James Brooks papers, 1928-1983
Brooks, James,
b. 1906
d. 1992
Painter
East Hampton, N.Y.
Collection size: 3.4 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 3 reels)
Collection Summary: Personal and business correspondence; photographs; transcripts of taped interviews; writings on art; sketches; and printed materials.
REEL N69-132: Financial correspondence with the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery; personal letters to Brooks and his wife Charlotte from George Biddle, Sam Hunter, Peppino Mangravite, James Waddell, William Littlefield, Worden Day, Wilfred Zogbaum, Julian Levi, Saul Steinberg, from collector, Ben Heller, and editors, George Plimpton and Stanley Kunitz. Also includes transcripts of interviews regarding his development as an artist, his commercial success, federal art programs during the depression, experiences with Jackson Pollock and Thomas H. Benton, and classes with Kimon Nicolaides and Boardman Robinson; clippings; photographs; catalogs; and an address book.
REELS 292-293: Brief essays on painting; a notebook summarizing work on "Flight," a Federal Art Project mural; photographs, including one of Brooks standing in front of his WPA Woodside Library mural (also microfilmed on reel 1817 fr. 224-225, and scanned, with AAA's Photographs of Artists Collection II); catalogs; clippings; and correspondence, primarily with teaching institutions, museums, and galleries often regarding lectures, juries, exhibitions, and sales. Correspondents include John Baur, James Johnson Sweeney, Josef Albers, Grace Borgenicht Brandt, and an occasional letter from Thomas Hart Benton. Olin Dows and Edward B. Rowan discuss murals done by Brooks for the Treasury Department and Biddle corresponds with Brooks about his service as a War Department artist.
UNMICROFILMED: Personal correspondence with Sandy (Alexander) Calder, Eurico Donate, Juilan Levi, Pierre Soulages, and others; business correspondence with Harvy H. Arnason, Trudie Grace, Grace Hartigan,Martha Jackson, Samuel Kootz, and others; income tax forms, insurance policies, and receipts; a sketchbook; 25 photographs of works of art; 31 sketches; exhibition catalogs and announcements; magazine articles and clippings on mural painting and Jackson Pollock.
Biographical/Historical Note: Painter; East Hampton, N.Y. Died 1992. Brooks studied under Kimon Nicolaides and Boardman Robinson. He served as an artist in the War Dept. and during the Depression he painted murals for federal art programs. He was a proponent of Abstract Expressionism, and was a friend of Jackson Pollock.
Donated 1979-1983 by Brooks. Reel N69-132 originally microfilmed in 1969. Portions that were donated have been previously microfilmed on reel N69-132.
How to Use this Collection
- Microfilm reels N69-132 and 292-293 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
- Microfilmed material must be consulted on microfilm copy. Use of unilmed material requires an appointment and is limited to Washington, D.C. storage facility.
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