Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Werner and Yetta Groshans Papers, 1928-1997, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.groswern
Creators:
Groshans, Werner, 1913-1986
Groshans, Yetta
Dates:
1928-1997
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Werner and Yetta Groshans measure 2.0 linear feet and date from 1928 to 1997. The papers document Werner Groshans career as a painter through correspondence, professional files, printed material, and photographs. Correspondence is with friends and colleagues, as well as art collectors, art organizations, and galleries. Also included is a file of correspondence in regards to Groshans jurying exhibitions. Professional material consists of awards and certificates, a statement on art written by Groshans, interviews with Alice Neel on three audio cassettes, a video retrospective on Groshans, and videos documenting Groshans artwork, one recorded just before his death. Printed material consists of magazine and newspaper clippings, exhibition catalogs, artist biographies and reports from the National Academy of Design, and Groshans' obituary. Also found are photographs of Groshans and photographs and slides of his artwork.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Werner and Yetta Groshans measure 2.0 linear feet and date from 1928 to 1997. The papers document Werner Groshans career as a painter through correspondence, professional files, printed material, and photographs. Correspondence is with friends and colleagues, as well as art collectors, art organizations, and galleries. Also included is a file of correspondence in regards to Groshans jurying exhibitions. Professional material consists of awards and certificates, a statement on art written by Groshans, interviews with Alice Neel on three audio cassettes, a video retrospective on Groshans, and videos documenting Groshans artwork, one recorded just before his death. Printed material consists of magazine and newspaper clippings, exhibition catalogs, artist biographies and reports from the National Academy of Design, and Groshans' obituary. Also found are photographs of Groshans and photographs and slides of his artwork.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series.
  • Series 1: Correspondence,1928-1997 (1.0 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Professional Activity Files, 1948-1987 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
  • Series 3: Printed Material, 1948-1994 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2)
  • Series 4: Photographic Material, 1966-1980 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Werner Groshans (1913-1986) was a painter in New Jersey and New York. He married Yetta Abromovitz in 1944.
Groshans was born in Germany and moved with his family to the United States at the age of thirteen. He began his studies at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art a year later. As a young adult during the Great Depression, he participated in the Works Progress Administration Easel Project for two years, allowing him to develop as an artist without the worry of finding full-time work. By the early 1960s, his artwork began to gain recognition, and in 1965 he was elected to the National Academy of Design. Groshans often worked from his memory of real places seen in nature, but his strange juxtapositions of objects and figures led William Gerdts, a graduate professor at the City University of New York, to describe his style as "Mysterious Realism."

Administration

Author
Ricky Gomez
Sponsor
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Werner Groshans papers were donated to the archives between 1992 and 1997 by Yetta Groshans, widow of Werner Groshans.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid created by Ricky Gomez in 2020.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Conditions Governing 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
Werner and Yetta Groshans papers, 1928-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New Jersey Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neel, Alice, 1900-1984 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-7950
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions