Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Charles Schucker Papers, 1934-2001, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.schuchar
Creators:
Schucker, Charles, 1908-1998
Dates:
1934-2001
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of New York abstract painter and educator Charles Schucker measure 1.2 linear and date from 1934 to 2001. Schucker's career as a painter is documented by biographical material, letters, writings, subject files, printed material, artwork, and photographs.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of New York abstract painter and educator Charles Schucker measure 1.2 linear and date from 1934 to 2001. Schucker's career as a painter is documented by biographical material, letters, writings, subject files, printed material, artwork, and photographs.
Biographical material includes a video recording of a memorial tribute. Letters mostly relate to business arrangements with galleries and institutions. Among Schucker's writings are 9 notebooks, some of which include notes from his study abroad. Writings about Schucker include an unpublished manuscript by Valerie Velasquez Louzonis in which she discusses his childhood, travels, and his start as an artist. Subject files touch upon his association with Pratt Institute, Katonah Museum of Art, Yaddo, various galleries, his work with the Chicago WPA, and his friendship with Morris Louis. Over 60 years of artistic work are documented in exhibition catalogs and announcements. Artwork and sketchbooks from the 1930s and 1940s offer a glimpse of his earlier style of drawing.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 7 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1938, 1984-1999 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Letters, 1937-2001 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Writings, 1934-1998 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1940-1999 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1930s-1990s (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1930s-1940s (Box 2; 0.1 linear feet)
  • Series 7: Photographs, 1951-circa 1980s (Box 2; 0.1 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Charles L. Schucker (1908-1998), an abstract painter known for poured oil paintings on unprimed canvases, began his career in Chicago with the WPA before moving to New York City in 1946. He was also an educator and taught at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York for nearly 30 years.

Administration

Author
Rachel Salzmann
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lent for microfilming in 1971 by Charles Schucker and later donated with additional audio and video recordings in August 2011 by Carrie Schucker, the artist's daughter.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 80-81 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.
Processing Information
This collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared in 2013 by Rachel Salzmann. The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase information about and access to more of our collections.
Minimal processing included arrangement to the series, subseries, and folder levels. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with folder titles, but not arranged further. Folders within boxes were not numbered. The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders, but not all staples and clips were removed.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
The Charles Schucker Papers, 1934-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Katonah Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pratt Institute Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yaddo (Artist's colony) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Louis, Morris, 1912-1962 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal Art Project (Ill.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Louzonis, Valerie Velasquez Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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