, where he developed a series of courses on primitive art. Some historians have indicated that these courses were an important influence on the work of several artists of the "Chicago School" who studied with Halstead, including Roger Brown, Phil Hanson, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum, among others. Halstead also played a prominent role in the 1965 Art Institute's faculty strike that resulted in better working conditions for the instructors, and by 1967, he had become Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts. In 1970, he assumed the position of Graduate Advisor.
Halstead wrote critical reviews for Artforum, the Chicago Daily News, and numerous articles and essays promoting local and primitive art, including the work of Jim Nutt and naïve artist Joseph E. Yoakum. He also curated several exhibitions, including Made In Chicago and Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo Art. Halstead's own art work, exhibitied primarily during the 1950s and early 1960s, was in a variety of media and reflected his interest in Dadaism and Surrealism.
Whitney Halstead died in 1979.
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Scope and Content Note
The Whitney Halstead papers measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1982. They document the career of art historian, educator, critic, author, and artist Whitney Halstead. Found within the papers are scattered biographical material; a diary and travel journals; writings and notes (almost one-half of the collection); scattered correspondence; miscellaneous records and printed materials documenting Halstead's tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago; audio-cassette recordings of African and native music; artists files for Jim Nutt and Joseph E. Yoakum; exhibition files; art work by Halstead and others; and photographs of Halstead, friends and colleagues, and art projects. Also found are numerous photographs, slides, and negatives depicting primitive art, mostly native American Indian art by Southwest tribes.
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Series Descriptions/Container Listing
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1966-1977 (Box 1; 1 folder) |
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Biographical material consists of resumes and notes concerning Halstead's career. |
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Box |
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| 1 | Resumes and notes, 1966-1977 | ||||||||
Series 2: Personal Correspondence, 1933-1978, undated (Box 1; 6 folders) |
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Personal correspondence consists of letters concerning Halstead's activities outside of his tenure at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Included are three letters from Jim Nutt, one of which is illustrated. |
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Box |
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| 1 | Personal Correspondence, 1933-1978, undated (6 folders) | ||||||||
Series 3: Diary and Travel Journals, 1957-1975 (Box 1; 3 folders) |
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The diary contains notes concerning Halstead's daily thoughts rather than a record of daily activities. It also contains references to Jim Nutt. The travel journals contain notes concerning his travels to Europe and to Peru. |
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Box |
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| 1 | Diary, 1970-1975 | ||||||||
| Travel Journal about Europe, 1957 | |||||||||
| Travel Journal about Peru, 1971 | |||||||||
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1923-1978, undated (Box 2-5; 3.4 linear feet) |
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Notes include notebooks pertaining to various art history topics, including the art of primitive cultures, Impressionism, Dadaism and Surrealism, American art, collage and assemblage, ceramics, and photography. Other notebooks contain reproductions of examples of late 19th century art and illustrations of primitive art styles. An index card file contains notes for art history lectures and bibliographic entries. Also found are six audiocassettes recordings of African, Native American, and Oceanic music. Writings include typescripts on various art history topics written for publications, including Artforum and the Chicago Daily News. There are also typescripts concerning individual artists, including Roger Brown, Ed Paschke, Kerig Pope, Christina Ramberg, and Barbara Rossi. |
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Box |
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| 2 | Notebooks on Art History, 1923-1978, undated (18 folders) | ||||||||
Box |
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| 3 | Notebooks on Art History, 1923-1978, undated (8 folders) | ||||||||
| Notebook of Reproductions of Paintings and Drawings, undated (4 folders) | |||||||||
| Notebook of Illustrations of Primitive Art, 1954, undated (3 folders) | |||||||||
| Notes on Chicago Art, 1971-1974 | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Notes, undated | |||||||||
Box |
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| 4 | Index Card File of Lecture Notes and Bibliographies, undated (1.0 linear feet) | ||||||||
Box |
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| 5 | Audiocassettes of African Music, undated | ||||||||
| Audiocassettes of Native American Music, undated | |||||||||
| Audiocassette of Oceanic (Maori) Music, undated | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Typescripts, 1950-1974, undated (8 folders) | |||||||||
| Typescript "Distortion and Proportion" for Delphian Charter Extension VII Program Fifteen, 1963-1964, undated (6 folders) | |||||||||
| Typescripts for Artforum, 1965-1969 (15 folders) | |||||||||
| Typescripts for Chicago Daily News, 1967-1973 (7 folders) | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Typescript Fragments, undated | |||||||||
Series 6: Artist Files, 1967-1977 (Box 5-6, OV 8; 36 folders) |
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Artist files contain biographical material, correspondence primarily discussing exhibitions and sales of art work, notes, writings, printed material, and photographs pertaining to painters Jim Nutt and Joseph E. Yoakum. |
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Box |
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| 5 | Jim Nutt | ||||||||
| Typescripts for Museum of Contemporary Art Exhibition Catalog, 1973-1974 | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Typescripts about Jim Nutt, 1973-1974 (4 folders) | |||||||||
| Clippings, 1974-1975 | |||||||||
| Press Release and Exhibition Catalogs, 1974 | |||||||||
| Joseph E. Yoakum | |||||||||
| Biographical Material, 1972-1975 | |||||||||
| Correspondence, 1968-1977 (5 folders) | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Notes, 1972-1976 (3 folders) | |||||||||
| Typescript for Whitney Museum Exhibition Catalog, 1972 | |||||||||
| Drafts of a Manuscript, 1975 (8 folders) | |||||||||
Box |
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| 6 | Drafts of a Manuscript, 1975 (5 folders) | ||||||||
| Typescript "Joseph E. Yoakum" by Philip H. Hanson, 1969 | |||||||||
| Photographs of Yoakum, 1967-1969, undated | |||||||||
| Photographs of Art Work and an Exhibition, undated | |||||||||
| Slides of Art Work, undated | |||||||||
| Clippings, 1971-1972 | |||||||||
| Exhibition Announcements, 1968-1976 (see also OV 8) | |||||||||
Box |
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| OV 8 | Oversize Exhibition Poster for Yoakum, 1968 | ||||||||
| Oversize Exhibition Poster for Yoakum, 1976 | |||||||||
Series 7: Hyde Park Art Center File, 1960-1977, undated (Box 6; 4 folders) |
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Miscellaneous printed material documenting the exhibitions and art-related activities of the Hyde Park Art Center of Chicago. |
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Box |
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| 6 | Brochures and Announcements, 1960-1977, undated | ||||||||
| Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs, 1962-1977, undated (2 folders) | |||||||||
| Newsletters, circa 1966 | |||||||||
Series 9: Art Work, 1932-1970, undated (Box 6, OV 8; 21 folders) |
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Art work includes sketchbooks, loose sketches, collage books, and prints by Halstead, several antique engravings, and miscellaneous drawings and art photographs by others. Art photographs are by Jerome Aronson, Ken Josephson, Ceil London, Tom Palazzolo, Charles Reynolds, and Roger Vail. |
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Box |
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| 6 | Sketchbooks by Halstead, 1950, undated (3 folders) | ||||||||
| Loose Sketches by Halstead, 1932-1949, undated (9 folders; See Also OV 8) | |||||||||
| Collage Books by Halstead, 1949, undated (3 folders) | |||||||||
| Loose Collages by Halstead, undated | |||||||||
| Prints by Halstead?, 1947, undated (see also OV 8) | |||||||||
| Antique Engravings, undated | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous Drawings and Cut-Out Designs by Others, undated (see also OV 8) | |||||||||
| Art Photographs by Others, 1965-1970, undated (2 folders) | |||||||||
Box |
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| OV 8 | Oversize Sketch, undated | ||||||||
| Oversize Prints, undated | |||||||||
| Oversize Cut-Out Design, undated | |||||||||
Series 11: Printed Material, 1966-1975 (Box 7; 5 folders) |
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Printed material consists of clippings and booklets written by Halstead about the Japanese prints and the culture of the American Southwest as it pertains to the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago. |
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Box |
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| 7 | Clippings, 1966-1975 | ||||||||
| Booklets written by Halstead, undated (4 folders) | |||||||||