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Lloyd Lózes Goff Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: ASE
Date: Mar 1993

Biographical History

Lloyd Lózes Goff (1917- 1983) was an American muralist, graphic artist, author and illustrator of children's books. Born in Dallas, Texas, Goff studied at the Art Students League in New York and the University of New Mexico, where he later was Assistant Professor of Art (1943-1945).

Goff spent most of his career in the American Southwest, dividing his time between his home and studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a second studio in New York City, and much of his subject matter relates to the American west. He traveled extensively throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico, painting subjects from the Yucatan to Chihuahua, and his interest in hot-air ballooning produced two exhibitions of balloon subjects in the United States. He was a member of the Art Students League and the "Dallas Nine," and like many of his contemporaries participated in the WPA/Federal Arts Project in the 1930s.

In addition to his art and teaching work, Goff wrote or illustrated several books for children: Run, Sandpiper, Run (Goff, 1958), Fly Redwing Fly (Goff, 1959), That Girl of Pierre's (Davis, 1948), The Black Racer (MacKinnon, 1958). He also provided illustrations for several art books including Sun in Your Eyes: A New Light on The Southwest (Oren, 1948) and New Mexico Village Arts (Dickey, 1970).

Exhibits of Goff's work have appeared at the Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Institute, National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy, San Francisco Art Association, and Whitney Museum of American Art as well as at least one show in London. His work is in the permanent collections of museums across the American Southwest including the Albuquerque Museum, Museum of Fine Arts-Santa Fe, Dallas Museum of Art, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, and Roswell Museum and Art Center, as well as in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His works can be seen at the Federal Buildings in Cooper, TX, and Hollis, OK, as well as the U.S. Treasury, New York City Municipal Building, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the U.S. Customs House in New York City, and the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.

[Portions of this biographical sketch adapted from article on Goff in Who Was Who in American Art, Sound View Press, 1985.]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Spanning 1905 to 1971, the Lloyd Lózes Goff Papers comprises Biographical material, a Correspondence-subject file, Artwork, Writings, and Memorabilia. Focusing on the years 1950 through 1970, the collection illuminates both Goff's personal life and professional career.

Arranged alphabetically, the Correspondence-subject file (Boxes 1-2) consists of a number of incoming letters (1934-1971) from fellow artists (Edmund Minor Archer, Forrest Clemenger Bess, Isabel Bishop, Peter Blume, Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Raymond Jonson, John Koch, Edward Laning, Jack Levine, Robert Morse, Betty Parsons, Henry Schnakenberg, Ou Mie Shu, Katherine Schmidt Shubert, Theodoros Stamos, Stuyvesant Van Veen). Other correspondents include actresses (Lucille Ball, Edith Meiser, Vivian Vance, Nancy Wickwire); dancers (Frederic Franklin, Martha Graham); musicians/composers (James Galloway, Hugh Martin, Virgil Thompson); authors and editors (Margaret Anderson, Edwin Gilbert, David Greenhood, Anne Parrish, Fritz Peters, Glenway Wescott); as well as religious philosophers (Joseph Hubertus Pilates, Ervin Seale) and patrons (John Baragrey, Livia Gollancz, Judith H. Winans). The correspondence-subject file also reveals Goff's associations with art dealers, galleries, and museums (Beaufort Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Cincinnati Art Museum, Custom Interiors, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dayton Art Institute, Downtown Gallery, Galeria de Arte Mexicano, Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, Juster Gallery, Kerlan Collection of the University of Minnesota, C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, Maron Palais Galleries, National Academy of Design, La Quinta Gallery, Roko Gallery, Sixtieth Street Gallery, Springfield Art Museum, Wadsworth Atheneum, West Point Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art); cultural organizations (American Federation of Arts, Instituto Anglo-Mexicano de Cultura, Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes); educational institutions (American Farm School, Art Students League of New York, Beaux Arts Institute of Design, Eureka College); libraries (Albuquerque Public Library, Library of Congress, New York Public Library); professional organizations (National Institute of Arts and Letters); and governmental agencies (City of Albuquerque, Penitentiary of New Mexico, the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Office for Emergency Management, U.S. Post Office, U.S. Public Buildings Administration, and the U.S. Treasury Department). Notable among the undifferentiated correspondence are letters from children pertaining to Goff's artwork and children's books.

