Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Gustav Rehberger Papers, 1924-2004, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.rehbgust
Creators:
Rehberger, Gustav, 1910-1995
Dates:
1924-2004
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5.4 Linear feet
Repository:
The Gustav Rehberger papers measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1924 to 2004. His career as an illustrator, painter, educator, and performance artist is documented by correspondence, scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and sound and video recordings. A small addition contains printed material, artwork, and photographic material primarily documenting Rehberger's career as an illustrator for magazines, books, advertising, movies, and television.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The Gustav Rehberger papers measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1924 to 2004. His career as an illustrator, painter, educator, and performance artist is documented by correspondence, scrapbooks, printed material, photographs, and sound and video recordings. A small addition contains printed material, artwork, and photographic material primarily documenting Rehberger's career as an illustrator for magazines, books, advertising, movies, and television.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
  • Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 2003 (Box 1; 1 folder)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1938-2003 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Scrapbooks, 1924-2004; (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Printed Material, 1937-1972; (Boxes 2, 6, OV 7; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Artwork, 1927-1942 (Boxes 2, 6; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Photographs, 1927-1995 (Boxes 2-3, 6; 1.2 linear feet)
  • Series 7: Sound and Video Recordings, 1972-1995 (Boxes 4-5; 0.5 linear feet)
  • Series 8: Addition to the Gustav Rehberger papers, 1937-1992 (Boxes 8-9, OV 10; 1.4 linear feet)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Gustav Rehberger (1910-1995) was an illustrator, designer, painter, educator, and performance artist in New York City.
The Rehberger family emigrated from Austria to Chicago in 1923. At age 14, Rehberger began studying at the Art Institute of Chicago on a scholarship that continued for three years. While still a teenager, he also was enrolled in The Art Instruction Schools, Minneapolis. After declining two college scholarships, he worked as a graphic designer and illustrator to help support his family during the Depression. From 1929-1942, he was Art Director at Reuben H. Donnelly Corporation in Chicago, publishers of telephone directories.
During World War II, the Wartime Committee of the Society of Typographic Artists commissioned Rehberger to paint two murals for the interior of Chicago's Union Station (1942). He moved to New York City in 1943 and soon enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces. While in the service, Rehberger was assigned to the Illustrations and Format Branch where he created visual training aids.
After the war, Rehberger's illustrations appeared in the national advertising campaigns of Celanese Chemicals, Philip Morris and Sheraton Hotels; were featured in major newspaper and magazines such as Chicago Daily Tribune, The New York Times, and Esquire; and in various Christian publications.
In order to focus on painting, in 1969 Rehberger ceased commercial work. From 1972-1993 he taught drawing, anatomy, and composition at the Art Students League of New York. He also became interested in performance art. Evolving out of his classroom drawing demonstrations, Rehberger's performances - the act of painting and drawing before a live audience - soon moved to formal performance spaces and often were accompanied by recorded music.
Throughout his career, Rehberger participated in numerous group shows and was the recipient of many awards and prizes. He also had a number of solo exhibitions, among them shows at the Society of Illustrators in New York, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and National Gallery of Art in London.
Gustav Rehberger died in New York City on July 22, 1995.

Administration

Author
Justin Brancato and Hilary Price
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The Gustav Rehberger papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2004 and 2016 by his widow, Pamela Demme.
Processing Information
This collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Justin Brancato in 2007. The addition was processed and the finding aid updated by Hilary Price in 2017.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Gustav Rehberger papers, 1924-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on 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
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Performance artists -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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