Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Sidney Laufman Papers, 1916-1983, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.laufsidn
Creators:
Laufman, Sidney, 1891-
Dates:
1916-1983
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot
Repository:
The papers of Sidney Laufman measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1983. The papers document Laufman's career as a landscape painter through awards, biographical outlines, and interviews; correspondence with family, friends, and art organizations; notebooks, notes, and other writings; receipts, sales records, and other personal business records; clippings, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material; and photographs of Laufman and his family and photographs of artwork.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Sidney Laufman measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1983. The papers document Laufman's career as a landscape painter through awards, biographical outlines, interviews, and other biographical material; correspondence with family,friends, and art organizations; notebooks, notes, and other writings; receipts, sales records, and other personal business records; clippings, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material; and photographs of Laufman and his family and photographs of artwork.
Biographical material includes awards and citiations, a biographical outline, an audio reel oral history interview with Laufman, and small oil paintings. Correspondence includes letters from Louis Bouche, Eliot Clark, Ralph Fabri, Leon Kroll, Ethel Magafan, Meyer Schapiro, and art dealers. Writings include typescripts of lectures and writings; five notebooks relating to his techniques, materials, and style, lists of works, and business notes, 1942 to 1952; a journal and a typescript of the journal kept by his wife Beatrice, ca. 1938-1955. Business records include receipts, sales records, and dealings with East End Gallery, Living American Art, and Milch Galleries. Printed material includes newpaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, and programs for the Third Woodstock Art Conference. Photographic material consists of personal photographs of Laufman with family and friends and photographs of Laufman's artwork.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1916-1980 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, ca. 1922-1983 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 3: Writings, 1920-1955 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1923-1975 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 5: Printed Material, 1927-1982 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 6: Photographic Material, 1935-1966 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Sidney Laufman (1891-1985) was a landscape painter. He studied at the Cleveland School of Art, the School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and under Robert Henri at the Art Students League of New York. After World War I, he and his wife settled in Paris where he worked for thirteen years before returning to the United States. He was active in the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in Florida and the WPA in New York. He also taught at the Art Students League in 1938.

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 Sidney Laufman papers were donated to the archives between 1983-1984 by Sidney Laufman.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2020.

Using the Collection

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.
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 audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Preferred Citation
Sidney Laufman papers, 1916-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Syracuse University also holds a portion of the Sidney Laufman papers.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Sidney Laufman conducted by Joseph Trovato, January 29, 1965.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- France -- Paris Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Laufman, Beatrice R., -1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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