Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Day N. Schnabel papers, circa 1910-1991, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.schnday
Creators:
Schnabel, Day N., 1905-1991
Dates:
circa 1910-1991
Languages:
The collection is in English, German, and French.
Physical Description:
3 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Day N. Schnabel measure 3 linear feet and date from circa 1910-1991. The papers depict Schnabel's career as both a sculptor and painter in Paris, France, and the United States during the Great Depression and beyond. The papers include biographical materials, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed and photographic material, and artwork.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Day N. Schnabel papers measure 3 linear feet and date from circa 1910-1991. Biographical materials include Schnabel's resume, a certificate for Who's Who in the World, and documents relating to her husband's death. Correspondence is in German, French, and English and includes letters and holiday cards. Writings consist of articles, notebooks, and journals by Schnabel and materials by Schnabel's family. Personal business records include materials relating to various exhibitions Schnabel took part in as well as projects she completed for various institutions including UNESCO, the Smithsonian Institution, and correspondence with Schuler Verlagsgesellschaft, MBH a publishing company in Germany. Printed material includes exhibition announcements and catalogs, news clippings, art publications featuring Schnabel's work, and notated advertising catalogs and instruction manuals for sculpture tools. Photographic materials consist of photographs of Schnabel and her family and friends, a photograph album, and photos of Schnabel's artwork. Artwork includes sketches and a gifted painting by Jose Guerrero, as well as a sketchbook.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection consists of seven series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1966-1979 (.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1941-1978 (.2 Linear feet: Box 1)
  • Series 3: Writings, circa 1932-1991 (.7 Linear feet: Box 1)
  • Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1950-1972 (.1 Linear feet: Box 2)
  • Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1910-1978 (1.6 Linear feet: Boxes 2-3)
  • Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1910-1971 (.2 Linear feet: Box 3)
  • Series 7: Artwork, circa 1920-1972 (.1 Linear feet: Box 3)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Day N. Schnabel (1905-1991) was a sculptor and painter who worked primarily in both New York and Paris. She was born Daisy Nora Thalberg in Vienna, Austria. Her education consisted of studying sculpture and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 1915-1918. She continued these studies later in both Berlin and Florence. Schnabel also spent time studying architecture and sculpture under Barend Jordens in Holland. During World War Two, Schnabel was located in New York where she became an Irascible and worked on projects funded by the New Deal. She was also an associate of Ibram Lassaw, Jacques Lipchitz, and Jackson Pollock. After the war Schnabel relocated to Paris where she worked in the studios of Marcel Gimons, Charles Alexandre Malfray, and Ossip Zadkine. She was also associated with Constantin Brancusi, Emile Gilioli, and other prominent artists who influenced her work and style.
Schnabel's chosen mediums included welded steel, bronze, brass, marble, limestone, granite, cast stone, relief mural, found objects, gouache, ink, and other materials. She had many featured solo and group exhibitions while in New York and her artwork is now in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, The Blanton Museum of Art, Musée des Beaux-Arts des Nantes, the Walker Art center, and the Whitney Museum of American art.
Schnabel died in 1991 in Paris, France.

Administration

Author
Allessandra Liberati
Sponsor
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Day N. Schnabel papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Day N. Schnabel in 1984.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 3815-3817 at the 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.
Processing Information
This collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared, by Allessandra Liberati in 2023.

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 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.
Preferred Citation
Day N. Schnabel papers, circa 1910-1991 Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- France -- Paris Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists' studios -- France -- Paris Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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