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Archives of American Art
A Finding Aid to the Pietro Lazzari Papers, 1878-1998, in the Archives of American Art
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.lazzpiet
- Creators:
-
Lazzari, Pietro, 1898-1979
- Dates:
-
1878-1998
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
12.84 Linear feet
- Repository:
The papers of muralist and sculptor, Pietro Lazzari, measure 12.84 linear feet and date from 1878 to 1998. The papers document Lazzari's life and career through biographical material, correspondence, business records, notes, writings, artwork, photographs, and printed material.
Scope and Content Note
Scope and Content Note
The papers of muralist and sculptor, Pietro Lazzari, measure 12.84 linear feet and date from 1878 to 1998. The collection documents Lazzari's life and career through biographical material, correspondence, business records, notes, writings, artwork, photographs, and printed material.
Biographical material includes biographical sketches and various identification documents. Correspondence comprises letters exchanged between Lazzari, family members, and colleagues and includes about a hundred letters concerning post office murals in several states.
Notebooks contain drawings and annotated diagrams in addition to notes on artwork and designs for inventions. Writings are both by and about Lazzari and include autobiographical material. Artwork includes sketchbooks, loose sketches, prints, and paintings.
Almost a quarter of the collection consists of photographs which include images of Lazzari, his family and colleagues, and gallery installations. Also found are photographs of several notable individuals.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as ten series according to material type. For each series, material within folders is arranged chronologically. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1880-1980 (box 1; 4 folders)
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1895-1998, undated (boxes 1-2; 1.7 linear ft.)
- Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1925-1993, undated (box 2; 0.4 linear ft.)
- Series 4: Notes, 1915-1979, undated (boxes 3, 13, OV 14; 1 linear ft.)
- Series 5: Writings, 1910-1979, undated (box 4, 13; 0.4 linear ft.)
- Series 6: Artwork, 1918-1979, undated (boxes 4-5, 13, OV 14; 0.9 linear ft.)
- Series 7: Printed Material, 1905-1994, undated (boxes 5-8, 13, OV 14; 3.8 linear ft.)
- Series 8: Photographs, 1878-1980, undated (boxes 8-13, MGP 1, MGP 4; 3.8 linear ft.)
- Series 9: Motion Picture Film, undated (FC 15; 1 film can)
- Series 10: Artifact, undated (box 12; 1 folder)
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
Pietro Lazzari was born in Rome, on May 15, 1898. At the age of 15, he was apprenticed to Roman sculptor, Jerace. Four years on the Italian front in World War I interrupted his studies, until he could return to the Ornamental School of Rome, where he received a Master Artist degree in 1922. Lazzari's first solo exhibition was at the Theatre of the Independents in Rome. He was also employed by newspaper Il Messaggero to illustrate articles with athletes' portraits.
Lazzari visited the United States in 1925, exhibiting in a group show at the New Gallery in the New York the following year. He also married American social worker Elizabeth Paine in 1926. After four more trips between the United States and Italy, he permanently settled in New York City in 1929. In addition to participating in major art exhibitions, he was hired by a New York newspaper to make courtroom sketches at the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. Divorcing his first wife in 1932, Lazzari married Evelyn Cohen in 1934, and became a U.S. citizen in 1936. Between 1936 and 1942, he worked on four post office murals for the U.S. Section of Fine Arts and began experimentation that led to his own method of painting in polychrome concrete.
In 1942, Lazzari moved to Washington, D.C. and participated in the war effort. He also taught painting and sculpture at The American University, and from 1948 to 1950, he headed the Art Department at Dumbarton College. In 1950, he received a Fulbright Fellowship for research in techniques of Etruscan Art.
Lazzari is known for his bronze busts of humanitarians, most notably Pope Paul VI, Adlai Stevenson, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Represented by the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, he was also very active in the Washngton, D.C. art community, where he was represented by the Caresse Crosby Gallery.
Pietro Lazzari died on May 1, 1979 in Bethesda, Maryland.
Administration
Author
Jean Fitzgerald
Sponsor
Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Provenance
The Pietro Lazzari papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1989 by Evelyn C. Lazzari, widow of Pietro Lazzari, and in 1998 by her estate.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Jean Fitzgerald in 1999. Glass plate negatives were re-housed in 2015 with a grant provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Motion picture film was inspected and re-housed with funding from the same source in 2017.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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.
Preferred Citation
Pietro Lazzari papers, 1878-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Material
Related Material
Also found in the Archives of American Art is one sound tape reel of a transcribed interview with Pietro Lazzari, conducted by Harlan Phillips in 1964.
Keywords
Archives of American Art
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