Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Lozowick, Louis, 1892-1973.
Title:	Louis Lozowick Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1922-1974
Quantity:	3.75 linear ft.
Abstract:	Papers of the American Jewish lithographer, painter, and art critic, born in Russia, emigrated to the United States in 1906. Correspondence (1923-1973); manuscript writings, including various chapters of an unpublished autobiography; photographs and reproductions of Lozowick's work; and printed material, including articles by Lozowick and exhibition catalogs.
Language:	English, one item in Yiddish
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

Louis Lozowick (1892-1973) was a Ukrainian-American artist. Though he began his artistic career as a painter, he is best known for his lithographs of skyscrapers, constructions, and machinery.

He attended the Kiev Art School from 1904 to 1906 and emigrated to the United States at age 14 -- a tricky achievement since he came without passport or papers. Once in New York he took a series of factory jobs to pay for his art studies at the National Academy of Design (1912-1915) with Carlson, Leon Kroll, and others. In 1915 he entered Ohio State University, graduating in three years as a Phi Beta Kappa. In 1919, after a brief stint in the military, he left the United States to travel extensively throughout Europe, studying art and supporting himself by writing articles for various European publications.

Almost immediately upon his return to the United States, he began his "Machine Ornament" series, exploring the straight lines, contrasting light and shadow, and geometrical patterns of the urban landscape that would fascinate him for the next fifty years. In 1924 he had an exhibit at the New Art Circle and then another at Weyhe's; both Weyhe and Carl Zigrosser, then head of the gallery, encouraged Lozowick in his focus on the graphic arts. The young artist had a number of exhibits of his lithographs over the next few years at Weyhe's and at Whitney Studio on West 8th Street including his "Machine Age Exposition" in 1927. Throughout his career the complex architecture of the urban landscape -- bridges, scaffolding, train tracks, skyscrapers -- continued to intrigue him (though nature appears more frequently in pieces from his later years).

During the Depression Lozowick, like many of his fellow artists, created murals and prints for the WPA including a mural for the New York City General Post Office (1936). In 1931 he married Adele Turner, and in 1943 the couple moved to New Jersey where Lozowick remained for the rest of his career.

Lozowick was recognized several times during his career for the quality of his work. He received the Brewster Prize for lithography at the Chicago Art Institute (1929), first prize for lithography at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (1930), and first prize (and an award of $1,000) at the International Print Competition (1931). Hoboken, one of his lithographs, was included in the fifty best prints of the year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (1929) and his work has since been included in several annual collections of best prints. His work is in the permanent collections of several museums including the National Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, U.S. Library of Congress, and Smithsonian American Art Museum.

In addition to his accomplishments as a practicing artist, he taught at the American Art School in New York City for several years, was considered something of an authority on modern Russian art, designed stage sets for a production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and wrote extensively on the theatre. He was a member of the American Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers, the American Artists Congress, An American Group, Inc., and American Print Makers.

Lozowick died in New Jersey in 1973.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

Spanning 1922 to 1974, the Louis Lozowick Papers comprises correspondence, photographs and reproductions of his artwork, writings, and memorabilia of the Russian-American painter, lithographer, and art critic (1892-1973). While focusing on his professional career, the collection also reveals aspects of Lozowick's personal life, particularly his attachment to his ethnic origins and his political and religious philosophy as a Jewish artist and writer.

Arranged chronologically, the predominantly incoming Correspondence (Box 1) reflects Lozowick's artistic, ethnic, political, and religious associations. Correspondents include art historians and curators (Erwin O. Christensen, Karl Schwarz, Carl Zigrosser) artists (John Taylor Arms, George Biddle, David Burliuk, Marc Chagall, Howard Cook, Arthur Crisp, Stuart Davis, Katherine S. Dreier, Fritz Eichenberg, Ralph Fabri, Fernand Leger, Howard Mandel, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Lynd Ward, Max Weber, Art Young); authors (Louis Adamic, Newton Arvin, V. F. Calverton, Waldo Frank, Langston Hughes, Bernhard J. Stern) and editors (Milton A. Abernethy, Jack Conroy, Jay Du Von, Henry Hurwitz, Samuel Putnam). Organizational correspondence includes that of cultural organizations (American Federation of Arts, American Russian Institute, the Municipal Art Committee); galleries and museums (Art Association of Indianapolis, Indiana, Art Institute of Chicago, Berkshire Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Museum Tel-Aviv, New Jersey State Museum, Newark Museum, Norfolk Museum, Oakland Art Gallery, Walker Art Center); governmental agencies (Federal Art Project, U. S. Treasury Department); political groups (Ad Hoc Committee to Lift Ban on The Nation, National Committee to Aid Striking Miners Fighting Starvation); professional organizations (American Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, Artists for Victory, Inc., National Academy of Design, National Society of Painters in Casein, Inc., Society of American Graphic Artists); and a number of publications (Disk, Europa, The Front, The Menorah Journal, New Masses, Opinion, Rebel Poets, Transition). A selected name index to the correspondence follows the box list.

