Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Carlo Ciampaglia Papers, 1909-1978, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.ciamcarl
Creators:
Ciampaglia, Carlo Alberto, 1891-1975
Dates:
1909-1978
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5.6 Linear feet
Repository:
The collection measures 5.6 linear feet, dates from 1909-1978, and documents the career of mural painter and interior designer Carlo Ciampaglia. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, business records, notes and writings, art work, interior decorating and mural project files, printed material, and photographs.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The papers of mural painter and interior designer Carlo Ciampaglia measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1909 to 1978. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence primarily with colleagues discussing projects and the American Academy in Rome Alumni Association's George Washington Bicentennial Exhibition in Washington, D.C.; scattered personal business records including estate documents for various family members and financial material; notes and writings concerning a variety of topics including the Stations of the Cross, decorative encaustic painting, and a typescript about James Whistler; art work including sketchbooks and sketches; printed material including clippings and exhibition catalogs; and photographs of Ciampaglia, family members, and miscellaneous art work. Also found are project files containing correspondence, contracts, financial records, art work, printed material and photographs for fifteen of Ciampaglia's most important commissions.

Arrangement

Arrangement
All series are arranged chronologically. Glass plate negatives have been housed separately in Boxes 6 and 7, and are closed to researchers. Oversized material from various series has been housed in Boxes 8, 9, 10, and OV 11, and is noted in the Series Descriptions/Container Listing section at the appropriate folder title with see also/see references. The collection is arranged as 8 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1912-1969, undated (Box 1; 8 folders)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1912-1978, undated (Box 1; 45 folders)
  • Series 3: Business Records, 1923-1961, undated (Box 1; 11 folders)
  • Series 4: Notes and Writings, 1927, undated (Box 1; 2 folders)
  • Series 5: Art Work, 1920, undated (Boxes 1, 8; 6 folders)
  • Series 6: Project Files, 1924-1961, undated (Boxes 1-2, 6-8, OV 11; 2.5 linear feet)
  • Series 7: Printed Material, 1913-1975, undated (Boxes 3, 8; 32 folders)
  • Series 8: Photographs, 1909-1960, undated (Boxes 3-5, 7, 9-10; 1.4 linear feet)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Carlo Ciampaglia was born March 8, 1891 in Roccaraso, Italy, the son of Natale and Benelde Delmonico Ciampaglia. He came to the United States with his family before his first birthday and became a naturalized citizen in 1919. After attending public schools in Hoboken, New Jersey, Ciampaglia began studying drawing at Cooper Union in 1909, and painting at the National Academy of Design, receiving his diploma in 1917.
In 1920, Ciampaglia married Annette Paltrinieri, and in the same year, he was awarded the Prix de Rome. This prize entitled him to study at the American Academy in Rome, Italy, for the next three years. During this time, he also traveled to other European countries.
Shortly after returning to New York in 1923, Ciampaglia executed a commission for Philadelphia architect Harry Sternfeld to decorate the house of Mr. Frank Potter of Rome, New York. Other commissions included designs for the ceilings of the Chicago Tribune Building, decorations in the chapel of the Fairmount Mausoleum, Newark, and decoration for the niches and ceilings at the First Slovak Girls' Academy, Danville, Pennsylvania.
In 1936, Ciampaglia was commissioned to undertake a major mural project for the Texas Centennial Exposition, for which he completed murals for the transportation, foods, agriculture, and livestock buildings. Three years later, he completed murals for the foods building at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Ciampaglia lived on his estate, "Woodpeckers' Point," in Middle Valley, New Jersey and maintained a studio on Broadway in New York City. He was also an instructor at Cooper Union and at the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York. He was a member of the Mural Painters Society of America, the Architectural League, and the Allied Artists of America, and was elected an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design.
Carlo Alberto Ciampaglia died in 1975.

Administration

Author
Jean Fitzgerald
Sponsor
Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Provenance
The Carlo Ciampaglia papers were donated in 1978 by Rosalie Ciampaglia, the artist's widow.
Processing Information
The papers were processed in 2006 by Jean Fitzgerald. Glass plate negatives were re-housed in 2014 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Carlo Ciampaglia papers, 1909-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interior decorators -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Business records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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