Jacob Kainen papers, 1905-2003, bulk, 1940-2001

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A Finding Aid to the Jacob Kainen Papers, 1905-2003 bulk 1940-2001, in the Archives of American Art, by Rachel Edford

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Table of Contents:

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

Biographical Information

Jacob Kainen is remembered as painter, printmaker, teacher, curator, and collector. Born on December 7, 1909 in Waterbury, Connecticut, Kainen's family moved to New York City in 1918. Kainen studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn from 1927 until 1930, and at the Art Student's League. In the early 1930s, Kainen became involved in social causes and formed close friendships with the early abstractionists, including John Graham, Ashile Gorky, and Stuart Davis. He joined the Artists' Union and became a contributor to its journal, Art Front, along with Stuart Davis and Harold Rosenberg. Jacob's participation in the Artists' Union was later investigated by the FBI.

From 1935 until 1942, Kainen worked for the Graphic Arts Division of the Works Progress Administration in New York City and began exhibiting with the New York School. It was during this period that he married Bertha Friedman. Jacob and Bertha had two sons together, Dan and Paul, and divorced in 1968. In 1942, Kainen made a life-changing decision to leave New York City and move to Washington, D.C. to accept what he thought would be a temporary position as a scientific aide in the Division of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian Institution. Kainen became Assistant Curator and then Curator in 1946. He served as Curator for twenty years, completely reshaping the department and building the graphic arts collection. His print exhibitions brought the work of S.W. Hayter, Josef Albers, Adja Yunkers, Louis Lozowick, Karl Schrag, José Guerrero, Louis Schanker, Werner Drewes, and Boris Margo to Washington audiences - graphic work that might not have been shown that early in the area.

1947 marked the opening of the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts, where Kainen served as a teacher and guide to several important artists, helping to make the workshop a magnet for new talent and instrumental in furthering the careers of several artists. Although Kainen taught Gene Davis and Alma Thomas and introduced Morris Louis to Leon Berkowitz, he never considered himself a member of the "Washington Color School."

In 1949, the Corcoran Gallery of Art held a retrospective of Kainen's prints and three years later Kenneth Noland organized Kainen's first painting retrospective at Catholic University. Kainen's paintings from the 1940s illustrated a shift away from social realism toward abstract expressionism. In 1956, Jacob Kainen received a grant from the American Philosophical society to conduct research in Europe for his monograph on the English woodcut artist, John Baptist Jackson. He traveled to Europe again in 1962 to study paintings and prints from the Mannerist Period.

From 1966 until 1970, Kainen worked as the Curator of prints and drawings at the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum). He married Ruth Cole in February of 1969. Kainen retired from the Smithsonian a year later to devote himself full-time to his art, but continued to serve as a special consultant to the Smithsonian American Art Museum for nineteen years. In 1971 and 1972, Kainen taught painting and the history of printmaking at the University of Maryland. A retrospective of Kainen's paintings was held in 1993 at the National Museum of American Art (SAAM).

Throughout his artistic career, Kainen experimented with different mediums and explored different styles, yet he identified himself as a painter. Jacob Kainen participated in at least twenty-five one man shows and several group exhibitions. His works are in collections across the United States and abroad, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the British Museum. He worked in his studio up until the time of his death on March 19, 2001 at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The Jacob Kainen papers date from 1905 to 2003 (bulk 1940-2001), and measure 17 linear feet. The collection consists primarily of personal correspondence to and from friends and family members and professional correspondence concerning Kainen's activities as an artist, curator, teacher and art collector. The collection also contains biographical material, writings, diaries, inventories, transcripts, printed material, photographs, works of art by other artists, and a videocassette.

Biographical materials include items concerning Kainen's career as a curator and artist, in addition to a useful bibliography, detailed biographical outline, and a copy of an FBI report compiled on him. Correspondence/Subject files comprise the bulk of the collection and contain correspondence to and from both Jacob and Ruth Kainen's family members and friends concerning personal and professional matters. A historical as well as personal context for Jacob Kainen is established through his correspondence with several leading artists, critics, and curators of the time. The variety of correspondents within the series reflects Kainen's diverse experiences as an artist, teacher, curator, and collector. A substantial portion of the correspondence consists of letters specifically addressed to and written solely by Ruth Kainen.

