Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Alan Gussow Research Material for A Sense of Place, 1956-1994, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.gussalan
Creators:
Gussow, Alan, 1931-1997
Dates:
1956-1994
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.8 Linear feet
Repository:
Research material for Alan Gussow's book, A Sense of Place: the Artist and the American Land, and the related Nebraska Public Television production, symposium, and exhibition at Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, measures 2.8 linear feet and dates from 1956 to 1994. Research files include correspondence, photographs and color transparencies, sound recordings of 17 interviews with artists, a draft manuscript, publicity, reviews, and fan mail. Exhibition and symposium related material includes the proposal, correspondence, and printed matter. Public television production material includes correspondence, publicity, transcripts, soundtrack tapes, and film footage.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Research material for Alan Gussow's book, A Sense of Place: the Artist and the American Land, and the related Nebraska Public Television production, symposium, and exhibition at Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, measures 2.8 linear feet and dates from 1956 to 1994. Research files include correspondence, photographs and color transparencies, sound recordings of 17 interviews with artists, a draft manuscript, publicity, reviews, and fan mail. Exhibition and symposium related material includes the proposal, correspondence, and printed matter. Public television production material includes correspondence, publicity, transcripts, soundtrack tapes, and film footage.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 2 series.
  • 1. A Sense of Place Research Material, 1956-1994 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)
  • 2: Exhibition and Symposium Files, 1970-1975 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, FC 5-6)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Alan Gussow (1931-1997) was a painter and writer in New York. He studied painting at Cooper Union and at the American Academy in Rome. Gussow honed a visionary blend of abstraction and representation with nature as his primary subject in his art. His book A Sense of Place: The Artist and the American Land, published in 1972, couples works by American landscape artists spanning four centuries with excerpts of their own writing.

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 collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Alan Gussow in 1995.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2019.
Existence and Location of Copies
All of the sound recordings in the collection were digitized for research access in 2013 and are available at Archives of American Art offices.

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 accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Terms of 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
Alan Gussow research material for A Sense of Place, 1956-1994. 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
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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