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Finding aid created by: LK/KM
Date: Dec 1993
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| 7 Jun 2005 | EAD file created (MRR) |
Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Cunningham, Ben, 1904-1975 |
| Title: | Ben Cunningham Papers |
| Dates: | 1904-1969 |
| Quantity: | 2.25 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Spanning 1904 to 1969, the Ben Cunningham Papers comprises biographical material, correspondence, artwork, writings, and memorabilia of the American painter and art educator (1904-1975). The collection, which is heavily annotated by Cunningham, illuminates a professional career which encompassed WPA Federal Art Project mural work as well as the op art movement of the mid to late 1960s. Some of the items in the collection have been restricted to prevent their further deterioration. Photocopies of these embrittled items have been made available for researcher use. |
| 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 |
American painter, muralist.
Arranged alphabetically, the Correspondence-Subject Files (Boxes 1-2) contains incoming letters and outgoing carbon copies of Cunningham's replies, together with a variety of other related documents. The correspondence, predominantly from the 1960s, is generally of a professional nature, and includes that with artists (Abe Ajay, Will Barnet, Hannes Beckmann, Lawrence Campbell, David Diao, Peggy Dixon, Florence Fanshel, Robert Gwathmey, Hein Heckroth, Carl Holty, Avery Johnson, Sandy Lerner, Raeford Liles, Herman Maril, Roy Slade, Jeffrey Steele, Jean Varda); authors (Faber Birren, Warren Bower, Dorothy Caffrey, Donald G. Carraher, Susan Fanshel, Nathan Israeli, Mary McChesney, Sterling McIlhany, Aldo Pellegrini, William N. Robson); and clients (Goran Bauer, David Bermant, Cadence Records, Mark Johnson, John and Kate Prutting, Springbok Editions). Organizational correspondence focuses upon Cunningham's work in connection with art galleries and museums (Larry Aldrich Museum Foundation, Castellane Gallery, East Hampton Gallery, Georgia Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Hecksher Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Riverside Museum, Triangle Gallery, Tweed Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art); educational institutions (Art Students League of New York, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Morgan State College, Pratt Institute, University of Minnesota); and professional organizations (Artists for CORE, Artists for SEDF, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Society of Industrial Artists and Designers). An exchange (1965-1967) with the New York State Attorney General documents Cunningham's interest in legislation regarding the artist/dealer relationship.
Artwork (Box 2) includes photographs of Cunningham's work, a jigsaw puzzle, record album art, and miscellaneous reproductions used for advertising as well as book and periodical illustrations and cover designs. Arranged by the title of work supplied by Cunningham, the Photographs of paintings bear further annotations providing the year of the piece's production and the name of its purchaser. Photographs also document exhibitions at San Francisco's Raymond & Raymond Gallery and at the Riverside Museum in New York.
Autobiographical material, the transcript of an interview for the Archives of American Art on Cunningham's WPA experience, a lecture before the Art Students League, lists of paintings, a memorandum relating to the faculty at the Cooper Union, and an assortment of statements, some dictated, about his work constitute Writings (Box 2).
Memorabilia (Boxes 2-3) consists of photographs and printed material. Among the photographs are portraits (1904-1967) and images of Cunningham in his studio and lecturing before a Cooper Union design class. Printed material comprises articles and reviews (1965-1969), clippings (1941-1969), exhibition catalogs and invitations (1960-1969), and teaching-related items, including course catalogs and An Aspect of Illusion, a Cooper Union student publication which explores the technical features of op art as it relates to human perception.
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.
Some of the items in the collection have been restricted to prevent their further deterioration. Photocopies of these embrittled items have been made available for researcher use.
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.
Persons
Ajay, Abe.
Barnet, Will, 1911-2012.
Bauer, Göran, 1923-
Bermant, David.
Birren, Faber, 1900-1988.
Bower, Warren.
Caffrey, Dorothy Cruickshank.
Campbell, Lawrence, 1914-1998.
Coates, Robert M. (Robert Myron), 1897-1973.
Crump, Iris M.
Cunningham, Ben, 1904-1975.
Diao, David, 1943-
Dixon, Peggy.
Fanshel, Susan.
Gwathmey, Robert, 1903-1988.
Heckroth, Hein.
Holty, Carl, 1900-1973.
Hughes-Stanton, Corin.
Israeli, Nathan, 1906-
Johnson, Avery, 1965-
Lewis, Elizabeth Matthew.
Liles, Raeford.
Maril, Herman.
McChesney, Mary.
McIlhany, Sterling.
Mourlot, Fernand.
Neiniger, Urban.
Pellegrini, Aldo.
Riska, Ken F.
Robson, William N.
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979.
Slade, Roy.
Tallroth, Tore.
Varda, Jean.
Wechter, Vivienne Thaul.
Corporate Bodies
Federal Art Project.
United States -- Work Projects Administration.
United States -- Works Progress Administration.
Subjects
Art, American -- 20th century.
Artists as teachers -- United States.
Color in art.
Federal aid to the arts -- United States.
Mural painting and decoration -- United States -- 20th century.
Optical art.
Painters -- United States.
Painting, American -- 20th century.
Genres and Forms
Announcements.
Articles.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Exhibition catalogs.
Interviews.
Invitations.
Jigsaw puzzles.
Lectures.
Memorabilia.
Notes (documents)
Photographs.
Transcripts.
Occupations
Artists.
Painters.
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Ben Cunningham Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift of Ben Cunningham.
Biographical Material
Correspondence-Subject Files
Artwork (Reproductions)
Writings
Memorabilia
| Biographical Material | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Biographical Material | ||||||||||
| Correspondence-Subject Files | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Ajay, Abe 1965-1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | [Larry] Aldrich Museum Foundation, Inc. (Ridgefield, Conn.) 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Archives of American Art 1964-1965 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Art Students League of New York 1966-1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Artforum (San Francisco, Calif.) 1963 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Artists for CORE 1965-1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Artists for SEDF 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Barnet, Will 1966, 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Bauer, Goran C. H. and Catharina 1968-1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Beckmann, Hannes and Elsa 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Bermant, David 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Birren, Faber 1965, 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Bower, Warren 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Brookhaven National Laboratory 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Cadence Records (New York, N.Y.) 1960 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Caffrey, Dorothy 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Campbell, Lawrence 1967-1969, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Carnegie Institute 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Carraher, Donald G. 1965-1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Castellane Gallery (Provincetown, Mass.) 1962-1963 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Coates, Robert M. 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Community Press (Culpeper, Va.) 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art 1960-1968, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Crump, Iris 1966-1967, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Diao, David 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Dixon, Peggy 1968-1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | East Hampton Gallery (New York, N.Y.) 1964-1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Encampment for Citizenship (New York, N.Y.) 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Fanshel, Florence 1960, 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Fanshel, Susan 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Inc. 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | [Carl] Fischer Inc. 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Georgia Museum of Art 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | [Solomon R.] Guggenheim Museum (New York, N.Y.) 1965-1967, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Gwathmey, Robert 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1965-1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Heckroth, Hein 1964 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Hecksher Museum (Huntington, New York) 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Holty, Carl 1966 | ||||||||||
| Hughes-Stanton, Corin | |||||||||||
| See Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (London) | |||||||||||
| Hyatt, Gordon | |||||||||||
| See WCBS-TV (New York, N.Y.) | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Israeli, Nathan 1965 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Johnson, Avery 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Johnson, Mark 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Kobrick, Florence | ||||||||||
| See Encampment for Citizenship (New York, N.Y.) | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Lerner, Sandy 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Lewis, Elizabeth Matthew 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Liles, Raeford 1966-1967 | ||||||||||
| McChesney, Mary | |||||||||||
| See Artforum (San Francisco, Calif.) | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | McFarland, Jacqueline 1966-1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | McIlhany, Sterling 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Macky, Spencer 1952 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Maril, Herman 1967, 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Morgan State College (Baltimore, Md.) 1960, 1964 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Mourlot, Fernand 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Mueller, Cal and Prissy 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) 1964-1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Neininger, Urban and Jean Purcell 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | New York (State). Attorney General 1965-1967 | ||||||||||
| New York (State). Department of Law | |||||||||||
| See New York (State). Attorney General | |||||||||||
| New York Art Scene '67 | |||||||||||
| See Encampment for Citizenship (New York, N.Y.) | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | New York Guild of Handweavers 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | New York Public Library 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Pellegrini, Aldo 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 1965 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Prutting, John and Kate 1967-1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Riska, Ken 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Riverside Museum (New York, N.Y.) 1966-1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Robson, William N. 1965 | ||||||||||
| Rockefeller, Nelson | |||||||||||
| See New York (State). Attorney General | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Silvermine Publishers 1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Slade, Roy 1967, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (London) 1965-1966 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Springbok Editions Inc. 1965-1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Steele, Jeffrey 1966, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Tallroth, Tore and Marthe 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Triangle Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.) 1966-1967 | ||||||||||
| Tweed Gallery (Duluth, Minn.) | |||||||||||
| See University of Minnesota | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | University of Minnesota 1967-1969, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | University of Texas 1965 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Varda, Jean 1952-1969, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | WCBS-TV (New York, N.Y.) 1965, 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | WNYC-TV 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Wechter, Vivienne Thaul 1963 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, N.Y.) 1960 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | YM-YWHA of Essex County 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | A-Z, unidentified (4 folders) | ||||||||||
| Artwork (Reproductions) | |||||||||||
| Photographs | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | By title (A-Z), untitled (3 folders) | ||||||||||
| Exhibitions | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Raymond & Raymond Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.) | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Riverside Museum (New York, N.Y.) | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Jigsaw puzzle, "Equivocation II" 1965 | ||||||||||
| Springbok Editions | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Record album art for cover, sleeve 1963, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Miscellaneous 1933-1969 | ||||||||||
| Writings | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Autobiographical statements | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | "Comments on WPA experience" undated | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Interview 1964 | ||||||||||
| Transcript of Harlan Phillips' interview of Ben Cunningham for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts project | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Lecture - Art Students League 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Lists of paintings | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Memorandum - Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Poem - untitled undated | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Statements on art - 1966-1969, undated | ||||||||||
| Memorabilia | |||||||||||
| Photographs | |||||||||||
| Box 2 | Portraits 1945-1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Studio, with artwork 1941-1965 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Teaching 1965 | ||||||||||
| Box 2 | Youth 1904-1926; with wife - ca. 1950 (2 items) | ||||||||||
| Printed material | |||||||||||
| Box 3 | Articles, reviews 1965-1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | Clippings 1941-1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | Exhibition catalogs, invitations 1960-1969 (4 folders) | ||||||||||
| Teaching-related | |||||||||||
| Box 3 | An Aspect of Illusion (CUAS 9) - Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture 1963 | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | Miscellaneous 1967-1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 3 | Miscellany 1965 - "Comments on Ben Cunningham and his work" | ||||||||||