Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Caparn, Rhys, 1909-1997.
Title:	Rhys Caparn Papers
Dates:	1932-1973
Quantity:	3.5 linear ft.
Abstract:	Correspondence (1932-1967); original sketches, photographs, and reproductions of her artwork; essays and notes for an art column; and printed material, including articles and reviews about Caparn (1933-1963), clippings (1935-1970), exhibition catalogs, invitations, and posters (1939-1973). Correspondents include Alexander Archipenko, Doris Caesar, George Constant, Lyonel Feininger, Sidney Gordin, Joseph Konzal, Theodore J. Roszak, Helena Simkhovitch, and Mitzi Solomon.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

American sculptor, illustrator, former president of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

Spanning 1932 to 1973, the Rhys Caparn Papers comprises biographical material, correspondence, artwork, writings, and memorabilia of the American sculptor, educator, and former president of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors (b. 1909). The collection illuminates Caparn's personal life and the evolution of her artistic career.

Arranged alphabetically, the Correspondence-subject files (Boxes 1-3) consists of incoming letters and outgoing holograph drafts and typescript carbons, as well as other documents relating to artwork. Among the correspondents are the architectural firm R. B. O'Connor and W. H. Kilham, Jr.; fellow artists (Rifka Angel, Alexander Archipenko, Helen Beling, Doris Caesar, George Constant, Paula Eliasoph, Dorothy Lubell Feigin, Lyonel Feininger, Perle Fine, Sidney Gordin, Joseph Konzal, Pauline Elizabeth Law, Naomi Lorne, Leon Gordon Miller, Paul Mommer, Edouard Navellier, Marianna Pineda, Edward Renouf, Theodore J. Roszak, Henry Schonbauer, Helena Simkhovitch, Mitzi Solomon, Beulah Stevenson, Challis Walker, Jane Wasey, Arline Wingate); clients (Barnard College, H. Bittner and Company, Campagna Construction Corporation, Farrar, Straus & Young, Otto Gerson, Mildred Gosman, Elizabeth Huston, Irene Kraft, Morton D. May, Alice Rosenfeld, Jimmie Savo, William R. Scott, Inc., Sculpture-in-Replica, Ralph Walker); and museum directors (John Phillips Coolidge, Bartlett Harding Hayes, James Johnson Sweeney). Organizational correspondence includes that of art associations (American Artists' Congress, American Federation of Arts, Artists for CORE, Artists for Victory, Brooklyn Society of Artists, Committee of Artists' Societies, Fairmount Park Art Association, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, National Association of Women Artists, School Art League of New York City, Sculptors Guild); art galleries and museums (American Museum of Natural History, Arden Galleries, Art Center in La Jolla, Bonestell Gallery, Brooklyn Museum, Country Art Gallery, Gotham Gallery of Contemporary Art, Guild Hall, Hansa Art Gallery, John Heller Gallery, Tirca Karlis Gallery, Meltzer Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Museum of Modern Art, New York State Fair Art Center, Norfolk Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Petit Palais, Riverside Museum, Silvermine Guild of Artists, Whitney Museum of American Art, Wildenstein & Co.); educational institutions (Adelphi College, Dalton Schools, Dartmouth College, Philadelphia Museum College of Art, Smith College, Syracuse University, University of Nebraska); and government agencies (New York City Office of Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State).

Artwork (Box 4) encompasses original sketches, photographs, and reproductions of Caparn's works. Photographs include those of drawings (arranged by title when available), exhibitions (1950-1970), and sculpture, which is subdivided by general works (in alphabetical order by title provided by Caparn), and portraits (arranged by name of person). Essays written for an art column, Notes pertaining to exhibitions, and miscellaneous Essays and Notes on art constitute Writings (Box 4).

Memorabilia (Boxes 5-6) consists of membership cards, miscellaneous receipts, a partial inventory of artwork (with prices), photographs of Caparn, and printed material. Printed material comprises articles and reviews about Caparn (1933-1963), newspaper clippings (1935-1970), exhibition catalogs and invitations for group (1939-1970) and one-person shows (1947-1973), as well as several exhibition posters. There is a also one audiorecording.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Rhys Caparn Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Rhys Caparn, 1964, 1971, 1972.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: ASE
Date: Nov 1993
Revision history: 8 Jun 2005 - EAD file created (MRR); 3 Apr 2018 - recording added (MRC); 11 Jul 2023 - OS material rehoused (MRC)

