Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Tony DeLap Papers, circa 1950-2015, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.delatony
Creators:
DeLap, Tony, 1927-2019
Dates:
circa 1950-2015
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.4 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of artist Tony DeLap measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2015. The collection includes correspondence, writings, materials related to professional and teaching activities, printed material, a scrapbook, and photographic material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of artist Tony DeLap measure 1.4 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2015. The collection includes correspondence, writings, materials related to professional and teaching activities, printed material, a scrapbook, and photographic material.
Correspondence includes greeting and holiday cards, postcards, and letters with family, friends, other artists, and museums and other arts institutions. Notable correspondents include Alan Solomon, Melinda Wortz, Marcia Hafif, Bruce Conner, John McCracken, Paul Darrow, Bruce Nauman, Craig Kauffman, Nell Stinton, Felix Landau, Wayne Thiebaud, and John McLaughlin.
Writings include autobiographical notes, DeLap's notes on art and magic, and notes and writings on John McLaughlin. Also included is a paper on DeLap's 1983 exhibition at Janus Gallery by Clare H. Rhinelander.
The professional activities series contains DeLap's resume and bibliography, as well as materials related to his teaching appointments and promotion, including letters of recommendation, course lists, and a graduate trip itinerary.
Printed Material includes exhibition materials including announcements, calendars, and catalogs; newsletters, newspapers, journals, and newspaper clippings. This series makes up the bulk of the collection.
One scrapbook in the collection contains clippings, exhibition announcements, posters, and catalogs, and award ribbons.
Photographic material includes slides of DeLap's work, as well as photographs of DeLap, his studio, exhibitions and installations, snapshots of family, friends, and travel.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged in six series.
  • Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1967-2015 (Box 1; 2 folders)
  • Series 2: Writings, circa 1960-2013 (Box 1; 4 folders)
  • Series 3: Professional Activities, circa 1964-1983, circa 2015 (Box 1; 2 folders)
  • Series 4: Printed Material, 1955-2015 (Boxes 1 and 2, OV 3, 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Scrapbook, 1955-1967 (Box 2, 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2012 (Box 1, 0.2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Tony DeLap is an artist and professor emeritus of art in Orange County, California. He is a pioneer of West Coast minimalism with a special interest in visual illusion including performed magic.
DeLap was born in 1927 in Oakland, California and grew up in the Bay Area. He studied art, illustration, and graphic design at colleges in the Bay Area and taught at institutions including the California College of Arts and at the University of California, Davis. In 1965 he was offered a position at the newly founded University of California, Irvine, where he taught until 1991.
DeLap has exhibited widely and his work is held in collections at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Tate Gallery in London, and le Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Administration

Author
Rayna Andrews
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were donated by Tony DeLap in 2016.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews 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
Tony DeLap papers, circa 1950-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists' studios -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Greeting cards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Postcards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Conner, Bruce, 1933-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Darrow, Paul, 1921- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hafif, Marcia, 1929- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Landau, Felix, 1924-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McCracken, John, 1934-2011 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McLaughlin, John, 1898- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nauman, Bruce, 1941- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rhinelander, Clare H. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Solomon, Alan R., 1920-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stinton,, Nell Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Thiebaud, Wayne Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wortz, Melinda Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Janus Gallery (Venice, Los Angeles, Calif.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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