Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the William and Ethel Baziotes Papers, circa 1900-1992, bulk 1935-1980, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.baziwill
Creators:
Baziotes, William, 1912-1963
Dates:
circa 1900-1992
bulk 1935-1980
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
6.3 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of New York City abstract expressionist painter William Baziotes and his wife Ethel measure 6.3 linear feet and date from circa 1900-1992, bulk 1935-1980. The collection includes William Baziotes biographical material, correspondence, writings, printed material, and photographs. The papers of Ethel Baziotes consists of correspondence mostly dated after her husband's death regarding exhibitions of his work, along with limited biographical material and writings.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of New York City abstract expressionist painter William Baziotes and his wife Ethel measure 6.3 linear feet and date from circa 1900-1992, bulk 1935-1980. The collection includes William Baziotes biographical material, correspondence, writings, printed material, and photographs. The papers of Ethel Baziotes consists of correspondence mostly dated after her husband's death regarding exhibitions of his work, along with limited biographical material and writings.
Biographical material on William Baziotes consists of a bibliography, teaching files, a sound recording of an interview, membership cards, sales records, a sketchbook, and other miscellaneous material. There is one folder regarding Ethel Baziotes containing a few certificates and her college diploma.
Correspondence consists of letters to William and Ethel Baziotes. Notable correspondents include Lawrence Alloway, Alfred Barr, Andre Breton, Clement Greenberg, Peggy Guggenheim, David Hare, Jean Helion, Maria and Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and others. There are also letters from the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery regarding the sales of William Baziotes's artwork and letters written by William Baziotes to his brother Christos. Letters to Ethel Baziotes include condolence letters as well as letters from museum and galleries regarding exhibitions of her husband's work.
Writings include William Baziotes's notes on various subjects, a list of book titles, and a transcript for a speech. Writings by others include essays about William Baziotes and other subjects.
Printed materials consist of clippings, announcements, magazines, and many exhibition catalogs, mostly on group exhibitions which included artwork by William Baziotes.
Photographs are of William Baziotes, Ethel Baziotes, family and friends, their residence, and his artwork. There are a also photographs of Meir Bernstein, Samuel Kootz, Paul Bodin, Maria Motherwell, Pablo and Maya Picasso, Rudi Blesh, Nathan Halper, Ethel Schwabacher, Clyfford Still, and others.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 5 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1933-1982 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-1988 (Boxes 1-2; 1 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Writings, circa 1950-1992 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Printed Material, 1944-1992 (Boxes 2-7, 9; 4.1 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Photographs, circa 1900-1979, bulk 1940-circa 1963 (Boxes 7-9; 0.7 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
William Baziotes (1912-1963) was an abstract expressionist painter in New York City. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baziotes moved to New York City in 1933, where he studied painting at the National Academy of Design, 1933-1936. He participated on the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project as a teacher, 1936-1938, and painted for the Easel Painting Project, 1938-1940.
In 1941 he married Ethel Copstein. He had his first one-man show at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery in 1944. The Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, Inc. held a solo show for Baziotes in 1946 and continued to exhibit his works until 1958.
Baziotes taught at Subjects of the Artist, 1948; the Brooklyn Museum Art School and New York University, 1949-1952; the People's Art Center at the Museum of Modern Art, 1950-1952; and Hunter College, 1952-1962. Baziotes died in 1963.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Existence and Location of Copies
The majority of this collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels N70-21, N70-24, 347, and 4984-4985 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
The interview with Harry and Constance Baziotes was digitized for research access and is available at Archives of American Art offices.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The William and Ethel Baziotes papers were donated by Ethel Baziotes, widow of William Baziotes, in several installments from 1969 to 1993.
Processing Information
The collection received a preliminary level of arrangement after donation. Multiple accessions were merged, processed, and a finding aid was prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2018.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Preferred Citation
William and Ethel Baziotes papers, circa 1900-1992, bulk 1935-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Abstract expressionism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Abstract Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alloway, Lawrence, 1926-1990 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bodin, Paul, 1910-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Halper, Nathan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motherwell, Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sievan, Maurice Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Canaday, John, 1907-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Castano, Giovanni, 1896-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hare, David, 1917-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hélion, Jean, 1904-1987 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kootz, Samuel Melvin, 1898-1982 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Namuth, Hans Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schwabacher, Ethel, 1903-1984 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peter A. Juley & Son Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kootz Gallery (N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bernshṭin, Meʼir, -1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blesh, Rudi, 1899-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Janis, Harriet Grossman Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kamrowski, Gerome Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Licht, Michel, 1893-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paneth, Donald Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ruiz-Picasso, Maya Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lee, Francis P. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Matta, 1912-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Onslow-Ford, Gordon Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baziotes, Ethel Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baziotes, Harry Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motherwell, Maria Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Zulieta, Orlando Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baziotes, Christos Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peterson, Charles Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ricci, F. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schumm, Gertrud Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vazakas, Byron Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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