Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Hrubesch, Stella, 1904-?
Title:	Stella Hrubesch Papers
Inclusive Dates:	circa 1880-1986
Quantity:	3 linear ft.
Abstract:	Correspondence, legal material, photographs, memorabilia, and writings/artwork
Language:	Collection materials are in German, English, and a few items in French
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

Stella Hrubesch (1904-??) was an Austrian-American artist and designer.

Stella "Luki" Margit Abranowicz was born April 11, 1904 in Vienna, to Hermann Abranowicz and Marie Glanz, the youngest of their three daughters. Her two older sisters were Rosalie (1896) and Hedwig/Vicky (1900). Between 1920 and 1926 she attended the city's Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts or School of Applied Arts) where she studied art history, technical drawing, design, and glass and textile work. She worked as a freelance designer for companies in Vienna (Enka, Trikotagen Fabrik, Tina Feldscharek) and, beginning in 1933, in England (Wolsey Limited, The Medway Knitting Company, Charles Butler, Louis Edwards & Co.) and Switzerland (W. Achtnich & Co.). In 1946 she became a British citizen. She emigrated to the United States in 1951, where she worked as a designer for at least one American firm (Schleifer-Dudkin in New York City), and eventually became a naturalized American ciitizen.

In 1930 she married Hermann Hrubesch; the marriage was dissolved four years later. She does not appear to have remarried, nor to have had any children

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Stella Hrubesch Papers consist of artwork, correspondence, legal material, photographs, and memorabilia.

Artwork contains Hrubesch's own work, mostly watercolors.

Correspondence relates primarily to her work as a designer, and includes firms in Vienna, England, Switzerland, and New York. There is a small amount of personal correspondence, including a letter from her father, and some relating to citizenship and pension.

Legal material includes birth, marriage, and divorce certificates, citizenship and travel documents, and school and work certificates.

Memorabilia includes poems by her sister, jewelry, a pair of pinking shears, and miscellaneous ephemera.

Photographs, which comprise the bulk of the collection, include Stella herself, her parents and grandparents, and extended family such as her niece Hildegarde, daughter of Rosalie. Many, but not all, are identified (e.g. "Großmütter Glanz"). The names of two aunts are written on empty envelopes.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Material is arranged alphabetically by type or topic.

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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

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Stella Hrubesch Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of David Sutherland, 2021, on behalf of Pei Lin Sutherland.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Paul Cohen
Date: 16 Jun 2023
Revision history:

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Inventory

	Artwork
Oversize 1		Crayon 1945 - "Friar Hegarty's Grave - Lock Swilly, Eire"
Oversize 1		Pencil
Oversize 1		Watercolors 1939-1940, 1949-1955, 1993, undated (3 folders)
Oversize 2		Watercolors

	Correspondence
Box 1		Immigration, citizenship 1939, 1941, 1946, 1952
Box 1		Pension, Austria 1964-1965
Box 1		Personal 1920, 1944-1945, 1976, 1981, 1986
Box 1		Work-related 1925, 1928, 1932-1939, 1942-1943, 1947, 1954

	Legal material
Box 1		Birth. marriage, divorce
Box 1		Citizenship and travel
Box 1		School and work

	Memorabilia
Oversize 3		Jewelry - hatpins, brooches, and a locket (9 items)
Box 1		Poems - all are in French; one concludes with the lines "Rose, le capitaine / Lucky, la marguerite / Vicky, le poet stupide" hence the author is probably Stella's sister Vicky
Oversize 3		Print, original - small framed color woodblock or lithograph
Box 1		Miscellaneous - photo postcard of the Firth of Forth, Stella's business cards, inspirational quotations and thoughts, etc.
Oversize 3		Miscellaneous - pinking shears, handkerchief (2 items)

	Photographs
Box 1		Album [1950s?] - small black and white candid shots; some of New York City, others possibly in Austria
Box 1		Stella / "Luki" [circa 1930]-1970
Box 1		Parents [circa 1870-1950] - Hermann Abranowicz, Marie Glanz
Oversize 3		Parents - photograph of young man (possibly young Hermann?), same as one in the "Parents" folder, in ornate metal frame
Box 1		Grandparents [circa 1850-1860]
Box 1		Hildegarde [circa 1920]-1938 - daughter of Stella's sister Rosalie; includes small album labeled "Hildegarde"
Box 1		Family [circa 1905-1950] - various family group shots; miscellaneous family members
Oversize 4		Family - group photo of Hermann, Maria, and three other adults seated outdoors playing cards
Box 1		Miscellaneous [circa 1880-1950] - individuals, groups, landscapes, almost all unidentified; some may be family members
Oversize 4		Miscellaneous - matted photograph of St. Anton am Arlberg, in the Tyrol area of Austria

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