Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Richard E. Filipowski papers, circa 1940-1998, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.filirich
Creators:
Filipowski, Richard, 1923-2008
Dates:
circa 1940-1998
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4.1 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Massachusetts-based designer, sculptor, painter, filmmaker, and educator Richard E. Filipowski measure 4.1 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 1998. The papers document his career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, teaching files, project files, printed material, photographic material, artwork, and a sound recording.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Massachusetts-based designer, sculptor, painter, filmmaker, and educator Richard E. Filipowski measure 4.1 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 1998. The papers document his career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, teaching files, project files, printed material, photographic material, artwork, and a sound recording.
Biographical material consists of a Bauhaus questionnaire, marriage license, various identification documents, Canadian selective service documents, resumes, and other miscellaneous material.
Correspondence mostly relates to Filipowski's teaching and sculpture, including letters from Herbert M. Agoos, Lawrence B. Anderson, Pietro Belluschi, Stuart Davis, Garrett Eckbo, Walter Gropius, Gyorgy Kepes, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and others.
Writings consist of Filipowski's lectures on art, notes, and other material. There is also one sound recording of a lecture.
Teaching files are mostly from the Institute of Design, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The series includes syllabi, faculty meeting minutes, notes and drafts for lectures, school catalogs and schedules, and files on student exhibitions and projects, including two films, Do Not Disturb and Hearts and Arrows.
Project files contain correspondence, business records, printed material, sketches and photographs on commissions in architecture, sculpture and furniture design. There are also files on programs which Filipowski assisted in planning and organizing, including the Boston Art Festival and a few exhibitions.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, and clippings mostly about Filipowski.
Photographs, slides, and negatives are of Filipowski and others, sculpture, furniture designs, and works of art by his students from Harvard and MIT.
Art work includes sketches, sketchbooks, cardboard studies for sculptures, and Christmas card designs.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged as eight series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1941-1974 (Box 1; 7 folders)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1941-1998 (Box 1, OV 6; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Writings, 1951-1969 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Teaching Files, 1943-1970 (Box 2, OV 6; 0.7 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Project Files, 1944-1976 (Boxes 2-3, OV 6-7; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Printed Material, 1941-1989 (Box 3, OV 7; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1940-1989 (Boxes 3-4, OV 8; 0.7 linear feet)
  • Series 8: Artwork, circa 1940-circa 1985 (Boxes 4-5, OV 6, 8; 0.7 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Richard E. Filipowski (1923-2008) was a designer, sculptor, painter, filmmaker and educator mostly based in Massachusetts. Richard Filipowski was born in Poland in 1923 and he and his family moved to Ontario, Canada in 1927. He studied under Laszlo Moholy-Nagy at the Institute of Design (formerly known as the New Bauhaus) from 1942 to 1946 and taught there after graduating, 1946-1950. Filipowski was invited by Walter Gropius to organize and teach Design Fundamentals at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design where he stayed until 1952. He then taught as an Associate Professor of Visual Design in the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1953-1989.
Filipowski also took on numerous commissions for sculptures and artwork. One especially noteworthy commission was a sculpture for an Ark created for the Temple B'Rith Kodesh in Rochester, New York. The sculpture was intricately wrought and welded from bronze and silver alloys and it remained a source of inspiration for other later sculptures and commissions which had a similar style of metal-working. Many of his works were also marked by his Bauhaus training. Filipowski passed away in 2008.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Existence and Location of Copies
The sound recording of the lecture "Art Phobia in Our Society" was digitized for research access in 2013 and is available at the Archives of American Art offices. Researchers may view the original reel for any archival notation on it, but the original reel is not available for playback due to fragility.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Richard E. Filipowski in multiple installments from 1989 to 1998.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid 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
Richard E. Filipowski papers, circa 1940-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Richard E. Filipowski conducted by Roger Brown on September 25, 1989 through March 14, 1990.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art and industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art commissions Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art festivals Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art teachers -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Design -- Study and teaching Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Industrial design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Designers -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- Massachusetts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filmmakers -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Industrial designers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Modern -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- Massachusetts Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Christmas cards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Agoos, Herbert M., 1915-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anderson, Lawrence B. (Lawrence Bernhart) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Belluschi, Pietro, 1899-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bauhaus Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eckbo, Garrett Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harvard University -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Institute of Design (Chicago, Ill.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Boston Arts Festival Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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