Artwork (Box 1) includes cover art, photographs and reproductions. Cover art consists of a cover for Der Hammer (in Yiddish). Arranged alphabetically by the titles supplied by Lozowick, the photographs range in subject from still-lifes to city-scapes, and from depictions of the laboring class to his hard-edged precisionist work, reflective of the 1920s fascination with machine-age technology. Also included in the collection are a number of photographs of Lozowick's work in the theatre, for which he designed both stage sets and costumes. Among the reproductions of Lozowick's work are those which appeared from 1926 through 1973 in publications as diverse as Creative Art, Harpers Magazine, The London Studio, The Menorah Journal, The Print Collector's Quarterly, and Theatre Arts Monthly.

Among the Writings (Box 2) are both manuscript and published materials. Manuscript writings include "Glossolalia" and several chapters of "Survivor From a Dead Age," autobiographical selections which illuminate Lozowick's childhood in Russia and early education. Published writings include Lozowick's essays on art and the theatre, poetry, and book reviews for Art News, The Menorah Journal, and The Nation.

Memorabilia (Box 2-5) encompasses articles about Lozowick, awards and membership cards, exhibition materials, lecture invitations, and a letter of introduction and photograph identifying Lozowick as a Russian correspondent for the periodical Broom.

The four boxes of exhibition materials (Boxes 2-5) constitute the largest portion of the collection and spans more than fifty years, including announcements, invitations, catalogs, and posters.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged chronologically. Artwork is subdivided by type; within that, photographs are arranged alphabetically, using the titles supplied by Lozowick. Writings is divided into manuscript and published items; published items are arranged chronologically. Memorabilia is arranged alphabetically by type and (where possible) chronologically within each type.

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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

Associated Titles

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Louis Lozowick Papers
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Louis Lozowick, 1963, 1967, 1974.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: KM
Date: Dec 1992
Revision history: 1 May 2007 - converted to EAD, biography added (MRC); 30 Sep 2008 - additions (MRC); 18 Jun 2012 - LCSH updates (MRC); 5 Jan 2017 - index code fixed (MRC)

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Inventory

	Biographical material
Box 1		Miscellaneous

	Correspondence
Box 1		[General] 1923-1973, undated (11 folders)

	Artwork
		Cover art
Box 1			Der Hammer July 1928
		Photographs
Box 1			By title of work, A-Z (3 folders)
Box 1			Theatre arts
Oversize 1			Theatre arts (oversize) (3 photographs)
		Reproductions
Box 1			Miscellaneous 1926-1973, undated (2 folders)

	Writings
		Manuscripts
			Autobiography
Box 2				"Glossolalia" - typescript
Box 2				"Survivor From a Dead Age" (alternate title: Survivor From a Dead Past") - typescripts (4 folders)
Box 2			Outline, notes - typescripts
		Published
Box 2			Essays 1926-1933, undated (3 folders)
Box 2			Poetry 1922
Box 2			Reviews 1928-1962

	Memorabilia
Box 2		Articles about 1923-1973
Box 2		Awards, membership cards
Box 2		Exhibition announcements, invitations
		Exhibition catalogs
Box 2		Exhibition posters 1920s-1930s (4 folders)
Box 3		Exhibition posters 1940-1952 (11 folders)
Box 4		Exhibition posters 1953-1959 (11 folders)
Box 5		Exhibition posters 1960-1969 (13 folders)
Box 6		Exhibition posters 1970s, undated (6 folders)
Oversize 1		Exhibition posters 1927, 1928 (2 posters)
Oversize 1		Lecture invitations, publicity - Artists Union of New York (1 poster)
Box 6		Letter of introduction with photograph identifying Lozowick as a Broom correspondent
Box 6		Publicity (book)
Box 6		Miscellany

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Selected index to correspondence