Writings include materials written by and about Jacob Kainen. Kainen's formal and more scholarly articles and lectures are included with his short stories and poems dating from the 1930s through the 1990s. The series also includes several statements Kainen made regarding his artistic motivations and justifications. Dairies include both Jacob and Ruth Kainen's diary entries with Jacob Kainen's diaries dating mostly from the 1950s and 1960s and Ruth Kainen's entries covering more recent events from the 1970s though the 1990s. Also found are calendars, including daily calendars and travel itineraries from 1972 through 2001.

Transcripts of informal conversations with and formal interviews of Jacob Kainen constitute the next series and include interviews with reporters and critics, and conversations with friends and fellow artists. Many of the interviews and conversations contain comments from Ruth Kainen as well as Jacob Kainen. Also found are inventories of paintings by Jacob Kainen that were sold, missing, or unsold along with color photographs of some of Kainen's paintings. Printed materials include Kainen's exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings of articles by and about Jacob Kainen, and an exhibition guestbook.

A substantial number of photographs are contained in the papers including those of Kainen with his family and friends, at exhibition openings, and working in his studios. Works of art by others includes handmade greeting cards, limited edition prints, and portfolios given to Jacob Kainen. The final item in the collection is a videocassette about the artist Martin Ries.

Arrangement and Series Description

The Jacob Kainen papers are arranged into eleven series, according to type of material; materials within series are arranged alphabetically by name or subject and then chronologically.

• Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1996, undated (Box 1; 13 folders)
• Series 2: Correspondence/Subject Files, 1936-2003, undated (Boxes 1-10; 9.7 linear feet)
• Series 3: Writings, 1939-2002, undated (Boxes 10-11; 0.6 linear feet)
• Series 4: Diaries, 1952-2002, undated (Box 11; 0.5 linear feet)
• Series 5: Calendars, 1972-2001 (Boxes 11-12; 0.6 linear feet)
• Series 6: Transcripts, 1972-1994, undated (Boxes 12-13; 0.7 linear feet)
• Series 7: Inventories, 1927-1999, undated (Box 13; 0.7 linear feet)
• Series 8: Printed Material, 1939-2002, undated (Boxes 13-14, OV 18; 0.4 linear feet)
• Series 9: Photographs, 1905-2000, undated (Boxes 14-16, OV 18; 2.6 linear feet)
• Series 10: Works of Art by Others, 1944-2000, undated (Boxes 16-17, OV 18; 1 linear foot)
• Series 11: Miscellany, 1999 (Box 17; 1 videocassette)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

Correspondence, writings, and printed materials were lent to the Archives of American Art from 1973 to 1981 by Jacob and Ruth Kainen to be microfilmed and then returned after microfilming. Additional papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Jacob and Ruth Kainen in several accessions from 1981 to 2000. Much of the original loaned materials were subsequently donated. Mrs. Ruth Kainen donated additional materials in 2003. On March 6, 2003 eight photographs of Jacob and Ruth Kainen were transferred from the National Portrait Gallery to the Archives of American Art.

Separated and Related Materials

Materials loaned by Jacob and Ruth Kainen from 1973 to 1981 are available on microfilm reels 565, 2147-2149, and 2200, but are not described in the Series Descriptions/Container Listing.

The Archives of American Art contains a sound recording and microfilmed transcript of Avis Berman's interview with Jacob Kainen for the Archives of American Art's "Mark Rothko and His Times" oral history project (reel 4937). Microfilm copies of Bertha Kainen's correspondence from 1993 to 1994 regarding Avis Berman's essay about Jacob Kainen are also available at the Archives of American Art (reel 5030).

How the Collection was Processed

The collection was processed by Rachel Edford in 2003 with funding provided by the Judith Rothschild Foundation.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research. Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Jacob Kainen 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.

Available Formats

The loaned materials are available on microfilm reels 565, 2147-2149, and 2200. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan.

How to Cite this Collection

Jacob Kainen papers, 1905-2003 (bulk 1940-2001). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1996, undated (Box 1; 13 folders)

The series includes applications, position descriptions, rsums, and a copy of the FBI report compiled on Kainen. Also contained are birth certificates, passports, biographical outlines, bibliographies, and lists of works by Jacob Kainen. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of material and subject and chronologically under each heading.

Series 2: Correspondence/Subject Files, 1936-2003, undated (Boxes 1-10; 9.7 linear feet)

The series includes personal and professional correspondence to and from family members, friends, scholars, artists, curators, and students. There is a significant amount of material dealing with exhibitions, donations, gifts, and appraisals of items from Kainen's art collection. Some notable correspondents include Clement Greenberg, Stuart Davis, and S.W. Hayter. A substantial amount of correspondence was written and received exclusively by Ruth Cole Kainen. The series contains some photographs, printed material, and handmade cards. The correspondence files and subject files were combined into one series as in the original arrangement by the Kainen's. In most cases, the correspondence was originally arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's name, but there were a few files included in the original series that were filed by subject and contained correspondence relating to a specific topic or event. Correspondents with fewer than five letters are filed alphabetically in miscellaneous folders.

Series 3: Writings, 1939-2002, undated (Boxes 10-11; 0.6 linear feet)

The series contains writings by and about Jacob Kainen. Writings by Jacob Kainen include articles, essays, introductions to exhibition catalogs, lectures, statements, short stories as well as lists, notes, and rough drafts of speeches and essays. Also included are lectures given by Jacob Kainen. Writings by others contain essays, a thesis, and a dissertation about Jacob Kainen.

The series has been divided into two subseries:

• 3.1: Writings by Jacob Kainen, 1946-1995, undated
• 3.2: Writings about Jacob Kainen, 1972-2002, undated

3.1: Writings by Jacob Kainen, 1946-1995, undated

Writings by Jacob Kainen include essays about Arshile Gorky, Raphael Soyer, John Dowell, and the Works Progress Administration. Mainstream art, New York in the 1930s, and art in the 1930s are topics addressed in the lectures included in this series. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically under each heading.

3.2: Writings about Jacob Kainen, 1972-2002, undated

The subseries contains writings about Jacob Kainen's painting, the Graphic Arts Division of the Works Progress Administration, the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Graphic Arts, and Jacob Kainen's art collection. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name and chronologically under each heading.

Series 4: Diaries, 1952-2002, undated (Box 11; 0.5 linear feet)

The series includes more informal writings by Jacob Kainen: diary entries, journal entries, and two notebooks from Jacob's European trips in 1956 and 1962. The notebooks were removed from their original binders for preservation purposes. Ruth Cole Kainen's extensive diary entries about Jacob Kainen, which consist of fragments and complete entries, are also included in this series. A large portion of Mrs. Kainen's diary entries deal with Jacob Kainen's two sons and with his retrospectives. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically under each heading.

Series 5: Calendars, 1972-2001 (Boxes 11-12; 0.6 linear feet)

The series includes daily calendars, consisting of actual calendar pages and typed schedules, and itineraries from Jacob and Ruth's various trips abroad. Many of the calendars are incomplete with certain months and years missing. The daily calendars also contain notes and lists relating to the events planned on specific days. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically under each heading.

Series 6: Transcripts, 1972-1994, undated (Boxes 12-13; 0.7 linear feet)

Transcripts of formal interviews, informal dialogues, discussions, and conversations are included in the series. The transcripts cover topics concerning Jacob's biography, his artwork, and art history in general. Many transcripts include explanatory notes and introductions written by Ruth Cole Kainen. Some of the transcripts are incomplete with missing pages. In other cases, there are different versions of the same conversations.

This series is divided into two subseries:

• 6.1: Conversations, 1975-1994
• 6.2: Interviews, 1977-1992, undated

6.1: Conversations, 1975-1994

The subseries includes transcriptions of informal dinner conversations, telephone conversations, discussions, and dialogues between Jacob Kainen and others. The transcripts filed under Ruth Cole Kainen are conversations strictly between herself and Jacob Kainen and comprise the bulk of the subseries. However, many of the conversations with the other participants include comments from both Jacob and Ruth Kainen. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by the primary participant's last name and chronologically under each heading.

6.2: Interviews, 1977-1992, undated

The subseries includes transcripts of formal interviews with Jacob Kainen concerning such topics as Mark Rothko, Alma Thomas, American Printmaking, and Washington art. As with the previous subseries, the transcripts include comments from Ruth Cole Kainen in addition to those by Jacob Kainen. The subseries is organized alphabetically by interviewer's last name and chronologically under each heading.

Series 7: Inventories, 1927-1999 (Box 13; 0.7 linear feet)

General and specific inventories of paintings by Jacob Kainen comprise the series. The inventories were originally contained in eight labeled binders. Although dismantled for preservation reasons, the original titles of the binders and original order of the pages have been preserved. Color photographs of Kainen's paintings accompany many of the inventory entries.

Series 8: Printed Material, 1939-2002, undated (Boxes 13-14, OV 18; 0.4 linear feet)

The series includes Kainen's exhibition catalogs and announcements in addition to newspaper, magazine, and journal clippings of articles by and about Jacob Kainen. The series also includes notecards and a list of items in Jacob's personal art collection and in Jacob and Ruth's joint art collection. A photocopy of the guestbook from Kainen's exhibition at the Equitable Gallery, a calendar, and two pamphlets produced by the Lab School of Washington are also included. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically under each heading.