Artwork (Boxes 3-4) encompasses bookplates for the Albuquerque Public Library, illustrations for various books written and/or illustrated by Goff, a partial inventory of paintings, early drawings and paintings, one oil on canvas, pastel drawings, photographs and reproductions of paintings, and four sketchbooks. The bulk of this series consists of pastel drawings (1924-1937) and photographs of paintings (1932-1969) arranged chronologically by dates provided by Goff. Reproductions of Goff's paintings were incorporated in advertising promotions such as album covers of singer Gisele McKinsie, an issue of Ladies' Home Journal regarding interior decorating, and a brochure for model apartments entitled "The Lively Art of Living: Skyview on the Hudson." Sketchbooks bear dates 1925, 1928, 1932, and 1937, however their contents may extend beyond these years.

Writings (Box 4) consists of one poem and one speech. Memorabilia (Boxes 4-5) includes an exhibition list, photographs of Lloyd Lózes Goff (1935-1967), his family (1905-1959), and friends (1939-1960), printed material, awards, identification cards, invitations, permits, receipts, and personal documents. Printed material contains articles, reviews, clippings (1929-1971), exhibition catalogs of one-man (1939-1971) and group shows (1935-1968), theatre programs of the Albuquerque Little Theatre for which Goff's paintings were used in sets, and publicity for various books illustrated and/or written by Goff.

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.

Subject Headings

Persons

Anderson, Margaret C.
Ball, Lucille, 1911-1989.
Baragrey, John, d. 1975.
Bess, Forrest Clemenger.
Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988.
Blume, Peter, 1906-1992.
Blumenthal, Joseph, 1897-1990.
Brooks, Van Wyck, 1886-1963.
Cadmus, Paul, 1904-1999.
Fergusson, Erna, 1888-1964.
Franklin, Frederic, 1914-
French, Jared, 1905-1988.
Galloway, James.
Gilbert, Edwin.
Goff, Lloyd Lózes, 1917-1983.
Graham, Martha.
Greenhood, David.
Jackson, Charles.
Jonson, Raymond, 1891-1982.
Kluckhohn, Clyde, 1905-1960.
Koch, John, 1909-
Laning, Edward, 1906-
Levine, Jack, 1915-
Martin, Hugh, 1914-
Parsons, Betty.
Peters, Fritz, 1913-1979.
Pilates, Joseph Hubertus.
Ruggles, Carl, 1876-1971.
Schnakenberg, Henry Ernest, 1892-
Shu, Ou Mie.
Shubert, Katherine Schmidt, 1898-1978.
Souza, Amilcar de.
Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997.
Thatcher, Madelaine.
Thomson, Virgil, 1896-1989.
Vance, Vivian.
Wescott, Glenway, 1901-1987.
Wickwire, Nancy.
Wyndham, Lee.

Corporate Bodies

Albuquerque Public Library (N.M.)
Treasury Relief Art Project.
United States. -- Public Buildings Administration.

Subjects

Art, American -- 20th century.
Illustrators -- United States.
Mural painting and decoration -- United States -- 20th century.
Painters -- United States.
Painting, American -- 20th century.
Pastel drawing -- 20th century -- United States.
Portrait painters -- 20th century -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Bookplates.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Drawings (visual works)
Exhibition catalogs.
Pastels.
Photographs.
Sketchbooks.

Occupations

Artists.
Illustrators.
Painters.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Lloyd Lózes Goff Papers
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Lloyd Lózes Goff, 1970-71.

Table of Contents

Biographical/autobiographical material

Correspondence-subject file

Artwork

Writings

Memorabilia

Inventory