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Inventory

	Biographical material
Box 1		Biographical material

	Correspondence-subject files
Box 1		Adelphi College (Garden City, N.Y.) 1960
Box 1		American Artists' Congress, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) 1940
Box 1		American Federation of Arts 1940-1963
Box 1		American Museum of Natural History (New York, N.Y.) 1951, 1958
Box 1		Angel, Rifka 1948
Box 1		Archipenko, Alexander 1934-1958, undated
Box 1		Arden Galleries Inc. (New York, N.Y.) 1939
		Argent Galleries (New York, N.Y.)
			See National Association of Women Artists, Inc.
Box 1		Art Center in La Jolla (La Jolla, Calif.) 1958
Box 1		Art Digest 1951
Box 1		Art News 1952
Box 1		Artists for CORE (New York, N.Y.) 1964
Box 1		Artists for Victory, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) 1942-1944
Box 1		A, miscellaneous
Box 1		Barnard College (New York, N.Y.) 1958-1960, undated
			See also R. B. O'Connor and W. H. Kilham, Jr.
Box 1		Beling, Helen undated
Box 1		H. Bittner and Company (New York, N.Y.) undated
Box 1		Bonestell Gallery (New York, N.Y.) 1940
Box 1		Brandt, Kathleen Weil-Garris 1953, 1958
Box 1		Brooklyn Museum 1958-1960
Box 1		Brooklyn Society of Artists, Inc. 1954
Box 1		B, miscellaneous
Box 1		Caesar, Doris undated
Box 1		Campagna Construction Corporation (New York, N.Y.) 1962-1963
Box 1		Cellini Bronze Works Co. (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 1940, 1941
Box 1		Columbia Pictures Corporation (New York, N.Y.) 1939
Box 1		Committee of Artists' Societies (New York, N.Y.) 1963-1964, undated
		Congress of Racial Equality (New York, N.Y.)
			See Artists for CORE
Box 1		Constant, George 1960
Box 1		Coolidge, John Phillips 1961
Box 1		Council of Jewish Women (Englewood, N.J.) 1963
Box 1		Country Art Gallery (Westbury, N.Y.) 1954-1955, undated
Box 1		C, miscellaneous
Box 1		Dalton Schools (New York, N.Y.) 1946-1964
Box 1		Danbury Hospital (Danbury, Conn.) 1967
Box 1		Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.) 1948-1957
Box 1		D, miscellaneous
Box 1		Eliasoph, Paula 1941
Box 1		E, miscellaneous
Box 1		Fairmount Park Art Association (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1949
Box 1		Farrar, Straus & Young, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) 1953
Box 1		Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors (New York, N.Y.) 1940-1960, undated (2 folders)
Box 1		Feigin, Dorothy Lubell 1946-1947
Box 1		Feininger, Lyonel 1941-1946
Box 1		Fine, Perle 1948, undated
Box 1		Four O'Clock Forums (New York, N.Y.) 1954
Box 1		F, miscellaneous
Box 2		Gerson, Otto 1961
Box 2		Gordin, Sidney 1956
Box 2		Gosman, Mildred 1963
Box 2		Gotham Gallery of Contemporary Art (New Hope, Pa.) 1961
Box 2		Guild Hall (East Hampton, N.Y.) 1952-1963
Box 2		G, miscellaneous
Box 2		Hansa Art Gallery (New York, N.Y.) 1954
Box 2		Hayes, Bartlett Harding 1944
Box 2		John Heller Gallery (New York, N.Y.) 1952
Box 2		Huston, Elizabeth 1962
Box 2		H, miscellaneous
Box 2		Isaacs, Stanley M. 1958
Box 2		I, miscellaneous
Box 2		Junior Literary Guild (New York, N.Y.) 1962, 1963
Box 2		J, miscellaneous
Box 2		Tirca Karlis Gallery (Provincetown, Mass.) 1961
Box 2		Konzal, Joseph undated
Box 2		Kraft, Irene 1953, undated
Box 2		K, miscellaneous
Box 2		Lahr, Jane 1962, 1963
Box 2		Law, Pauline Elizabeth 1948
Box 2		Lieber, Stephanie 1950-1953
Box 2		Lorne, Naomi 1961
Box 2		L, miscellaneous
Box 2		Macy, Gertrude 1941
Box 2		May, Morton D. 1953-1957, undated
		Meltzer, Doris
			See Meltzer Gallery
Box 2		Meltzer Gallery (New York, N.Y.) 1956-1963
Box 2		Mental Health Association of Essex County (East Orange, N.J.) undated
Box 2		Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) 1945-1955
Box 2		Miller, Leon Gordon 1953-1954
Box 2		Mommer, Paul 1951
Box 2		Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute (Utica, N.Y.) 1955-1959
Box 2		Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) 1941-1953, undated
Box 2		M, miscellaneous
Box 2		National Association of Women Artists, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) 1946-1948, undated
		National Serigraph Society (New York, N.Y.)
			See Meltzer Gallery
Box 2		Navellier, Edouard 1932
Box 2		New York City. Office of Cultural Affairs 1952, 1963-1964
Box 2		New York State Fair. Art Center 1958
		New York World's Fair
			See Committee of Artists' Societies
Box 2		Norfolk Museum (Norfolk, Va.) 1963
Box 2		N, miscellaneous
Box 2		R. B. O'Connor and W. H. Kilham, Jr., Architects (New York, N.Y.) 1957-1960, undated
		Offin, Charles Z.
			See Pictures on Exhibit
Box 2		O, miscellaneous
		Pellegrini & Cudahy (New York, N.Y.)
			See Farrar, Straus & Young, Inc.
Box 2		Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1952-1961, undated
Box 2		Petit Palais (Paris, France) 1949-1950, undated
			See also Lieber, Stephanie
Box 2		Philadelphia Museum. College of Art - 1960
Box 2		Pictures on Exhibit undated
Box 2		Pineda, Marianna 1964, undated
		Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel
			See Farrar, Straus & Young, Inc.
Box 2		P, miscellaneous
Box 2		C. J. Reid & Co., Inc. Insurance (New York, N.Y.) 1958
Box 2		Renouf, Edward 1963
Box 2		Riverside Museum (New York, N.Y.) 1953-1965
Box 2		Roman Bronze Works, Inc. (Corona, N.Y.) 1947
Box 2		Rosenfeld, Alice 1944
Box 2		Roszak, Theodore J. 1963
Box 2		Royall, Kenneth C. 1953, 1960
Box 2		Q-R, miscellaneous
Box 3		Savo, Jimmie 1943?
Box 3		Schapiro, Meyer 1944
Box 3		Scholastic Magazines Art Awards (New York, N.Y.) 1962
Box 3		Schonbauer, Henry 1956
Box 3		School Art League of New York City (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 1958-1963
Box 3		William R. Scott, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) 1962, 1963, undated
Box 3		Sculptors Guild, Incorporated (New York, N.Y.) 1948-1953, undated
Box 3		Sculpture-in-Replica (Park Forest, Ill.) 1949-1953, undated
Box 3		Silvermine Guild of Artists Incorporated (Norwalk, Conn.) 1954
Box 3		Simkhovitch, Helena undated
Box 3		Smith College (Northampton, Mass.) 1940, 1951
Box 3		Solomon, Mitzi 1947, undated
Box 3		Stevenson, Beulah 1947
Box 3		Sweeney, James Johnson 1956
Box 3		Syracuse University 1963-1964
Box 3		S, miscellaneous
Box 3		Tacke, Reinhard R. 1948, 1950
Box 3		T, miscellaneous
Box 3		United States. Department of State 1960
Box 3		University of Nebraska 1952, 1962
Box 3		U, miscellaneous
Box 3		Valentin, Curt 1952
		WNYC (radio and television)
			See New York City. Office of Cultural Affairs
Box 3		Walker, Challis 1943, undated
Box 3		Walker, Ralph 1941
Box 3		Wasey, Jane 1953, 1958, undated
		Weil-Garris, Kathleen
			See Brandt, Kathleen Weil-Garris
Box 3		Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, N.Y.) 1940, 1952-1955
Box 3		Wildenstein & Co. (New York, N.Y.) 1944-1951, undated
Box 3		Willard, Marian 1944
Box 3		Wingate, Arline 1948, 1950, undated
Box 3		V-Y, miscellaneous
Box 3		Unidentified undated