Series 9: Photographs, 1905-2000, undated (Boxes 14-16, OV 18; 2.6 linear feet)

The series contains photographs of Jacob Kainen with family members and friends, at exhibition openings, and working in his studios. Included are color snapshots as well as black and white prints. There are a few negatives included within the series. Many of the photographs were taken by Ruth Cole Kainen. The series originally consisted of eight photograph albums and a box of loose photographs. The photograph albums were dismantled and the photographs within them were arranged in their original order. The albums were originally labeled with their dates. The dates have been preserved and the albums are organized chronologically by their dates. The loose photographs are organized alphabetically by subject and chronologically under each heading.

Series 10: Works of Art by Others, 1944-2000, undated (Boxes 16-17, OV 18; 1 linear foot)

The series consists primarily of handmade greeting cards and limited edition prints given to Jacob and Ruth Kainen. The cards contain lithographs, etchings, pen and ink drawings, and woodblock prints by various artists such as Tadeusz Lapinski, Un-ichi Hiratsuka, and Raphael Soyer. Alberta Mayo's portfolio, entitled "Remembering Paradise: Postcards from Southern California," is also part of the series. The series contains a variety of materials given to Kainen by the artist, Irving Amen. The series is arranged alphabetically by the artist's last name and chronologically under each heading. Artists with fewer than five items are filed alphabetically in miscellaneous folders. The material by Irving Amen is organized further by the type of material (i.e. by works of art, photographs, and printed material) and then chronologically.

See below for a List of Miscellaneous Artists from Series 10

Series 11: Miscellany, 1999 (Box 17; 1 videocassette)

The series consists of one videocassette about Martin Ries' paintings, prints, and drawings entitled, Live Along the Line: six decades.

List of Miscellaneous Artists from Series 10

• Arneson, Robert, undated
• Aronson, Irene, 1962
• Azechi, Umetaro, undated
• Baskin, Leonard, undated
• Beeri, Tuvia, 1978-1990
• Brashow, James, undated
• Browne, Rosalind Bengelsdorf, 1937
• Bunts, Frank, undated
• Butler, James, undated
• Carcan, Ren, 1978-1990
• Celan-Lestrange, Gisle, 1977
• Davis, Gene, 1969
• Dayez, George, undated
• Dean, Hilliard, 1980-1987, undated
• De Lon, Ponce, 1965-1971, undated
• Dos Santos, Bartolomeu, undated
• Eichenberg, Fritz, 1977
• Everson, William and Mary, 1948
• Frasconi, Antonio, undated
• Greenwald, Bernard, 1976
• Griffith, Fuller, undated
• Gubbiotti, Jason, 2000
• Gumpert, Gunther, 1999
• Gurr, Lena, 1971-1972, undated
• Hashimoto, Okiie, undated
• Highton, Anne, 1985-1991, undated
• Isen, Hal and Anita, undated
• Kent, Norman, 1966, undated
• Kolin, Sasha, undated
• Kreindler, Doris, 1967
• Kurosaki, Akira, 1979
• Landau, Jacob, 1971
• Laughlin, Rebecca Mirsch, 1979
• Leizman, William, 1961, undated
• Lewis, Golda, 1955
• Lothar, Ernest, 1951
• Lyon, Rowland, undated
• Margo, Boris, undated
• Michel, Sally, 1970-1977
• Moore, Benson, undated
• Morse, Peter, 1973-1975
• Music, Zoran, 1978
• Nama, George A., 1965-1966
• Neustadt, Barbara, 1971
• Pearlstein, Philip, 1977-1978
• Piza, 1983-1988
• Purcell, Ann, 1997
• Reed, Paul, 1969, undated
• Refregier, Anton, 1971
• Riabov, George, undated
• Schwartz, Carl, undated
• Smallwood, Michael, 1973
• Stone, J., 1985
• Solmon, Joseph, 1944-1952
• Soyer, Raphael, undated
• Sundberg, Alan, undated
• Taylor, Prentiss, 1962-1963
• Veinus, Abraham, 1989-1990
• Viswanadhan, Velu, 1981
• Ward, Lynd, undated
• Weber, Joanne Goulart, 1977-1997
• Wiley, William T., undated
• White, Pat, 1972
• Yoshida, undated
• Yunkers, Adja, 1948