Archives of American Art

Michael Loew papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.loewmich
Creators:
Loew, Michael, 1907-1985
Dates:
1930-1997
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.8 Linear feet
(partially microfilmed on 2 reels)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Biographical material, correspondence, notes, writings, photographs, business and financial records, works of art, and printed material document the career of painter and educator Michael Loew.
Scope and Contents
REEL N68-94: Biographical material, 1957-1967, includes 5 biographical sketches, a bibliography of Loew's publications, and an artist's statement. Correspondence, 1935-1968, is with colleagues, galleries, and educational institutions. There are one or two letters each from colleagues Josef Albers, Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Johnson, Richard Lahey, George L.K. Morris, and Clifford Odets. Nine letters relate to Loew's work for the U.S. Works Progress Administration and the New York World's Fair. Writings, 1966, consist of several drafts for essay "Is It the Function of the Artist to Communicate with his Audience." A contract, 1938, is between Loew and Willem de Kooning and the New York World's Fair 1939 Inc. Printed material, 1944-1968, consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs. Photographs, 1960-1964, are of Loew and his art works. Notes consist of 2 undated notebooks and a typescript concerning Josef Albers. A scrapbook, 1938-1965, contains 4 photographs of art works, clippings, and exhibition announcements and catalogs.
Scope and Contents
REEL 5053: Correspondence, 1944-1990, is with galleries, including the Holland-Goldowsky Gallery, educational institutions, including the University of California at Berkeley, and colleagues including Dorothy Dehner, Burt Hasen, and Aaron Siskind. Correspondence, 1956-1957, with Rockwell Kent concerns the rental of Kent's Monhegan Island cabin. One letter, 1959, includes 3 photographs of Loew, Louis Kahn, Allan Kaprow, and George McNeil. Lecture notes are for an Artists Equity symposium, 1956, and a panel discussion on painting, 1968. Writings, 1968-1979, consist of 3 essays by Loew and tributes written to Sarah Freedman McPherson by Loew and others. Printed material, 1932-1992, consists of clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and a book "The Artist's World" by Fred W. McDarrah. Photographs, 1930-1979, are of Loew, his friends, and his art works. One photograph is of Alfred Jensen, Theodore Schempp, Max Schnitzler, and Loew in Tunis, 1930.
Scope and Contents
UNMICROFILMED Biographical material incudes curriculum vita, obituaries, and birth announcements of Jonathan Loew, Michael Loew's son. Correspondence is with Willem and Elaine de Kooning. Writings include notes and a transcription of Loew's 1966 MoMA talk Must the Artist Communicate with his Audience, drafts of an article by Loew regarding Joseph Albers NEA and Guggenheim grant applications. Photographs are of Loew, his artwork, and his travels in Mexico as well as a color photograph of Loew and Willem de Kooning in de Kooning's studio taken by Rose Slivka. Artwork includes original off-prints for book covers. Business files relate to the 1939 World's Fair mural commission and include information about gifts of artwork to museums. Financial material includes a sales record book and records of sales with the Marilyn Pearl and Landmark galleries. Also included are literature and directories from the Federation of Modern Painters & Sculptors, exhibition announcements,and newspaper clippings.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Born in New York City, Michael Loew (1907-1985) studied at the Art Students League from 1926-1929, Academie Scandinave in Paris from 1929-1930, the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Art from 1947-1949, and at the Atelier Fernand Leger from 1949-1950. Loew worked as a stained glass artist from 1926 to 1929, and painted murals with Willem de Kooning for the New York World's Fair of 1939. Between 1956 and 1966, he taught painting at the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum, University of California at Berkeley, and at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels N68-94 and 5053 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reel N68-94: Originals returned to Michael Loew after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material on reel N68-94 lent for microfilming 1968 by Michael Loew; approximately 50 letters and an artists' statement were later received in subsequent donations. Additional papers were donated in 1981-1982 by Loew, and in 1994 and 2008 by his widow, Mildred C. Loew, a portion of which was microfilmed on reel 5053. The photograph of Loew and de Kooning taken by Rose Slivka was donated by Loew's niece, Jackie Cohen, in 2007.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Microfilmed portion must be accessed on film. Use of original papers requires an appointment.

More Information

Other Finding Aids

Other Finding Aids
Finding aid for microfilm available at Archives of American Art offices.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art teachers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Albers, Josef Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jensen, Alfred, 1903-1981 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kahn, Louis I., 1901-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kaprow, Allan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McNeil, George, 1908-1995 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McPherson, Sarah Freedman, 1895-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schempp, Theodore Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schnitzler, Max, 1903- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slivka, Rose Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Kooning, Elaine Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hasen, Burt Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Johnson, Philip, 1906-2005 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lahey, Richard, b. 1893 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McDarrah, Fred W., 1926-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Morris, George L. K., 1905-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Odets, Clifford, 1906-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Siskind, Aaron Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marilyn Pearl Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Landmark Gallery (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Holland-Goldowsky Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Work Projects Administration Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of California, Berkeley Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.) Corporate 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