Ezra Winter papers, 1918-1948

Collection Information

Size: 2.4 Linear feet

Summary: The Ezra Winter papers measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1918-1948 and document the life and work of Ezra Winter through correspondence, writings, project and commission files, personal business records, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.

Biographical/Historical Note

Ezra Winter (1886-1949) was a prominent muralist, illustrator, and painter based in Falls Village, Connecticut. Winter was born in Traverse City, Michigan and would pursue training in art; in 1908 he trained at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and at the American Academy of Rome in 1914. Throughout his training Winter gravitated towards murals. His best-known works include The Canterbury Tales at the Library of Congress and Fountain of Youth located in the foyer of Radio City Music Hall. Winter was associated with the National Society of Mural Painters, the Architectural League of New York, the US Commission of Fine Arts, and was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Throughout his career Winter also completed works for the US Supreme Court Building, the US Chamber of Commerce, the University of Rochester and Eastman School of Music, and a six-story work for the Guardian Building in Detroit. During World War 1, Winter was a designer for the US Shipping Board. Later in his career Winter taught at the Grand Central School of Art and maintained a studio in Falls Village, Connecticut. While painting a mural Winter fell which resulted in a broken and compacted tailbone. Due to his injuries Winter was unable to continue painting. In 1949 he ended his own life near his Connecticut studio at the age of 63.

Provenance

Papers were donated in 1969 by the Cooper Hewitt Museum and in 1973 by son in law Albert W. Moss. The bulk of the microfilmed materials were donated in 1973 by Albert W. Moss. Unmicrofilmed materials were donated by the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 1969.

Related Materials

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material donated for microfilming (reels 971-972) including: Correspondence, clippings, receipts, contracts, sketches and descriptions related to mural commissions for the Birmingham Public Library, George Rogers Clark Memorial, University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, Library of Congress, U.S. Supreme Court Building, and the Chase National Bank International Building; biographical material; and material relating to the Commissions of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C. and the Commissions of Sculpture, State of Connecticut.

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.