Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Costantino Nivola Papers, circa 1938-2003, bulk 1950-1980

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.nivocost
Creators:
Nivola, Costantino, 1911-1988
Dates:
circa 1938-2009
bulk 1950-1980
Languages:
The collection is in English and Italian.
Physical Description:
2.1 Linear feet
12.18 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of sculptor and design teacher Costantino Nivola measure 2.1 linear feet and 12.18 GB and date from circa 1938 to 2009, bulk 1950 to 1980. The papers document Nivola's career in Italy and New York through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional activities, project files, printed material, photographs, and audio-visual recordings in digital format.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of sculptor and design teacher Costantino Nivola measure 2.1 linear feet and 12.18 GB and date from circa 1938 to 2009, bulk 1950 to 1980. The papers document Nivola's career in Italy and New York through biographical material, correspondence, writings, professional activities, project files, printed material, photographs, and audio-visual recordings in digital format.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-1988 (3 folders; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1938-circa 1988 (0.3 linear feet; Box 2)
  • Series 3: Writings, circa 1940-circa 1988 (5 folders; Box 1)
  • Series 4: Professional Activities, 1953-circa 1985 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 5: Project Files, 1956-1982 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 0.912 GB; ER01)
  • Series 6: Printed Material, 1953-1978 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2, OV 3)
  • Series 7: Photographs, circa 1950-circa 1980 (0.3 linear feet; Box 2, OV 3)
  • Series 8: Digital Recordings, 1950s-2009 (11.27 GB; ER02-ER14)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Costantino Nivola (1911-1988) was a sculptor and design teacher mostly based in East Hampton, New York, and Sardinia, Italy. Nivola was born in Sardinia and trained at Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche (ISIA) in Monza, Italy. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1939, and was employed as an art director, editor of architecture and design publications, and design instructor at the college level. He taught design at Columbia University, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and elsewhere.
Nivola developed a sandcasting technique which he used extensively for producing sculptural murals in concrete. His commissions include murals, fountains, sculpture, and monuments for public buildings and corporate headquarters.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 4282-4283 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Costantino Nivola papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1979 and 1980 by Costantino Nivola and in 2012 by Claire and Pietro Nivola, Nivola's children.
Processing Information
The collection received a preliminary level of arrangement after donation and was partially microfilmed on reels 4282-4283. The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Rihoko Ueno in 2020. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.

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.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 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
Costantino Nivola papers, circa 1938-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Reproductions of a portion of the collection are available at Costantino Nivola Museum, Sardinia, Italy.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Municipal Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sand casting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- East Hampton Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- New York (State) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- Italy Occupation 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