• A.C.A. Gallery : 1945 Sept. 14
• Abernethy, Milton A. : 1931 Feb. 22
• Ad Hoc Committee to Lift Ban on The Nation : 1950 Feb. 21
• Adamic, Louis : 1932 Feb. 27
• All America Magazine : 1930 July 29
• American Federation of Arts : 1929 July 20; 1929 Sept. 11; 1930 Oct. 15; 1931 May 5; 1932 Jan. 19; 1945 June 15; 1950 July 5; undated
• American Institute of Graphic Arts : 1946 May 6
• American Russian Institute : 1931 Mar. 12; 1931 Mar. 16; 1931 Apr. 9; 1936 Oct. 15; 1936 Oct. 21
• American Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers : 1936 Jan. 9; 1936 Mar.
• Ames, Elizabeth : 1956 Mar. 5
• Arms, John Taylor : 1950 Feb. 20; 1950 June 19; 1951 Jan. 31; undated
• Art Association of Indianapolis, Indiana : 1946 Apr. 3; 1946 Apr. 18
• Art Institute of Chicago : 1930 Dec. 8; 1930 Dec. 10
• Artists for Victory, Inc. : 1944 Apr. 11; 1945 Jan. 29; 1945 June 4
• Arvin, Newton : 1930 Sept. 17; 1932 Jan. 22
• Barr, Alfred H. : See Museum of Modern Art (New York)
• Berkshire Museum : 1931 Dec.; 1931 Dec. 21; 1932 Jan. 4
• Biddle, George : 1950 Feb. 21
• Black, MacKnight : 1926 Feb. 25
• Breckinridge, Henry (Mrs.) : See Municipal Art Committee (New York, N.Y)
• Broad, Harry A. : 1944 May 1; undated
• Burliuk, David : 1947 Mar. 16; 1955 Jan. 17; 1956 Mar. 24; 1962 Oct. 22
• Calverton, Victor Francis : 1930 Apr. 18; undated
• Chagall, Marc : 1928
• Christensen, Erwin O. : 1931 Mar. 27; 1932 Jan. 19
• Cincinnati Museum Association : 1929 Mar. 29
• Conroy, Jack : 1930 May 2
• Contempo : 1931 Feb. 22
• Cook, Howard : undated
• Crisp, Arthur : 1945 June 4; 1945 Oct. 30
• Davis, Stuart : 1936 May 25
• Disk : 1923 Nov. 27
• Dreier, Katherine S. : 1928 Oct. 15
• Du Von, Jay : 1930 Dec. 3
• Educational Alliance : 1942 Oct. 9; 1944 May 31; 1946 Feb. 11; 1946 Dec. 31
• Egbert, Donald : 1962 May 9
• Eichenberg, Fritz : 1946 May 6
• Europa : 1932 Aug. 17
• Fabri, Ralph : 1951 Feb. 11; 1963 Mar. 26
• Federal Art Project : 1935 Nov. 25
• Frank, Waldo : 1932 Mar.
• Gussow, Bernard : undated
• Harper & Brothers : 1926 Jan. 6
• Hobson, Thayer : 1928 Aug. 24
• Hughes, Langston : 1931 Mar. 28
• Hurwitz, Henry : See The Menorah Journal
• John Herron Art Institute : See Art Association of Indianapolis, Indiana
• Jourdan, Albert : 1928 Nov. 13
• Kozlenko, William : 1932 Aug. 17
• Kunitz, Joshua : 1932 Aug. 31
• LaGuardia, Fiorello : 1935 Jan. 2
• Léger, Fernand : 1927 Oct. 22
• Mandel, Howard : 1964 May 30
• Mechlin, Leila : See American Federation of Arts
• Moholy-Nagy, László : 1928 Oct. 19
• Municipal Art Committee (New York, N.Y.) : 1935 Nov. 7; 1935 Nov. 27; 1935 Dec. 9; 1935 Dec. 13; 1936 Mar. 10; 1936 May 31 (outgoing); 1936 June 5; 1936 June 12; 1936 June 30; 1936 July 9 (outgoing); undated
• Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) : 1931 Mar. 27; 1932 Feb. 8; 1935 Jan. 16; 1936 July 1; 1946 Jan. 17; 1946 Jan. 26; 1946 Feb. 1; 1961 June 15
• Museum Tel-Aviv : See Schwarz, Karl
• National Academy of Design : 1948 Feb. 14; 1971 Oct. 5 (photocopy); 1972 Mar. 10 (photocopy); 1972 Apr. 4 (photocopy)
• National Committee to Aid Striking Miners Fighting Starvation : 1932 Mar.
• National Society of Painters in Casein, Inc. : 1963 Mar. 26; 1964 May 30; 1965 Feb. 12; 1969 Oct. 23
