Archives of American Art

Papers of and relating to John D. Graham

Summary
Collection ID:
AAA.grahjohp
Creators:
Graham, John, 1887-1961
Dates:
[ca. 1950-1960]
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
Partial microfilm reel.
Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
Corrected and annotated mss. by Graham "Art History" with related notes (ca. 350 p. total); an autobiographical sketch, entitled "Autoportrait" (3 p. typescript); and an 8 p. summary by Angus Deming of an interview she conducted with Graham, Sept. 1960 in Paris.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Jack Mayer was an art dealer and owner of Gallery Mayer, New York, which handled the work of painter John Graham. Graham, born Ivan Gratsianovitch Dombrovski in Kiev, Russia in 1886 (baptised in 1881, hence the use of that year on many authoritative sources), came to N.Y. in 1920 and was a central figure among American avant-garde artists, especially from the late 1920s to 1940s. Graham was also a collector of African art which inspired an interest in primitivism in his work. Graham moved to Mexico in 1936. In 1937 he published Systems and Dialectics of Art, stimulating American artists interest in primitive art.
Administration
Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reel 96 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals returned to the lender, Jack Mayer, after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lent for microfilming by Jack Mayer, 1971.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Avant-garde (Aesthetics) -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cubism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Surrealism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Graham, John, 1887-1961 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mayer, Jack Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions