This series consists of Smith's correspondence with family, artists, former students, galleries, universities, and friends. Among the correspondents are artists Elmer Bischoff, Wayne Thiebaud, and Clyfford and Patricia Still, as well as art dealers Paule Anglim, Andre Emmerich, Charles Gimpel, and Kathryn Swanson of the New Arts Gallery. Family correspondence is from Smith's second wife, Donna, his sons Joseph and Bruce, and his stepsons Mark and Stephen.
Additional letters are from friends, including Henri Lenoir, the founder of the San Francisco bohemian Vesuvio Cafe, and artist and writer Robert Wollard. Wollard letters are not only written as himself, but also as various characters associated with the "Natural Surrealist Party" and the Firesign Theatre. Also of interest are a letter to Thomas Albright in response to Albright's review of a Smith exhibition, and letters to Lawrence Ferlinghetti discussing the provenance of Smith's paintings in Ferlinghetti's possession. There is a group of illustrated letters sent to Smith upon the release of
Hassel Smith: Drawings and Poems
in 1999. These include letters from Frank Lobdell, Nathan Oliveira, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Named files were established for those correspondents with more than scattered letters. The remaining correspondence is filed in general alphabetical files.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
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