• Neumann, J. B. : 1932 Mar. 22
• New Jersey State Museum : 1950 Apr. 21; 1952 Dec. 1; 1953 Dec. 23; 1954 Jan. 13; 1959 July 8; 1959 Sept. 30
• New Masses : 1932 Mar. 21
• Newark Museum : 1952 Mar. 10; 1957 Oct. 21; 1958 May 8
• Norfolk Museum : 1952 Feb. 1; 1952 Feb. 18
• Oakland Art Gallery : 1946 Nov. 2
• Ohio State University Association : 1942 Apr. 11; 1942 July 15
• Opinion : 1931 Nov. 11
• Ostrowsky, Abbo : See Educational Alliance
• Pardee, Allena : 1932 June 27; 1932 July 8; undated
• Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts : 1944 Dec. 4
• Picken, George : 1944 Jan. 25
• Portland Art Association : 1929 Apr. 8; 1929 July 12; 1929 Oct. 16
• Portrait of America Exhibition and Competition : 1945 June 4; 1945 Oct. 30
• Princeton Print Club : 1942 Nov. 16; 1943 Mar. 25
• Print Club (Philadelphia) : 1930 Jan. 19; 1947 Jan. 29; 1953 Jan. 12
• Public Utilities Fortnightly : 1930 Aug. 2
• Putnam, Samuel : 1935 Nov. 25; undated
• Rebel Poets : 1930 May 2
• Reed, Alma : 1933 Aug. 14
• Samson Gideon Memorial Association : 1929 Dec. 12
• Schoolman, Regina : 1946 Mar. 26; 1946 June 25 (outgoing); 1946 Nov. 6 (outgoing); 1946 Nov. 12
• Schwarz, Karl : 1935 July 2; 1947 Aug. 6; 1947 Sept. 9; 1948 May 3
• Seward, C. A. : 1930 Sept. 10
• Slater, Lo : 1945 Nov. 27
• Society of American Etchers, Gravers, Lithographers, and Woodcutters : See Society of American Graphic Artists, Inc.
• Society of American Graphic Artists, Inc. : 1948 Oct. 1; 1950 June 19; 1951 Jan. 31; 1951 Feb. 16; 1956 Apr. 25; 1957 Feb. 28; 1957 June 8; 1962 Feb. 12; 1969 May 16; undated
• Société Anonyme : See Dreier, Katherine S.
• Soyer, Moses : [1973] photocopy.
• Soyer, Raphael : 1973 Sept. 10 (photocopy)
• Stern, Bernhard J. : 1945 Dec. 19; 1946 Jan. 26; 1946 Apr. 23
• Sterne, Katharine Grant : 1929 Apr. 14
• Teige, Charles : 1923 Nov. 27
• The Front : 1930 Dec. 3
• The Hound & Horn Inc. : 1931 Feb. 25
• The Menorah Journal : 1931 Dec. 11; 1935 Apr. 15; 1944 May 4; 1947 May 6; 1947 May 29; 1947 Oct. 27; 1947 Dec. 8; 1948 Mar. 19; 1948 Apr. 6; 1948 Apr. 24
• The Nation : 1929 Apr. 22
• The Print Collector's Quarterly : 1942 Apr. 18
• Toledo Museum of Art : 1929 Dec. 12
• Transition : 1928 Dec. 12; 1929 Apr. 5
• Treasury Relief Art Project. : See United States Treasury Department
• United States Treasury Department : 1935 Nov. 20; 1935 Nov. 26; 1936 Jan. 15; 1936 Apr. 23; 1936 May 5; 1936 July 8; 1936 July 22; 1936 Sept. 1; 1936 Oct. 14; 1936 Oct. 21; 1937 July 26; 1937 Oct. 14
• Vassar College : 1932 Feb. 5; 1932 Feb. 19; 1932 Mar. 14
• Waite, Marjorie Peabody : 1929 Nov. 9; 1930 Jan. 31; 1931 Nov. 19
• Walker Art Center : 1960 Jan. 7; 1960 Dec. 6; 1961 Nov. 30; 1961 Dec. 4
• Ward, Lynd : 1956 Apr. 25; 1957 Feb. 28; undated
• Waters, Herbert : 1957 June 20
• Weber, Max : 1945 Mar. 19; 1951 Jan. 17; 1956 Aug. 31; 1957 Feb. 28
• Wellington, Grace : 1931 Feb. 14
• Western Association of Art Museum Directors : 1929 Nov. 12; 1930 Apr. 15
• Wilson, Sol : 1961 Jan. 15
• Yaddo : 1956 5 Mar.
• Young, Art : [1940 Dec.]; 1941 Dec. 29
• Zigrosser, Carl : 1930 Mar. 29; 1935 Oct. 2; 1943 May 25

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