Erle Loran gained a national recognition for his work as a painter, writer, and collector of African art. After attending the University of Minnesota from 1922 to 1923, he transferred to the Minneapolis School of Art, where he studied from 1924 to 1926, receiving the Chaloner Foundation Paris Prize in 1926. The prize enabled him to live in Paris for three years. Particularly interested in Cézanne, he had the good fortune to live in his studio where he immersed himself in Cézanne's world, an experience that was crucial to the development of his artistic vision. Upon his return to the United States, he published many articles on Cézanne that developed into his pioneering book, Cézanne's Composition (1943). In 1936 he joined the art department of the University of California, Berkeley, retiring emeritus professor of art in 1981. In 1955 he also studied with Hans Hoffmann, and helped bring modernist impulse based on Hoffmann and the lessons of Cézanne to the university and the Bay area. This selection of letters, photographs, writings, and preparatory studies from the papers of Erle Loran document his multifaceted career.

Case 1

  “Exhibition of Paintings by Erle Loran.” C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, 1931 Feb. 2-14. 21 x 14cm, 2pp.
  Photograph of Erle Loran, 1934. Photographer unidentified. b&w. 11 x 08cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran, n.d. 07 x 12cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Clyta Loran, n.d. 01 x 12cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran and Clyta Loran at a fence post, n.d. 07 x 06cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Clyta Loran, n.d. 08 x 07cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran and Clyta Loran sitting on a couch, n.d. 09 x 13cm, 1p.

Case 2

  Photograph of Erle Loran dressed for work on a windy day with his equipment, California coast, 1944. Photographer unidentified. 12 x 07cm, 1p.
  Letter from Clement Greenberg to Erle Loran. 1944 Feb. 1. Typescript. 28 x 22cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran outdoors with a painting, Virginia City, 1938. 12 x 07cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran wearing glasses and leaning on his left hand at Berkeley, 1939. 25 x 22cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran holding a painting, with other paintings on the floor, n.d. 09 x 13cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran and 7 others having a picnic, n.d. 11 x 16cm, 1p.

Case 3

  Postcard from Stuart Davis to Erle Loran, 1944 Jan. 16. Typescript. 09 x 14cm, 1p.
  Letter from Stuart Davis to Erle Loran, 1944 July 16. Handwritten. 28 x 21cm, 5pp.

Case 4

  Photograph of Erle Loran’s paitings in Cézanne’s studio, n.d. 09 x 12cm, 1p.
  Manuscript page from Cézanne book. 27 x 21cm, 1p.
  Review by Clement Greenberg of Erle Loran’s “Cézanne’s Composition,” in The Nation. 1945 Dec. 29. 29 x 23cm, 1p.
  Design for the cover of “Cézanne’s Composition” by Erle Loran. 32 x 26cm, 1p.
  Article “A Cézanne still life analyzed by Erle Loran,” Printed Material, 1944 March. 30 x 22 2pp.
  Photograph of the interior (Dining Room) of Cézanne’s studio, 1928. 09 x 12cm, 1p.
  Photograph of the exterior of Cézanne’s studio, ca. 1928. 07 x 11cm, 1p.

Case 5

Diagram of Cézanne’s painting, Figure C and Figure D. 28 x 22cm, 1p.  
Diagram of Cézanne’s painting, Figure E and Figure F. 28 x 22cm, 1p.  
Diagram of Cézanne’s painting, Figure A (lower). 28 x 22cm, 1p.  
Diagram of Cézanne’s painting by Erle Loran. 17 x 22cm, 1p.  
Diagram of Cézanne painting by Erle Loran. 14 x 18cm, 1p.  
Photograph of Erle Loran in front of the Pavillion Cézanne, Aix en Provence, 1928. Photographer unidentified. 11 x 07cm, 1p.  
Reproduction of Cézanne’s Sainte Victoire. 18 x 25cm, 1p.  

Case 6

  Typescript of “Collector Purchases “Portrait of Mme. Cézanne” by Roy Lichtenstein by Erle Loran, n.d. 28 x 22cm, 10pp.
  Catalog, “Composition: Roy Lichtenstein,” Pasadena Art Museum, Walker Art Center, 1967. 24 x 21cm, 64pp.
  Letter from Thomas J. Cunningham to Roy Lichtenstein, 21 Oct. 1963. 28 x 22cm, 1p.
  Newspaper clipping “UC Painter and Piracy.” 23 x 29, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran’s diagram of Cézanne’s painting. 26 x 25cm, 1p.
  Letter from Erle Loran to John M. Martins, 1977 July 2. Handwritten. 28 x 22cm, 2pp.
  Photograph of Erle Loran’s home showing interior with African art collection and sofa. 21 x 26cm, 1p.
  Photograph of Erle Loran’s home showing interior with African art collection. 21 x 26cm, 1p.
  Catalog, “Erle Loran: Artist, Collector, and Scholar,” M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 1994 Oct. 19 – 1995 Jan. 1. 27 x 21cm, 6pp.
  Catalog, “African and Ancient Mexican Art: The Loran Collection,” The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, 1974 Oct. 12 – 1975 Jan. 12. 24 x 11cm, 2pp.

Case 7

  Photograph of Erle Loran in Berkeley, 1973. 26 x 20cm, 1p.
  Letter from Erle Loran to Sam Sabean, 1955 Nov. 29. 28 x 22cm, 5pp.
  Essay, “Remembering Mardsen Hartley,” n.d. 28 x 22cm, 13pp.
  Artist Statement by Erle Loran, 1981. 28 x 22cm, 3pp.
  Letter from Erle Loran to Hans Hofmann, 1965 Sept. 5. Handwritten. 28 x 22cm, 2pp.
  Photograph of Erle Loran and Hans Hofmann at the airport, 1964. 09 x 13cm, 1p.
  Letter from Richard Diebenkorn to Erle Loran, 1952 Nov. 28. Handwritten. 28 x 22cm 1p.
  Typescript copy of a statement about Hans Hofmann by Erle Loran made during the celebration opening of the Berkeley Art Museum ca. 1970 Nov. 7. 28 x 22cm, 4pp.
  “Teaching problems” notes, n.d. 28 x 22cm, 2pp.
  Letter from Clyfford Still to Erle Loran, 1952 Mar. 20. Typescript. 28 x 22cm, 1p.
  Letter from Benjamin M. Jurin to Erle Loran, n.d. 27 x 21cm, 4pp.
  Photograph of Marsden Hartley and his dog in Aix en Provence, France, ca. 1926. Photographer unidentified. 1 negative, b&w. 12 x 07cm, 1p.
  Letter from Samuel Sabean to Erle Loran, 1944 Jan. 24. Handwritten. 28 x 22cm, 7pp.

Selections from Erle Loran's papers....

[Erle Loran drawing in the woods, accompanied by a student.], ca. 1973 / Ted Streshinsky, photographer. 1 photographic print : b&w ; 25 x 20 cm.
[Erle Loran drawing in the woods, accompanied by a student.], ca. 1973 / Ted Streshinsky, photographer. 1 photographic print : b&w ; 25 x 20 cm.

 

 

Last updated... October 21, 2005