Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Robert Pincus-Witten Papers, 1942-2017, bulk 1962-2005, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.pincrobe
Creators:
Pincus-Witten, Robert, 1935-2018
Dates:
1942-2017
bulk 1962-2005
Languages:
The collection is in English and French.
Physical Description:
12.4 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of art historian, critic, and curator Robert Pincus-Witten measure 12.4 linear feet and date from 1942-2017. The collection consists of biographical material; color and black and white photographs and negatives; writings by Pincus-Witten; teaching files and printed material; journals; sketches by Pincus-Witten; professional files related to curatorial work; correspondence; artist files maintained by Pincus-Witten; and audiovisual and born digital materials.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of art historian, critic, and curator Robert Pincus-Witten measure 12.0 linear feet and date from 1942-2017. The collection consists of biographical material; color and black and white photographs and negatives; writings by Pincus-Witten; teaching files and printed material; journals; sketches by Pincus-Witten; professional files related to curatorial work; correspondence; artist files maintained by Pincus-Witten; and audiovisual and born digital materials.
The collection includes biographical material such as passports, address books, calendars, report cards, diplomas, and other academic ephemera; journals that document Pincus-Witten's daily personal and professional activities; drafts of articles, essays and other writings by Pincus-Witten; correspondence with friends and colleagues; teaching files from City University of New York that include lecture notes, slide lists, and student correspondence; research files on artists from the circa 1970s-1996; professional files that document Pincus-Witten's work at Gagosian Gallery and other curatorial activities; and photographs and negatives of family, friends, events and works of art. Also included are audio visual material consisting of two reel-to-reel tape recordings and seventeen sound cassettes documenting panels that featured Pincus-Witten, artist interviews, and Pincus-Witten dictating essays; born digital material including a CD-R from Rose Cabot's "The Marks Project" and 5.25 floppy disk(s) that include Pincus-Witten's writings; pencil, ink, and watercolor sketches and sketchbooks; and printed material consisting of exhibition announcements and invitations, pamphlets, press releases, event programs, newsletters, flyers, and clippings.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 9 series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-circa 2010s (1.00 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1952-2015 (1.60 linear feet, Box 1, 2, 4)
  • Series 3: Journals, 1958-2015 (3.30 linear feet, Box 3, 12-18)
  • Series 4: Writing, 1953-2016 (1.50 linear feet, Box 4-5)
  • Series 5: Artist Files, 1950-2016 (1.60 linear feet, Box 5-7)
  • Series 6: Professional Files, 1959-2009 (1.50 linear feet, Box 7-8)
  • Series 7: Teaching Files, circa 1970s-1996 (0.50 linear feet, Box 8-9)
  • Series 8: Printed Material, 1962-2017 (0.95 linear feet, Box 9-10)
  • Series 9: Artwork, 1959-1996 (0.25 linear feet, Box 10)
  • Series 10: Unidentified Born Digital Materials, 1980s-2000s (0.2 linear feet, Box 10)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Robert Pincus-Witten (1935-2018) was an art historian, educator, critic, and curator in New York, New York.
Born in the Bronx, Pincus-Witten attended PS4, the New York High School of Music and Art, and The Cooper Union. During this time Pincus-Witten met his husband, Leon Hecht, who lived on the same block and was in the same kindergarten class at PS4. He also formed a lifelong friendship with high school classmate and artist, Ray Johnson. Pincus-Witten received a Master of Fine Arts and PhD from the University of Chicago and lived abroad in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Pincus-Witten became interested in art at a very early age and received recognition in the Regional and National Scholastic Art Awards in 1950 and 1952.
While living abroad and finishing his doctorate, Pincus-Witten accepted a teaching position at Queens College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY) network, where he taught art history courses until his retirement in 1991. Coining the term, "postminimalism," Pincus-Witten played a central role in explicating postmodern art as it emerged between 1960 and his death in 2018. He exhaustively documented his daily life on the front lines of the art world as a contributing editor for Artforum for nearly fifty years, including a stint as senior editor from 1973-1974. In addition to his long teaching career at the CUNY, Pincus-Witten worked for Larry Gagosian and Robert Mnuchin, curating exhibitions and writing catalog essays for their galleries. He was the author of several books, including Postminimalism (1977).

Administration

Author
Jennifer E. Neal
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were donated in 2019 by Leon Hecht, Robert Pincus-Witten's husband.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Jennifer E. Neal and Lewis Tio in 2021.

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 Use
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own in the following material: Robert Pincus-Witten's journals.
Conditions Governing Access
Robert Picus-Witten's journals are access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Preferred Citation
Robert Pincus-Witten papers, 1942-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Robert Pincus-Witten conducted by Francis M. Naumann, March 23-24, 2016.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
LGBTQ+ Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diaries Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
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
Postmodernism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bochner, Mel, 1940- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hecht, Leon Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Twombly, Cy, 1928- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gagosian Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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