Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Joseph Konopka Papers, 1965-2003, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.konojose
Creators:
Konopka, Joseph, 1932-
Dates:
1965-2003
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.1 Linear feet
Repository:
The Joseph Konopka Papers measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1965 to 2003. The papers document Konopka's career as a photo-realist and landscape painter through biographical material, correspondence, and artwork.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The Joseph Konopka Papers measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1965 to 2003. The papers document Konopka's career as a photo-realist and landscape painter through biographical material, correspondence, and artwork.
Correspondence is with galleries and participants in his Art People Cutout Series. Among the artwork are sketchbooks (9 volumes) and a maquette of the Art People Cutout Series.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 3 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1965-2003 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1971-1987 (Box 1; 3 folders)
  • Series 3: Artwork, 1985-2002 (Boxes 1-3; 0.6 linear feet)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Joseph Konopka (b. 1932) is a photo-realist and landscape painter who also works as a scenic artist for NBC-TV in New York City. He lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
A native of Philadelphia, Konopka was raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1954, he graduated from Cooper Union School of Art and the following year completed a set design course at Columbia University. He began working NBC-TV in 1952 as a paint boy, mixing paints and washing brushes for the scenic artists, a position he held for nine months. Konopka later joined the United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 and rose from apprentice (1953) to his current position as a scenic artist at NBC-TV. He has worked for many NBC-TV shows including "Late Night with David Letterman" (1982-1993) and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993-present).
Konopka often paints in ongoing series. His work process involves taking slides of his subjects from various angles and distances to determine a suitable composition or composite view. Subject matter for Konopka's series includes images of his wife Casimera (Casey) at the Jersey shore, in everyday poses, or putting on makeup; views from the top of the World Trade Center; and lighthouses. For the Art People Cutout Series (circa 1971-1979), Konopka painted portraits of prominent figures in the New Jersey art world such as museum directors (including Sam Miller, Newark Museum) and curators.
Konopka has been represented by Razor Gallery, New York City (circa 1971-1979), Capricorn Galleries, Bethesda, Maryland (circa 1980-1996), and Nathans Art Gallery, West Paterson, New Jersey (circa 1986-1997). From 1976-1985, he served as vice president of the Associated Artists of New Jersey.
Konopka lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Administration

Author
Carla De Luise
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The papers were donated in 2003 by Joseph Konopka.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Carla De Luise in 2007.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Use of original material requires an appointment.
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
Joseph Konopka Papers, 1965-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photo-realism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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