Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Judith Zilczer Papers, 1910-1995, bulk 1973-1995 in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.zilcjudt
Creators:
Zilczer, Judith
Dates:
1910-1995
bulk 1973-1995
Languages:
The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of curator, art historian, and author Judith Zilczer measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1910-1995, with the bulk of material dated 1973-1995. The papers contain project files and related correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, photographs, and printed material documenting her research as an independent art historian.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of curator, art historian, and author Judith Zilczer measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1910-1995, with the bulk of material dated 1973-1995. The papers contain project files and related correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, photographs, and printed material documenting her research as an independent art historian.
This collection documents the correspondence and research of Judith Zilczer pertaining to her doctoral dissertation, The Aftermath of the Armory Show, 1913-1918, where she examines the arguments of both artists and critics over the question of abstraction in art during the early period of the twentieth century. Research files include information on Sadakichi Hartmann, Thomas H. Benton, Manierre Dawson, Andrew Dasburg, John Quinn, Alfred Stieglitz, Michael Brenner, Robert J. Coady and Gorham Munson. Project files document Synchromism, the Forum Exhibit and the Hartley Symposium at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Richard Lindner Exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum. Written transcripts include "Robert J. Cody, Man of the Soil" and "Musical Analogy". Researchers should note that this collection does not include a copy of her doctoral thesis.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 2 series.
  • Series 1: Project Files, 1910-1995 (Box 1; 21 folders)
  • Series 2: Writings, circa 1980s (Box 1; 3 folders)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Judith Zilczer (1948-) was an art historian, author, and Curator Emerita of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. She organized more than two dozen exhibitions in her twenty-nine years at the museum, where she served as Historian, Curator of Paintings, and Acting Chief Curator. Her exhibition publications include Willem de Kooning from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection (1993), Richard Lindner: Paintings and Watercolors, 1948-1977 (1996), and Visual Music: Synaesthesia in Art and Music Since 1900 (2005). A 1975 graduate of the doctoral program of the University of Delaware, she wrote her thesis on The Aftermath of the Armory Show 1913-1918. She has received numerous awards, including the 2006 George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award of the Art Libraries Society of North America. Dr. Zilczer has written and lectured widely on modern and contemporary art and is a leading authority on the art of Willem de Kooning.

Administration

Author
Kristina Meltvedt
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Creator Judith Zilczer donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 2014.
Processing Information
This collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Kristina Meltvedt in 2017.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Preferred Citation
Judith Zilczer papers, 1910-1995, bulk 1973-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Paul Allen Reed conducted by Judith Zilczer, April 29, 1994.
Additionally, Papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1992-1998, donated by Judith Zilczer, can be found at Archives of American Art.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, D.C. holds a large collection of Judith K. Zilczer Papers, 1975-2003.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, Abstract Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Modern -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- Washington (D.C.) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- Washington (D.C.) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curators -- Washington (D.C.) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Synchromism (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coady, Robert J., 1881-1921 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dasburg, Andrew, 1887-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dawson, Manierre, 1887-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hartmann, Sadakichi, 1867-1944 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Linder, Richard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Munson, Gorham Bert, 1896-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Quinn, John, 1870-1924 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whitney Museum of American Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Armory Show (1913: New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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