	Artwork
		Photographs
			Drawings
Box 3				By title, A-Z
Box 3				Untitled 1967-1971
Box 3			Exhibitions 1950-1970
			Sculpture
Box 3				General, by title A-M (2 folders)
Box 4				General, by title N-Z; multiple titles; untitled (3 folders)
Box 4				Portraits, by name of person A-Z
Box 4		Reproductions 1944-1969, undated
		Sketches (original)
Box 4			Crayon and pencil undated (11 items)
Box 4			Pencil undated (1 item)

	Writings
		Essays
Box 4			Art column 1966-1967, undated
Box 4			Miscellaneous
		Notes
Box 4			Exhibition-related - statement on sculpture, titles of artwork (with prices)
Box 4			Miscellaneous

	Memorabilia
Box 4		Membership cards, miscellaneous receipts
Box 4		Partial inventory of artwork (with prices)
Box 4		Photographs undated
		Printed material
Box 4			Articles, reviews 1933-1963, undated (5 folders)
Box 4			Clippings 1935-1970, undated
Box 5			Clippings 1935-1970, undated
			Exhibition catalogs, invitations
Box 5				Group shows 1939-1970 (11 folders)
Box 6				Group shows undated (2 folders)
Box 6				One-person shows 1947-1973, undated
Box 6			Exhibition posters 1960, 1963, undated
Box 7		World of the Arts (dub) 1/6/64 (1/4 inch audio tape) (ID#: caparn_r_001)
Oversize 1		Miscellany

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