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Pen to Paper

January 26, 2018 By Carol

Pen to Paper: Artists’ Handwritten Letters from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Artists

Robert Motherwell writing, 1944 June / unidentified photographer. Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

I am thrilled to tell you of this upcoming exhibit showcasing the personal handwritten letters of a group of American Artists. Some are well known and others are members of the Lyme Art Colony. Talk about the Art of Letter Writing: here it will be in grand display. If you live anywhere near the Connecticut shoreline, I urge you to treat yourself and visit The Florence Griswold Museum. (Feb. 9 -May 6, 2018)

Reverend Howard Finster in Paradise Garden, Pennville, Georgia. April 1985. Photograph by Liza Kirwin. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Leonore Tawney, 1966. Photograph by Clayton J. Price, courtesy of Leonore G. Tawney Foundation. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

From the News Release...“Handwritten letters are a performance on paper,” states Mary Savig, curator of manuscripts at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art and organizer of the exhibition Pen to Paper: Artists’ Handwritten Letters from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art. The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut, is the only northeast venue for this traveling exhibition. On view February 9 to May 6, 2018, Savig’s selection reveals the beauty and intimacy of the craft of letter writing. From casually jotted notes to elaborately decorated epistles, Pen to Paper explores the handwriting of celebrated artists such as Alexander Calder, Mary Cassatt, Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Eakins, Howard Finster, Jacob Lawrence, Robert Motherwell, Claes Oldenburg, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, and many others.

Georgia O’Keeffe, ca. 1920. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz. Miscellaneous photographs collection © 2016 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

The nearly 50 letters in Pen to Paper date from the early 19th century to the present day and contain valuable insight into the artists’ everyday lives, their creative process, their relationships, and often, some semblance of self. With bold and confident penmanship Georgia O’Keeffe frequently spelled phonetically and used squiggly lines instead of punctuation. As an artist who did not concern herself with the rules of art, O’Keeffe’s letters had no regard for grammatical structure.

Jose Esquivel letter to Joe Lopez, November 1, 2000. Joe Lopez papers and Gallista gallery records, 1966-2014. Archives of American Art

To complement the Smithsonian’s collection, handwritten letters from the Museum’s archives form the exhibition, P.S.: Letters from the Lyme Art Colony. Paintings from the Florence Griswold Museum and works from private collections hang alongside selected artists’ letters.

In  P.S.: Letters from the Lyme Art Colony, the Museum uses selections from its collection of artists’ letters to explore the world of the Lyme Art Colony. During the heyday of the Colony, letter writing was an important tool used by Florence Griswold and visiting artists to communicate and confirm their travel plans. Once artists arrived at the Griswold boardinghouse, corresponding by mail was an important part of colony life—when artists wrote to family back home as well as to art world contacts. In these letters, handwriting can conjure mood, time, and place and offer insight into the person behind the pen. In some early letters in the exhibition, artists contemplate their professional futures, and correspondence from later in their lives reflects the enduring bonds they formed as part of the Lyme Colony. A selection of paintings from the Florence Griswold Museum’s collection will hang alongside artists’ letters.

Childe Hassam to Florence Griswold, April 29, 1905. Florence Griswold Papers, Lyme Historical Society Archives at the Florence Griswold Museum

 

Childe Hassam, Apple Trees in Bloom, Old Lyme, 1904. Oil on panel, 25 x 30 inches. Gift of The Vincent Dowling Family Foundation in Honor of Director Jeffrey Andersen

 

For more further information or to order the accompanying book go to http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/exhibitions/pen-to-paper/

The accompanying book, Pen to Paper: Artists’ Handwritten Letters from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016), features 56 letters with brief reflections from art historians, curators, and the artists. It is available in the Museum’s shop for $27.50.

Filed Under: Great Finds, Letter Writing in the News, Newsflash Tagged With: Alexander Calder, Alfred Stieglitz, Apple Trees in Bloom, Archives of American Art, art of letter writing, Chide Hassam, Claes Oldenburg, Clayton J.Price, Connecticut shoreline, Frederic Edwin Church, Gallista Gallery, Georgia O'Keeffe, Howard Finster, Jackson Pollock, Jacob Lawrence, James McNeill Whistler, Jeffrey Andersen, Joe Lopez, John Singer Sargent, Jose Esquivel, Joseph Cornell, Leonore Tawney, Liza Kerwin, Lyme Art Colony, Lyme Historical Society, Mary Cassatt, Mary Savig, Old Lyme CT, Pen to Paper: Artists' Handwritten Letters, Robert Motherwell, Smithsonian Institution, The Florence Griswold Museum, Thomas Eakins, Vincent Dowling

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