From Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1986
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1986 (Boxes 1-2, 8; 0.8 linear feet)
This series contains the correspondence of Hugo Gellert. Most of the correspondence is of a professional nature, related to Gellert's activities as an artist, political organizer, and activist. Correspondents include artists, friends, family members, Communist Party and Popular Front leaders, labor union leaders, federal art programs personnel, writers, historians, publishers, Hungarian cultural and political figures, and fellow activists. Significant correspondents in this series include Maurice Becker, William Patterson, Floyd Dell, Philip Evergood, Howard Fast, Mike Gold, Robert Gwathmey, and Rockwell Kent.
Letters from individuals involved in leftist political organizations and activities are common throughout the series. In addition to Gellert's fellow Communists and Socialists, a wide variety of political groups are represented, including those concerned with artists' employment and welfare issues, anti-fascist organizations, organized labor, watchdog groups and defense committees for civil liberties during the McCarthy era, advocates for jailed Mexican artist David Siqueiros, and American civil rights groups. Also found is correspondence with editors of publications for which Gellert supplied illustrations, and letters concerning exhibitions and murals.
Noteworthy items found in correspondence include a lengthy letter written by John Dos Passos enclosed with a circa 1930s letter from Carlo Tresca, a draft of an essay by Carl Sandburg with a 1942 letter, and an original New Year's card by Gellert for 1951. Drafts of outgoing letters from 1946 contain a number of sketches of Australian landscapes by Gellert.
Letters received are interfiled with drafts of outgoing letters in chronological order. Undated correspondence that can be estimated within a decade is filed at the end of each decade with "circa" dates. Additional undated correspondence is filed at the end of the series. Outgoing drafts are common in correspondence and often have estimated dates.
Additional correspondence is found in the Organizational Records series. Additional cards made by Gellert are filed with Artwork. See series description for further details.
An index to selected names of individuals, organizations, and publications found in the correspondence series is available in this finding aid.
| Box |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Correspondence |
|
| 1 | 24 | circa 1920-1929 |
| 1 | 25 | 1930-1931 (See also Box 8) |
| 1 | 26 | 1932-1933 |
| 1 | 27 | 1934 |
| 1 | 28 | 1935 |
| 1 | 29 | 1936-1937 |
| 1 | 30 | 1939 |
| 1 | 31 | circa 1930-1939 |
| 1 | 32 | 1940-1941 |
| 1 | 33 | 1942 |
| 1 | 34 | 1943 |
| 1 | 35 | 1944 |
| 1 | 36 | 1945 |
| 1 | 37 | 1946 |
| 1 | 38 | 1947-1948 |
| 1 | 39 | 1949 |
| 1 | 40 | circa 1940-1949 |
| 1 | 41-42 | 1950 (2 folders) |
| 1 | 43 | 1951 |
| 1 | 44-45 | 1952 (2 folders) |
| 1 | 46-47 | 1953 (2 folders) |
| 1 | 48-49 | 1954 (2 folders) |
| 1 | 50-52 | 1955 (3 folders) |
| Box | Folder |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1956 |
| 2 | 2-3 | 1957 (2 folders) |
| 2 | 4 | 1958 |
| 2 | 5-6 | 1959 (2 folders) |
| 2 | 7 | circa 1950-1959 |
| 2 | 8-9 | 1960 (2 folders) |
| 2 | 10 | 1961 |
| 2 | 11 | 1962, 1968 |
| 2 | 12 | circa 1960-1969 |
| 2 | 13 | 1971-1979 |
| 2 | 14 | 1980-1983 |
| 2 | 15 | 1984-1986 |
| 2 | 16 | circa 1980-1989 |
| 2 | 17-18 | undated (2 folders) |
| Box |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| 8 (sol) | Oversized Item from Correspondence (See Box 1, f25) |