Archives of American Art

Albert Edward Elsen papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.elsealbe
Creators:
Elsen, Albert Edward, 1927-
Dates:
1942-ca. 1995
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
11.8 Linear feet
(partially microfilmed on 1 reel)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Personal and professional files, the bulk consisting of research material used in publications and his teaching career at Stanford University. Included are correspondence, writings, notes, artists' files, photographs and printed material. A portion of Elsen's files on Seymour Lipton have been microfilmed.
Scope and Contents
REEL 4047 (0.6 linear ft.): Correspondence between Elsen and Lipton, 1955-1984, including an autobiographical letter written April 1960 by Lipton; draft manuscripts by Elsen, "The Sculpture of Seymour Lipton," with comments by Lipton and his family on Elsen's manuscript, 1965 and 1967, "The Sculpture of Seymour Lipton as a Portrait of the Artist," 1963, and "The Inclusive Sculpture of Seymour Lipton," 1969; writings and notes by Lipton, including his reflections on aesthetics, 1942, and an autobiographical note, 1960; ca. 70 photographs of Lipton's works executed between 1936 and 1968, and nine of exhibition installations at Betty Parsons Gallery, 1958, and the Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, 1965; a few clippings; and exhibition catalogs, 1960-1967.
Scope and Contents
UNMICROFILMED (11.2 ft.): Personal documents, including draft card, army papers, certificates and awards, and a school yearbook; correspondence with art historians, artists, publishers and others; research files for publications on Auguste Rodin, including Elsen's catalog for the 1981 exhibition "Rodin Rediscovered" at the National Gallery of Art, Paul Jenkins (1973), Law, Ethics and the Visual Artists (1979), and others; transcripts of interviews with Leon Golub, Oct. 12, 1986 (20 p.) and Miriam Schapiro, Nov. 9, 1986 (40 p.), both regarding artistic freedom; teaching files; artists' files; and files on various other art topics.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Art historian and educator; Stanford, California. Died 1995. Author of several publications on Auguste Rodin, and on sculptors Seymour Lipton, Paul Jenkins, James Rosati, and other general works on sculpture and art appreciation, including Purposes of Art: Introduction to the History of Appreciation of Art.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reel 4047 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lipton related material on reel 4047 donated 1987 by Elsen. He donated an additional 0.2 ft. on Lipton in 1991. The remainder donated 1995 by his widow, Sharon Elsen.

Related Materials
Papers of Albert Edward Elsen, 1965-1994, are also located at Stanford University's University Archives.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculpture, Modern -- 19th century -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- United States Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Biographers -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jenkins, Paul, 1923-2012 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lipton, Seymour, 1903-1986 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rodin, Auguste, 1840-1917 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Golub, Leon, 1922-2004 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schapiro, Miriam, 1923-2015 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions