Collection Information
Size: 3.4 Linear feet
Summary: The papers of Timothy Casper measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1943-1981, with bulk dates from 1950-1969. The papers document Casper's career and life which was cut short when he died from a car crash at age twenty-one. Included are biographical material; correspondence between Casper and his mother Elise Casper Ott, and from Elise to others regarding Timothy's artistsic legacy; writings; exhibition files; personal business records; printed material; photographic material and artwork.
Biographical/Historical Note
Timothy Casper (1943-1964) was a printmaker and draftsman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose artistic ability was recognized at a young age by artist and professor Gerald Landt, leading to Casper enrolling in special art classes at the Milwaukee Art Institute in 1953. From there Casper continued studying art throughout high school at the Putney School in Vermont, going on to start his bachelor's degree in art history at New York University in 1962. During his short life Casper managed to travel across Europe and the East Coast of the United States, visiting art museums and historical landmarks, including a fateful trip to Paris in 1964 where Casper died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. After his death, his mother Elise Ott Casper organized a series of memorial exhibitions across the United States as well as at the Galerie Wolfgang Gurlitt in Munich, Germany.
Provenance
Bequest of Elise Ott Casper, mother of Tim Casper, in 1998.
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.