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  2. Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001, bulk 1924-1975
  3. Series 9: Artwork , 1918-1975, undated

Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001, bulk 1924-1975

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Series 9: Artwork , 1918-1975, undated
(Boxes 7-10 and 12-17; 2.2 linear feet)

Artwork includes sketchbooks, loose sketches and drawings, illustrations, prints, and cartoons by Fairfield Porter. Artwork by others includes works of Peggy Bacon, Alex Haberstroh, Leon Hartl, and Edith Schloss, and a portrait of Porter in pencil by Joe Brainard.
Sketchbooks contain sketches and drawings in pencil, charcoal, ink, watercolor, and pastel of subjects similar to those found in Porter's paintings: homes, family, landscapes, city street scenes, and figure studies. Notes in Anne Porter's handwriting are found in many of the sketchbooks and on sketches, and were presumably made retrospectively, upon donation of the collection. Sketchbooks also contain notes written by Fairfield Porter. Many of the dates assigned to sketchbooks in this finding aid have been estimated based on the relationship of sketches to dated paintings.
Loose sketches and drawings are mostly from Porter's early career and schooling. Life Class Sketches are from the Art Students League and from Barbara Merrick's dance class, and include two black and white oil paintings on paper. Sketches for murals and frescoes are related to two commissioned works from the 1930s, and also include sketches in oil. A mixed group of early sketches of landscapes, people, street scenes, and copies of museum pieces, filed under the heading "miscellaneous sketches and drawings," appear to contain the pages of two disassembled travel sketchbooks, among other sketches. Sketches and drawings of people are mostly of family members, with scattered sketches of friends, neighbors, and interiors of family homes. Miscellaneous landscape sketches also include several sketches in oil. Miscellaneous painted sketches include several scenes from a trip to the Western United States in 1938, along with other landscapes, scenes, and still lifes in oil and watercolor.
Illustrations made for the socialist arts organization Rebel Arts include a silk-screened poster and a drawing for a print made by Porter in the 1930s. Other prints found in this series are from the same era, and several of them were published in John Wheelwright's chapbooks, copies of which are filed in Printed Materials. Also among the prints is a lithograph illustrating Dostoyevsky's The Possessed, which Porter made in 1932.
Throughout this series, duplicates, negatives, and copy prints have not been scanned. The remainder of the series has been selectively scanned.
Description Container Select
Sketchbook, 1928-1930
(see also Box 12, OV)
7
1
Sketchbook, early 1930s
7
2
Sketchbook, 1930s
7
3
Sketchbooks, 1937
(2 volumes in 2 folders)
7
4-5
Sketchbook, circa 1937
7
6
Sketchbook, circa 1939
7
7
Sketchbook, circa 1941
7
8
Sketchbook, circa 1943-1944
7
9
Sketchbook, circa 1945-1947
7
10
Sketchbook, circa 1947
7
11
Sketchbook, circa 1948
7
12
Sketchbook, 1944-1948
7
13
Sketchbook, circa 1950
7
14
Sketchbook, circa 1952
7
15
Sketchbook, circa 1953
7
16
Sketchbook, 1957-1958
7
17
Sketchbook, circa 1940-1960
7
18
Sketchbook, circa 1960-1966
7
19
Sketchbooks, circa 1967
(2 volumes in 2 folders)
7
20-21
Sketchbook, circa 1967-1975
8
1
Sketchbook, circa 1968
(See Box 9, sol)
8
2
Sketchbook, circa 1969
(See Box 9, sol)
8
3
Sketchbook, circa 1970
(2 volumes in 2 folders)
8
4-5
Sketchbook, circa 1971
(See Box 9, sol)
8
6
Sketchbook, circa 1973
(See Box 9, sol)
8
7
Sketchbooks, circa 1974
(3 volumes in 3 folders; see also Box 10, sol)
8
8-10
Sketchbook, circa 1974-1975
8
11
Sketchbooks, circa 1928-1975
(6 volumes in 6 folders; see also Box 10, sol)
8
12-17
Sketches and Drawings
Childhood Drawings, 1918-1919, undated
(see also Box 10, sol)
8
18
Life Class Sketches, circa 1930-1934
(see Boxes 13 and 14, OV)
8
19
Murals and Frescoes, 1930s
(see Box 15, OV)
8
20
Murals and Frescoes (Copy Negative), undated
8
21
People, 1933-1947
(see also Box 10 (sol) and OV 16)
8
22
People, undated
8
23
People (Copy Negatives), undated
8
24
Miscellaneous Sketches and Drawings, circa 1920s-1940s
(5 folders including copies)
(Includes sketches from European travels)
8
25-29
Miscellaneous Landscapes, undated
(3 folders; see also Box 10 (sol) and OV 17)
8
30-32
Miscellaneous Painted Sketches, 1938, undated
8
33
Rebel Arts Illustrations, circa 1934-1935
(See Box 10, sol)
8
34
Prints, circa 1930s
(see also Box 12, OV)
8
35
Prints (Duplicates), circa 1930s
8
36
Cartoons, 1975, undated
8
37
Artwork by Others
Print by Peggy Bacon, undated
8
38
Drawing of Fairfield Porter by Joe Brainard, undated
(See Box 10, sol)
8
39
Drawing by Dick Freeman, undated
8
40
Drawings by Alex Haberstroh, undated
8
41
Drawing by Leon Hartl, 1963
8
42
Music by Jimmy Lennon, 1974
8
43
Childhood Drawings of Johnny Porter, undated
8
44
Print by Edith Schloss, undated
8
45
Artist Unknown, 1931, undated
(See also Box 10, sol)
8
46
Oversized Sketchbooks
(See Box 8, folders 2, 3, 6, and 7)
9
Oversized Sketchbooks
(See Box 8, folders 8, 11, and 12)
10
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, Childhood Drawings
(See Box 8, folder 18)
10
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, People
(See Box 8, folder 23)
10
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, Miscellaneous Landscapes
(See Box 8, folder 32)
10
Oversized Rebel Arts Illustrations
(See Box 8, folder 34)
10
Oversized Drawing of Fairfield Porter by Joe Brainard
(See Box 8, folder 39)
10
Oversized Artwork by Unknown Artist
(See Box 8, folder 46)
10
Oversized Sketchbook
(see Box 7, folder 1)
12
Oversized Prints
(See Box 8, folder 35)
12
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, Life Class Sketches
(See Box 8, folder 19)
13
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, Life Class Sketches
(See Box 8, folder 19)
14
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, Murals and Frescoes
(See Box 8, folder 20)
15
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, People
(See Box 8, folder 23)
16
Oversized Sketches and Drawings, Miscellaneous Landscapes
(See Box 8, folder 32)
17

Make a Request

  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.