Collection Information
Size: 2.4 Linear feet
Summary: The papers of painter Ernest Briggs measure 2.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2013, bulk 1940-1983. The collection documents the life and career of this second generation abstract expressionist through biographical material; correspondence with artists and critics; writings and five diaries that chronicle the changing art world from 1950s-1970s; personal business records; printed material; and a significant amount of photographic material documenting the artist and his work.
Biographical/Historical Note
Ernest Briggs (1923-1984) was a second generation abstract expressionist painter working in New York City and Maine. He was born in San Diego, California and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After returning home, Briggs studied at the California College of Fine Art in San Francisco from 1947-1951 under Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, David Park, and Mark Rothko. He moved to New York in 1953 and began exhibiting at the Stable Gallery. In 1956 Briggs was included in the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition, 12 Americans curated by Dorothy Miller. Briggs taught at Pratt Institute from 1961-1984. He was married to the sculptor Anne Arnold.
Provenance
Ernest Briggs donated papers in 1980 with the bulk of the collection donated in 2015 by the Anne Arnold Estate, via Robert Brooks and Janice Kasper, executors.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Ernest Briggs conducted by Barbara Shikler in 1982 and the papers of sculptor, Anne Arnold, Briggs' wife.
Language Note
Collection is in English