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Paul Cadmus letters to Webster Aitken, 1945-1979

Paul Cadmus letters to Webster Aitken, 1945-1979

Cadmus, Paul, 1904-1999

Painter

This site provides access to the papers of Paul Cadmus in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2016, and total 154 images.

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Collection Information

Size: 0.1 linear feet

Summary: The letters of Paul Cadmus to Webster Aitken measure 0.1 linear feet and date from 1945-1979. Found within the collection are 49 letters, notes, and postcards from Cadmus to Aitken regarding classical music, composers, musicians, mutual friends, Cadmus's sister and brother-in-law Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Kirstein, travels, and Cadmus's work, art processes, and personal reflections on life events.

Biographical/Historical Note

Painter Paul Cadmus (1904-1999) lived and worked in New York, New York and Weston, Connecticut and was known for realist works of New York public life and the social lives of men. Pianist and educator Webster Aitken (1908-1981) lived and worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Provenance

The letters were donated in 1981 by Cadmus' long-time friend and Aitken's wife, Lilian Gilbert Aitken.

Related Materials

Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Paul Cadmus letters to Edgar Munhall and an oral history interview with Paul Cadmus conducted by Judd Tully, March 22, 1988. The University of Texas at Austin holds the Webster Aitken Collection, 1899-1985.

Funding

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

A Finding Aid to the Paul Cadmus letters to Webster Aitken, 1945-1979, in the Archives of American Art
AAA.cadmpaul
Author
Finding aid prepared by Judy Ng
Biographical/Historical note
Painter Paul Cadmus (1904-1999) lived and worked in New York, N.Y. and Weston, Connecticut and was known for realist works of New York public life and the social lives of men. Cadmus was born in New York City to lithographer and watercolorist Egbert Cadmus and his wife, Maria Latasa, a fellow artist and book illustrator. With the support of his family, Cadmus entered the National Academy of Design at the age of 15 where he excelled in life drawing and printmaking classes. After graduating from the Academy in 1926, he continued his studies at the Art Students League where he met fellow artists Jared French and George Tooker. Throughout the 1920s, Cadmus found work as a commercial illustrator and layout artist for various agencies, including the
New York Herald-Tribune
.
In 1933, after two years of travel through France and Spain with Jared French, Cadmus returned to New York and was one of the first artists to be accepted into the federal Public Works of Art Project. Throughout the 1930s, his depictions of sailors and New Yorkers in public life were seen as controversial, beginning with the 1934 ejection of his painting
The Fleet’s In!
from the Corcoran Gallery and continuing into 1940 with objections to the showing of
Sailors and Floozies
at the San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition. Cadmus met his partner Jon Anderson in 1964 and featured him as a model for many of his subsequent works. Cadmus was a member of the National Academy of Design and the American Academy of Arts and Letters and died in his home in 1999.
Pianist and educator Webster Aitken (1908-1981) lived and worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A student of Emil Sauer and Artur Schnabel, Aitken studied at the Curtis Institute and had his recital debut in Vienna in 1929 and his American debut in New York’s Town Hall in 1935. He is known for his 1938 London and New York performances of Schubert’s sonatas, and a series of programs on the late works of Beethoven performed at American universities. Aitken taught at the Carnegie Institute, the University of Illinois, and the University of Texas. He died in his home in 1981.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged as 1 series:
Series 1: Paul Cadmus Letters to Webster Aitken, 1945-1979 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Scope and Contents note
The letters of Paul Cadmus to Webster Aitken measure 0.1 linear feet and date from 1945-1979. Found within the collection are 49 letters, notes, and postcards from Cadmus to Aitken regarding classical music, composers, musicians, mutual friends, Cadmus’s sister and brother-in-law Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Kirstein, travels, and Cadmus’s work, art processes, and personal reflections on life events.
Provenance
The letters were donated in 1981 by Cadmus' long-time friend and Aitken's wife, Lilian Gilbert Aitken.
Related Archival Materials note
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Paul Cadmus letters to Edgar Munhall and an oral history interview with Paul Cadmus conducted by Judd Tully, March 22, 1988. The University of Texas at Austin holds the Webster Aitken Collection, 1899-1985.
Processing Information note
Materials received a preliminary level of arrangement after donation and the collection was microfilmed onto reel 2786. The collection was prepared for digitization and described by Judy Ng in 2016, with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Additional Forms Available

The collection was digitized in its entirety in 2016 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website.

Restrictions on Access

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

How to Cite This Collection

Paul Cadmus letters to Webster Aitken, 1945-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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