Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Enrique Riverón Papers, 1918-1990s, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.riveenri
Creators:
Riverón, Enrique
Dates:
1918-1990s
Languages:
The records are in
English
and
Spanish
.
Physical Description:
3.3 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Cuban born painter, sculptor, cartoonist, and illustrator Enrique Riverón measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1918-1990s. The collection contains correspondence, writings, diary entries, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs documenting Riverón's career as an illustrator, cartoonist, painter and sculptor in the United States and Cuba and, to a lesser extent, Riverón's teaching career at Wichita University in Kansas.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The papers of Cuban born painter, sculptor, cartoonist, and illustrator Enrique Riverón measure 3.3 linear feet, date from 1918-1990s and document Riverón's career as an illustrator, cartoonist, painter and sculptor in the United States and Cuba and, to a lesser extent, his teaching career at Wichita University in Kansas. The collection includes correspondence, the majority of which concerns Riverón's exhibitions; writings, primarily Riverón's recollections of his trips to Paris and Madrid and his memories of people he met in Latin America, Europe, and the United States; printed material documenting exhibitions and Riverón's work for magazines such as Cine-Mudial and Bally-Hoo; and photographs.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is organized into eight series.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1929-1960 (Box 1; 2 folders)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1918-1991 (box 1, 0.6 ft.)
  • Series 3: Writings, 1923-1980s, undated (box 1, 0.2 ft.)
  • Series 4: Scrapbooks, 1920s-1990s, undated (boxes 1, 3, and 4, 0.7 ft.)
  • Series 5: Artwork, 1958-1983, undated (boxes 1 and 5, 0.4 ft.)
  • Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1930-1992 (boxes 2 and 5, 0.7 ft.)
  • Series 7: Photographs, 1918-1992, undated (boxes 2, 5 and 6, 0.6 ft.)
  • Series 8: Miscellany, 1927-1989, undated (box 6, 7 folders)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Painter, sculptor, cartoonist, and illustrator Enrique Riverón was born in 1902 in Cienfuegos, Cuba and belonged to the first generation of Cuban modernists, experimenting with Cubism and pursuing abstraction from very early on in his career. During his early twenties Riverón traveled to France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain to study under scholarships and attend the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid. In 1926 Riverón's first major one-man exhibition took place at the Association Paris Amerique Latine where the catalog introduction was written by noted Mexican writer Alfonso Reyes.
In 1927 Riverón returned to Havana and had a one-man show of his European work at the Asociación de Pintores y Escultores, as well as several other shows in Havana and New York. He moved to the United States in 1930 and became a United States citizen in 1943.
In addition to being known for his naturalistic drawings of street life in Paris and Cuba, Riverón began working with collage in the 1930s and was, for a number of years, a cartoonist for newspapers in Havana and other publications such as The New Yorker and Cine Mundial which was published in New York and widely circulated in Latin America. He also worked in Hollywood for a time as an illustrator for Walt Disney Pictures.
From 1940 on, Riverón focused on painting and sculpture. He moved to Miami from Wichita, Kansas, in 1964. Enrique Riverón died in 1998.

Administration

Author
Stephanie L. Ashley
Provenance
The Enrique Riverón papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Patricia Riverón Lee, daughter of Riverón, in 1996.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Rosa M. Fernandez in 1997. The finding aid was written by Stephanie Ashley in 2002.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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
Enrique Riverón papers, 1918-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Material
The Archives of American Art also has a collection of Enrique Riverón letters to Mario Carreño, 1981-1990, in which Riverón writes of their mutual friends, his memories of Cuba, health issues, politics, pricing paintings, collages, and his longings for Paris and New York.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Artists -- Florida -- Miami Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrators Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cuban American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- Cuba Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Expatriate artists -- Florida -- Miami Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cuban American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Magazine illustration Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Caricatures and cartoons Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cartoonists Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- Florida -- Miami Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Latino and Latin American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wichita State University -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yunkers, Adja, 1900-1983 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sicre, Juan José -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Salinas, Baruj Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Russell, Rosalind -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Waguermert, Luis Gomez -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neruda, Pablo, 1904-1973 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peláez, Amelia, 1897-1968 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pidgeon, Walter, 1897- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Prohias, Antonio Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rebajes, Pauline Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Diego, Julio, 1900- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
García Lorca, Federico, 1898-1936 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carreño, Mario -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gattorno, Antonio Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tamayo, Rufino, 1899-1991 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gómez Sicre, José Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Siqueiros, David Alfaro, 1896-1974 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reed, Alma M. -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kiki, 1901-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lozano Castro, Alfredo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Milland, Ray -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bermúdez, Cundo, 1914-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cantinflas, 1911-1993 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cugat, Xavier, 1900- -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carreño, Mario Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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