Archives of American Art

Will Shuster papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.shuswill
Creators:
Shuster, Will
Dates:
[undated] and 1914-1970
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
12 Reels
ca. 3000 items (on 12 microfilm reels)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Correspondence with John Sloan and others, writings, poems, original art works, scrapbooks, photographs, and Shuster's own descriptions of his work.
Scope and Contents
Reel NDA 3: Instructions, releases, speeches, manuscripts notes, photographs of Shuster's PWAP murals in New Mexico; and a typescript of a comedy written by Shuster.
Scope and Contents
Reels 169-177: 400 letters, 1917-1968, including correspondence with Robert Henri, Edgar Varese, John S. Velie, Walter Karig, and family members. Other materials consist of diaries, 1918, 1928, 1933-1934, 1937-1962, and 1964-1969; photographs of Shuster, family, and friends, and his work; original drawings, watercolors, oils and etchings; sketchbooks; poems, lectures, and stories by Shuster; a record of his works; scrapbooks, 1920-1928, 1923-1935, and 1935-1963; and material relating to John Sloan, who was Shuster's close friend and his teacher in 1920.
Scope and Contents
Reel 277: Materials relating to John Sloan, including letters from him 1922-1951; notes by Winifield Townley Scott recording conversations with Helen Shuster and Mrs. Sloan after Sloan's death and commenting on Sloan's work, tributes by Oliver LaFarge and others, and clippings. Additional correspondents are John Sheridan, Robert Henri, Warren Wheelock, Willard Nash, and the Veterans Administration, concerning Shuster's medical disability after having his lungs damaged by poisoned gas during the World War, 1914-1918. Also included are poems by Shuster, 1925-1939, and other Santa Fe residents, including Scott; and correspondence and printed material relating to Shuster's participation in various Santa Fe festivals.
Scope and Contents
Reel 4283: Five letters from Sloan to Shuster. Three letters are illustrated and contain detailed instructions and advice on etching technique. A fourth letter, dated Jan 2, 1922, includes a recipe for gesso preparation and an offer from Sloan to pay Shuster's entry fee to "show in the Independents." Sloan in his two page letter, dated January 3, 1947, comments on the pace of his work; his participation in a "Mr. & Mrs. Exhibition" at the Laurel Gallery; a production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Ice Man Cometh"; and the Whitney Annual.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Letters arranged chronologically.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Painter, printmaker, and writer active in Santa Fe, N.M.; b. 1893; d. 1969

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels NDA 3, 4283, 169-177, 277 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Letters from Sloan to Shuster: Originals in the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, De.
Existence and Location of Originals
All materials except John Sloan letters: Originals in the library of the Santa Fe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The material borrowed from Will Shuster in October 1964 (reel NDA 3) was part of a project of AAA to document New Deal art projects throughout the U.S. The bulk of the Will Shuster papers (reels 169-177, 277) were lent by his widow, Selma Dingee Shuster. Five letters from John Sloan (Reel 4283) were lent in 1989 by her estate.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, American -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art festivals Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- New Mexico Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art and state -- New Mexico Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal aid to the arts -- New Mexico Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- New Mexico Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- New Mexico Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Printmakers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Henri, Robert, 1865-1929 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
La Farge, Oliver, 1901-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scott, Winfield Townley, 1910-1968 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sheridan, John E., 1880-1948 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wheelock, Warren, 1880-1960 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nash, Willard Ayer, 1898-1943 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Karig, Walter, 1898- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sloan, John, 1871-1951 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Public Works of Art Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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