H. Bella Schaeffer papers, circa 1930-1974

Collection Information

Size: 2.8 Linear feet

Summary: The papers of post-impressionist painter Henri Bella Schaeffer measure 2.8 linear feet and date circa 1930 to 1974. Her papers document her career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, printed material, artwork, and photographic material. A large portion of the collection documents her time working for the Artists Equity Association as the N.Y. Chapter and National Secretary, in the forms of correspondence, minutes, notes, mailing lists, reports and printed material.

Biographical/Historical Note

Henri Bella Schaeffer (1908-unknown) was a post-impressionist painter who worked primarily in New York City. She was born in France and studied art at both the Academie L'Hote at Grand Chaumier in Paris and the Alliance Francaise in the 1930s. After marrying Italian painter Themis De Vitis, the couple moved to New York City in the late 1930s, where she studied with muralist William A. Mackay and went to Columbia University for her bachelor's degree. Schaeffer exhibited her rhythmic and bright impressionist paintings across the United States and France from the 1940s well into the 1960s, including at the Artists Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Salon des Tuileries in Paris.

Provenance

The Henri Bella Schaeffer papers were donated by the artist in several accessions between 1966 and 1974.

Language Note

English .