Collection Information
Size: 7.9 Linear feet
Summary: The papers of painter Jerome Caja measure 7.9 linear feet and date from circa 1920 to 1995. The papers document his career as an artist in San Francisco through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, art organizations, and galleries; poetry, prose, and other writings; exhbiition announcements, newspaper and magazine clippings, and other printed materials, gallery and exhibition files; artwork, including sketchbooks and numerous small paintings, sketches and drawings, photographs; audiovisual materials including film reels, vido and audio cassettes.
Biographical/Historical Note
Jerome Caja (1958-1995) was a painter who worked primarily in San Francisco, CA. Caja was born in Ohio in 1958 and attended Clevaland State University. He moved to San Francisco in the 1980s and attended the San Francisco Art Institute from which he graduated in 1984. Caja pushed the boundaries of gender, performance, and art in the nightclub scene in San Francisco during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Caja died from complications related to HIV in 1995, during height of the AIDS-Art-Activism era in San Francisco.
Provenance
The Jerome Caja papers were donated in two installments from 1994 to 1995. The first installment was donated by Jerome Caja in 1994, and the second installment was donated by Anna van der Meulen, executor of Caja's estate, in 1995.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Jerome Caja conducted by Paul Karlstrom, August 23-September 29, 1995, and Letters from Jerome Caja to Anna van der Meulen, 1995.
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.