A Finding Aid to the Allen Saalburg Papers, 1924-circa 2003, bulk 1940-1987, in the Archives of American Art
AAA.saalalle
Author
Finding aid prepared by Catherine S. Gaines
Biographical/Historical note
Allen Saalburg (1899-1987) was a painter, illustrator, and innovative screenprinter who spent most of his career working in Frenchtown, New Jersey. From 1917 to 1920 he studied painting at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. In the late 1920s, Saalburg worked in Paris and had a solo exhibition at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune before returning to New York in 1930.
Throughout his career, Saalburg illustrated covers for popular magazines. His paintings were shown in group exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago and Whitney Museum of American Art. Solo exhibitions included shows at Grand Central Galleries and Kraushaar Galleries in New York, and others in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He produced complex prints based on his paintings and experimented with screenprinting onto non-traditional surfaces. A piece on plastic panels was commissioned for a pavillion at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Allen Saalburg's marriage to Muriel King, a costume and fashion designer, ended in divorce. His second wife was Mary Faulconer, a painter. Allen Saalburg died in 1987 in Flemington, New Jersey.
Arrangement note
This collection is arranged as 6 series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 2003 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1956-1969, 1982-1983 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Subject Files, circa 1950s-1994 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1940-circa 1980s (Boxes 1-2, OV 3; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Scrapbook, 1924-1927, 1941-1947 (Box 2; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1930-circa 1980s (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Scope and Contents note
The papers of painter, illustrator, and screenprinter Allen Saalburg, 1924-circa 2003, bulk 1940-1987, measure 0.8 linear feet. Included are professional correspondence, printed material, and a scrapbook. Most photographs are of Saalburg and his artwork. Also found are biographical material and subject files.
Biographical material consists of a chronology. Correspondence is with New York Graphic Society and Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Business conducted by Canal Press and exhibitions at Ink River Gallery are documented in the subject files. Books and World War II posters illustrated by Saalburg are among the printed material. A scrapbook consists mainly of printed material illustrated by Saalburg. Photographs include views of his home in Uhlerstown, Pennsylvania and the studio, Canal Press, in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Also found are photographs of a trip to Albrook Air Force Base, Panama Canal Zone, where he participated in an exhibition featuring paintings of military planes.
Provenance
Executor Prudence Crowther donated the Allen Saalburg papers in 2004.
Processing Information note
The collection was processed to a minimum level and a finding aid prepared by Catherine S. Gaines in 2013. Minimal processing included arrangement to the series, subseries, and folder levels. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with the original folder titles, but not arranged further. The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders, but not all staples and clips were removed.
Image assets for this folder have not been fully processed.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
