Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Ary Stillman Papers, 1924-1983, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.stilary
Creators:
Stillman, Ary, 1891-1967
Dates:
1924-1983
Languages:
English
,
French
.
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of Ary Stillman measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1924 to 1983. The papers document his career as a painter through reminiscences, a diary, and other writings on art; a video recorded conversation with Frances Stillman on her husband Ary, a documentary on Stillman's art career, correspondence, a file of photographs of artwork, list of artwork, and other professional activity; clippings, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of Ary Stillman measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1924 to 1983. The papers document his career as a painter through reminiscences, a diary, and other writings on art; a video recorded conversation with Frances Stillman on her husband Ary, a documentary on Stillman's art career, correspondence, a file of photographs of artwork, list of artwork, and other professional activity; clippings, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series.
  • Series 1: Writings, 1928-1952 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 2: Professional Activity Files, 1944-1983 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
  • Series 3: Printed Material, 1924-1979 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Ary Stillman (1891-1967) was painter in New York, N.Y. He was born in Russia and emigrated to the United States as a child. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Academy of Design. In 1921 he moved to Paris and participated in numerous exhibitions there over the next twelve years. Stillman returned to the United States in 1933. When the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed, Stillman shifted his focus to abstract works, and by 1948, his work was completely non-objective. Stillman died in 1967. The Stillman-Lack Foundation was founded after his death in accordance with his wishes.

Administration

Author
Ricky Gomez
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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 99-100, 1773 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. 35mm microfilm reel 1772 is unavailable through interlibrary loan until restriction is lifted.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Papters were donated in 1967 and 1980 by Frances Stillman, Ary Stillman's widow and president of the Stillman-Lack Foundation (http://www.stillmanlack.org/); she donated the videos in 1985. Material on reel 1772 and the scrapbook on reel 1773 were lent for microfilming by the Stillman-Lack Foundation, 1980.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm material lent for microfilming (reels 1772-1773) including correspondence, 1976-1979, between Frances Stillman and Clement Greenberg regarding Ary's work; a 109 page reminiscence, dictated by Stillman and supplemented by Frances, covering his early life, his move to the United States, and subsequent trips abroad; excerpts from Frances' diary; and Stillman's remarks about his art. Loaned materials were returned to the Stillman-Lack Foundation in Houston, Texas and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2020.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Reel 1772: ACCESS RESTRICTED: written permission required.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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.
Preferred Citation
Ary Stillman papers, 1924-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diaries Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stillman, Frances Fribourg Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stillman-Lack Foundation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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