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Archives of American Art
A Finding Aid to the John McLaughlin papers, 1922-1979, bulk 1936-1976, in the Archives of American Art
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.mclajohn
- Creators:
-
McLaughlin, John, 1898-
- Dates:
-
1922-1979bulk 1936-1976
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
3.2 Linear feet
- Repository:
The papers of Southern California art dealer and abstract painter John McLaughlin measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1922 to 1979, bulk 1936 to 1976. The collection documents John McLaughlin's personal life and career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, Tamarind Lithography fellowship files, scattered personal business records, printed materials, preliminary sketches and designs, and photographic material.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The papers of Southern California art dealer and abstract painter John McLaughlin measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1922 to 1979, bulk 1936 to 1976. The collection documents John McLaughlin's personal life and career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, Tamarind Lithography fellowship files, scattered personal business records, printed materials, preliminary sketches and designs, and photographic material.
Biographical material includes McLaughlin's military service records, art awards, and resumes.
Correspondence is with friends, artists, museums, and galleries. Notable correspondents include Eugene Anderson, Karl Benjamin, Frederick Hammersley, Jules Langsner, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and others.
Writings include artist statements, lectures, and notes. Researchers will find McLaughlin's ideas about his work and aesthetics are also referenced in much of the correspondence. There are also writings about McLaughlin by others.
The Tamarind Lithography fellowship files consists of the letter of appointment, printed material, and profiles for fellow artists at the workshop.
Personal business records include assorted legal and financial papers, such as contracts with galleries, art loan agreements, consignment records, and art shipment expenses. There are business papers about McLaughlin's Japanese print gallery, The Tokaido, Inc.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs for McLaughlin's shows at the Andre Emmerich Gallery, Felix Landau Gallery, a retrospective at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1968, and the seminal 1959 Four Abstract Classicists exhibition in Los Angeles, among others. Also included are exhibition announcements, news clippings, and press releases.
Artwork includes annotated sketches, collages and designs for paintings, and one painting.
Photographs, negatives, and slides are of McLaughlin, artwork, and exhibition installations. There is one album of photographs from a 1963 retrospective exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum.
Arrangement
Arrangement
This collection is arranged as 8 series.
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1941-circa 1975 (8 folders; Box 1)
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-1976 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)
- Series 3: Writings, circa 1936-1976 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
- Series 4: Tamarind Lithography Fellowship Files, 1958-1970 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
- Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1937-1975 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
- Series 6: Printed Material, 1932-1979 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, 5)
- Series 7: Artwork, circa 1948-circa 1976 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)
- Series 8: Photographic Material, 1922-1979 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4)
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
John Dwyer McLaughlin (1898-1976) was best known as one of the leading Los Angeles "hard-edge" geometric abstractionist painters and one of the artists featured in the seminal 1959 exhibition "Four Abstract Classicists" curated by Jules Langsner. McLaughlin was also a dealer of Japanese art prints.
McLaughlin was born and educated in Massachusetts. He served in the United States Navy during World War I from 1917-1921 and married Florence Emerson in 1928. McLaughlin began painting around 1932 with no formal training. In 1935, the couple moved to Japan and lived there for several years before moving back to Boston, where they opened The Tokaido, Inc., a Japanese art print gallery. From this time up to the start of World War II, McLaughlin worked primarily as a print dealer. During World War II, he served as a language intelligence officer in the Marines, thanks to his knowledge of Japanese.
After the war, McLaughlin and his wife settled in Dana Point, California, where he began painting in earnest, gaining some early local success. His painting, Hope Deferred was awarded first prize for oil painting in the 1948 San Diego Art Guild Annual. He became associated with the Felix Landau Gallery in Los Angeles and was one of four painters included in the historic 1959 Four Abstract Classicists, exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art organized by critic Jules Langsner which also featured the work of Frederick Hammersley, Lorser Feitelson, and Karl Benjamin. The phrase "hard-edge painting" was first used in association with this exhibition as a description of a unique California style of geometric abstractionist painting.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s McLaughlin exhibited widely and became a mentor for many younger Los Angeles area reductive painters. He was admired for his integrity and independent position regarding the art market. John McLaughlin died in Dana Point, California in 1976 at the age of 77.
Administration
Author
Rihoko Ueno
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Frederick Hammersley Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 1410-1413 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The John McLaughlin papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in multiple installments. John McLaughlin donated material in 1973 and his widow Florence McLaughlin donated material in 1976. Additional papers were donated by the artist's nephew John McLaughlin in 1998 and 1999. A painting was donated 2015 by the Stephne' Hesen estate.
Processing Information
Portions of the collection were microfilmed on reels 1410-1413 soon after they were donated to the archives. The papers were fully processed according to current archival standards by Rihoko Ueno in 2014 with funding from the Frederick Hammersley Foundation. The 2015 addition was processed in 2019 by Ryan Evans.
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.
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
John McLaughlin papers, 1922-1979, bulk 1936-1976. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Materials
Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of John D. McLaughlin conducted July 23, 1974, by Paul J. Karlstrom.
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sketches | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Art, Modern -- California -- Los Angeles | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Art dealers -- California | Occupation | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Painting, Abstract -- California -- Exhibitions | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Painters -- California | Occupation | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Photographs | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Tamarind Lithography Workshop | Corporate Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions
