JOHN GRAHAM (1881-1961), a Russian immigrant, writer, painter, collector, connoisseur, and charismatic spokesman for the avant-garde, was also an incessant doodler. His 1937 pocket diary reveals the force of his imagination and his enthusiasm for Picasso. That same year Graham published his treatise System and Dialectics of Art and was in the process of expanding and finishing several other writing projects. He was also acting as a private agent for collector Frank Crowninshield and others and made at least one extended trip to Mexico. With most of his energy consumed by these activities, he had little time to paint. His diary was one place where he indulged in graphic expression. He covered his lists of objects to buy and sell, letters to write, and people to meet, with multi-colored pencil drawings and Picassoesque doodles. His small sketches have the same whimsical vulgarity that gave his later paintings their unsettling edge.
Description of John Graham's Papers |
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| CREATOR: | Graham, John, 1881-1961. |
| TITLE: | John D. Graham papers, 1891-1985. |
| PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: | 8.2 linear ft. (on 16 microfilm reels) reels 3616-3620, 3894-3896, 4042-4045, and 5049 |
| BIO/HISTORICAL NOTE: | Painter, collector; New York and Mexico. Born Ivan Gratsianovitch Dombrovski in Kiev, Russia. His birthday is listed as 27 December, 1886 but after 1917 Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar changing the date to 7 January, 1887. He moved to New York in 1920, changing his name to John Dabrowsky Graham. He was a central figure among American avant-garde artists, especially from the late 1920's - 1940's. His understanding of cubism and surrealism made him a link to the European art scene. He helped Stuart Davis, Lee Krasner, William de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, and David Smith gain recognition and critical acclaim. His interest in horses, Jungian psychology, yoga, and the occult appear as themes in his work. Graham collected African art which he exhibited in New York inspiring an interest in primitivism among artists. Frank Crowninshield commissioned Graham to assemble an African art collection for him. Graham moved to Mexico in 1936. In 1937 he published SYSTEMS AND DIALECTICS OF ART, stimulating American artists interest in primitive art. |
| SUMMARY: | Biographical material, correspondence, artwork, photographs, notebooks, sketchbooks, diaries,printed material, writings and financial papers. |
| REELS 3616-3620: | Driver's licenses, passports, drafts of Graham's wills, address books and business cards; correspondence with Ultra Violet, Francoise Gilot, Elinor Graham, Max Granick, R.B. Kitaj, Linda Leyden and Gallery Mayer; writings and notes on art, health, the occult, travel and his autobiography; photographs of Graham, his family, friends, houses, artwork, and art collection; drawings by Graham; and financial papers. |
| REELS 3894-3896: | A resume, Graham's will, and death certificate; correspondence with his son, David, and Stuart Davis. Writings include a list of Graham's rare books, antiques and artwork, manuscripts of ORIFIZIO MUNDI, FINALE, NOUVEL CHILDHOOD, and poetry. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, books about the symbols used in Graham's artwork, clippings, and scrapbooks of Archer Gibson, father of Elinor Graham. Photographs depict Graham, his family, friends, artwork by Graham and other artists, and late 19th century photographs of celebrities created by photography companies such as Falk, Nadar, Mora, Carlo Ponti, and Reutlinger. |
| REELS 4042-4045: | Writings on African and Mexican art, "Childhood," "Don Giovanni," psychoanalysis, language, and SYSTEMS AND DIALECTS OF ART, with charts and text for "Comparative History of Art," diaries and notebooks. Also included are drawings by Graham; 2 books on handwriting; sheet music; clippings about psychoanalysis, Russian historical figures, and art; postcards; and 2 pots of paint and a pallette used by Graham. |
| REEL 5049: | Notebooks/sketchbooks (16 v.), 1935, 1940-1944, 1949-1950, 1952-1955, 1957 and several undated; and single drawings torn from sketchbooks. |
| UNMICROFILMED: | Nine books, one is in Italian and eight are in Russian. Some are annotated with notes and sketches by Graham. |
| RESTRICTIONS: | Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion (published books) requires an appointment and is limited to Washington, D.C. storage facility. Reel 5049: Museum of Modern Art, NY: John Graham Notebooks: Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission of the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., New York, N.Y. 10018 Linda Leyden correspondence (reel 3616) and photographs (reel 3620): Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce must be obtained from: Linda Leyden Stander, 5042 Juniper St., Littleton, Colo. 80123 |
| PROVENANCE: | Material on reels 3616-3620 was donated by Graham's son, John David Graham, May 1985, just several weeks before his death. In 1987 Graham's daughter-in-law, (John David's widow) donated material on reels 3894-3896 and the unmicrofilmed books. The unmicrofilmed books were donated via the Andre Emmerich Gallery for the estate. In 1987, the Museum of Modern Art donated John Graham papers which had been in MoMA's Department of Prints and Drawings. MoMA probably received them from the estate for use in preparing for their 1968 Graham exhibition. These papers had been microfilmed by MoMA prior to being donated; AAA remicrofilmed the papers in 1990 on reels 4042-4045. MoMA's Department of Prints and Drawings retained ca. 16 v. of notebooks and several loose sketches, and lent AAA their master negative of the microfilm for duplicating with the stipulation that they be identified as the "Museum of Modern Art, NY: John Graham Notebooks" (reel 5049). |
| FINDING AIDS: | Reel 3616-3620: Microfilm/folder inventory available at AAA offices |
| ADDITIONAL FORMS: | 35mm microfilm reels 3616-3620, 3894-3896, 4042-4045, and 5049 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibray loan. |
| REPRODUCTION: | Reel 5049: Microfilm. Filmed by: Microfilm Corp., New York, N.Y.; ca. 1986; 1 microfilm reel. |
| LOCATION OF ORIGINALS: | Reel 5049: Museum of Modern Art, NY: John Graham Notebooks: Originals in: Museum of Modern Art, Department of Drawings and Prints. |
| CITE AS: | Reels 5049-5053: At the request of the Museum of Modern Art (owner of originals), cite as: Museum of Modern Art, NY: John Graham Notebooks". |
| GENERAL NOTE: | Portions are in French, Russian, and Latin. |
John Graham Diary, 1937, 3 x 5 in. July 14-July 17, 1937, ink, pencil, and colored pencil on paper. John Graham Papers, Archives of American Art
