Archives of American Art

Albert Henry Krehbiel papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.krehalbe
Creators:
Krehbiel, Albert Henry, 1873-1945
Dates:
1893-1985
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Microfilm reels
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Biographical material; correspondence; writings and notes; sketches; printed material and photographs document the life and career of Albert Henry Krehbiel.
Scope and Contents
Among the biographical documents is Krehbiel's marriage announcement. Correspondence, 1893-1945 and 1982-1985, consists mostly of illustrated letters from Krehbiel to his family and close friends. The earliest group of letters document his interest in the wheel. Another series, addressed to his sister Linda, includes a "Travel Log" of his transatlantic voyage to Europe and his sojourn there. Other letters written during the same years to his future wife, recount in detail his experiences as an American student in Paris and his travels. A group of letters written in the 1940s reveal Krehbiel's opinions on modern art and the social and political changes at the Cliff Dwellers, an important early Chicago art club. Also found are letters sent to Rebecca Krehbiel regarding her late father-in-law.
Scope and Contents
Writings and notes include Krehbiel's diary of 1938 containing impressions of Mies van der Rohe, newly appointed director of the Armour Institute. Krehbiel was the only in-place instructor that Mies van der Rohe kept on the staff; a 1906 notebook on Greek costumes, an undated notebook about murals for the State Capitol of South Dakota (Krehbiel did not receive the commission for these); typed proposals for murals in the State Capitol of South Dakota, and for the Supreme and Appellate court rooms in Springfield, Illinois, versions of a manuscript entitled "Life and the Model in Quick Sketches"; notebooks, 1930-1945, containing notes on art and other topics, journal entries, thumbnail sketches of his paintings and watercolors, and notes for talks; loose notes and sketches by Krehbiel and by his wife Dulah.
Scope and Contents
Published material about Krehbiel includes 1904, 1905 and 1906 issues of L'ACADEMIE JULIAN and newsclippings, 1907-1940 and undated. Photographs are of paintings by both Albert and Dulah Krehbiel, photographs of his studio and of Dulah posing for murals, and family photographs.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Art educator; mural painter; Chicago, Ill. Born in Iowa, Krehbiel was important as a teacher in Chicago. He was part of the conservative art establishment and painted in both an academic and Impressionist manner. Krehbiel helped set up the Chicago Art Institute Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck and later founded the Albert Krehbiel School of Painting there. He was on the faculties of the Art Institute from 1906-1945, and the Armour Institute, now Illinois Institute of Technology from 1913-1945. He began his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1902. In 1903, he studied on scholarship at the Academie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens. He remained in Europe until 1906, during which time he traveled and studied, winning four gold medals and the Prix de Rome. In 1906, he returned to Chicago, married a fellow artist, and joined the faculty of the Art Institute school. In 1907, he won a national competition for the murals in the Supreme and Appellate courtrooms in Springfield, Illinois.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels 4074-4075 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals returned to the lender Rebecca Krehbiel, after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lent for microfilming 1987 by Rebecca Krehbiel, daughter-in-law of Albert Krehbiel.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Related Materials
The Art Institute of Chicago, Institutional Archives holds papers of Dulah Evans Krehbiel and Albert Henry Krehbiel.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Muralists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muralists -- Illinois -- Chicago Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Krehbiel, Dulah Evans, 1875-1951 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 1886-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Institute of Chicago. School Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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