Collection Information
Size: 13.3 Linear feet
Summary: The papers of Bernard Langlais measure 13.3 linear feet and date from circa 1925 to 2010. The papers document Langlais' career as a painter and sculptor through correspondence with friends, colleagues, and art institutions and organizations; writings; exhibition records, video recordings about Langlais, resumes, and other professional activity files; appraisals, invoices, inventories, and other personal business records; newspaper and magazine clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and press releases; as well as scrapbooks, drawings, sketchbooks, and photographic material of Langlais and his artwork.
Biographical/Historical Note
Bernard Langlais (1921-1977) was a sculptor and painter in Cushing, Maine. Langlais was born in Old Town, Maine. He attended the Corcoran School of Art, moved to New York, and became a close friend of many of the rising New York artists. Tiring of the New York competitive art scene, he returned to Maine, abandoned abstract painting, and achieved considerable success with monumental wooden outdoor sculpture.
Provenance
The bulk of the collection was donated 2015 by Colby College Museum of Art via Paige Doore, Curricular Registrar, who received the papers as a bequest from Helen Langlais. Papers on reels 859-860 were lent for microfilming in 1974 by Langlais and subsequently donated in 1997 with additional papers by Helen Friend Langlais, Langlais' widow. One video recording, "Noon Exercise: Bernard Langlais" was donated in 1981 by WCBB-TV, Lewiston, ME via Harriet Passerman, Cultural Affairs Director.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Bernard Langlais conducted by Robert Brown on February 21, 1973.
Language Note
English .
Funding Note
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
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