Biddle, George, 1885-1973

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George Biddle was an author and a widely exhibited artist who also contributed to national magazines. He died in 1973.

From the description of Business and personal papers, 1929-1943. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 122573566

B. 1885 d. 1973.

From the description of George Biddle artist file. (Whitney Museum of American Art). WorldCat record id: 228433040

American artist and Chairman, War Department Art Advisory Committee.

From the description of Typed letter signed : New York City, to John Steinbeck, 1943 Mar. 13. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 775677157

Painter, sculptor; Croton-on-Hudon, N.Y.

From the description of Oral history interview with George Biddle, 1963. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220191711

George Biddle was an American artist, perhaps best known as a printmaker and for his support of government funding for art and artists. Born in Philadelphia to a prominent Philadelphia family, Biddle was educated at the Groton School and Harvard. Rather than practice law, he chose to travel and study art. He served in World War I, and then continued his travels and studies, mingling with the Lost Generation in Paris. His early prints and paintings were admired as attractive, but considered somewhat lacking in theme; his art gradually became more sophisticated, commenting notably on social conditions in the United States. Biddle was a major supporter of social art, and worked with former classmate Franklin D. Roosevelt to form the Public Works of Art Project, as well as similar projects.

From the description of George Biddle letters and postcard to Francis Hyslop, 1947-1948. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 124067883

Painter, mural painter; Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

It was Biddle who recommended to long-time friend, Franklin Roosevelt, a federal relief art program for artists during the Depression, giving rise to the Public Works of Art Project and subsequent art projects of the Treasury Department and Works Progress Administration. Biddle painted the murals for the Department of Justice in 1935 under the Section of Painting and Sculpture which later became the Section of Fine Arts, as well as several other mural commissions for the government. He died in 1973.

From the description of George Biddle papers, 1910-1969. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220150329

Biddle, a painter, Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., is known as the person responsible for recommending to Franklin Roosevelt a federal art program for artists, giving rise to the Public Works of Art Project and subsequent art projects of the Treasury Department and Works Progress Administration.

Biddle's drawings from World War II were published in Artist At War (New York: The Viking Press, 1944).

From the description of George Biddle letters to Constance Biddle, 1943-1945. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122553246

Biographical Note

  • 1885, Jan. 24: Born, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • 1898 - 1904 : Attended Groton School, Groton, Mass.
  • 1908: Spent six months working as a cowhand in Texas and Mexico
  • 1908 - 1911 : A.B. and LL.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
  • 1912 - 1916 : Attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pa.; studied printmaking in Munich, Germany; spent summers painting in France with Frederick Frieseke
  • 1917: Married Anne ("Nancy") Coleman (divorced) Enlisted in the United States Army; commissioned a first lieutenant
  • 1917 - 1919 : Served on the general staff, First Army Corps, in battles at Marne, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne, France
  • 1920: Lived in Tautira, Tahiti, with periodic trips to New York
  • 1924: Moved to Paris, France
  • 1925: Married Jane Belo (divorced)
  • 1927: Settled in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.
  • 1928: Accompanied Diego Rivera on a sketching trip through Mexico
  • 1930: Published Green Island. New York, N.Y.: Coward-McCann
  • 1931: Married Hélène Sardeau (died 1969); spent most of the next two years in Rome, Italy
  • 1933: Advocated the establishment of a mural program for public buildings as part of the Federal Art Project
  • 1939: Published An American Artist's Story. Boston: Little, Brown
  • 1942 - 1945 : Chairman, War Department Art Advisory Committee
  • 1942: Created murals and sculpture with Hélène Sardeau for the Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • 1944: Sketched and wrote George Biddle's War Drawings. New York: Hyperion Press Published Artist At War. New York: Viking Press
  • 1944 - 1945 : Designed and executed a mural with Hélène Sardeau for the supreme court building, Mexico City, Mexico
  • 1945: Reporter and artist, Nuremberg War Crime Trials, Nuremberg, Germany
  • 1950 - 1954 : Served on the United States Commission of Fine Arts
  • 1957: Published The Yes and No of Contemporary Art. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press
  • 1968: Published Tahitian Journal. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press
  • 1973, Nov. 6: Died, Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

From the guide to the George Biddle Papers, 1863-1973, (bulk 1916-1973), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894-1962. Papers, 1870-1969 Houghton Library
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Business and personal papers, 1929-1943. Winterthur Library
referencedIn Hugo Gellert Papers, Bulk, 1934-1944, 1934-1980s, (Bulk 1934-1944) Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894-1962. Additional papers, 1870-1969. Houghton Library
creatorOf William Bond Walker correspondence Archives of American Art
creatorOf Wilbur D. Peat correspondence Archives of American Art
creatorOf Katharine Kuh papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Danielson, Richard Ely, 1885-1957. Richard Ely Danielson papers, 1940-1948. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Norman Kent papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Biddle, George, 1885-1974 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Witter Bynner papers, 1829-1965. Houghton Library
creatorOf John Barber papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Jacques Zucker papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf George Biddle Papers, 1863-1973, (bulk 1916-1973) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Katharine Kuh papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Max Weber papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Leon Kroll papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Abraham Walkowitz papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Chaim Gross Papers, 1937-1964 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf William Schack papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Bedell family. Biddle family letters, 1777-1973 (bulk 1860-1960). Georgetown University, Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-. George Biddle : artist file : study photographs and reproductions of works of art with accompanying documentation 1930?-1990 [graphic] [compiled by staff of The Museum of Modern Art, New York]. Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection
creatorOf William Benton papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Federal art program papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry L. Hopkins Archives of American Art
referencedIn Abraham Walkowitz papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1922-1971, n.d. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Richard Ely Danielson papers, 1940-1948 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn John Henry Bradley Storrs papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection Archives of American Art
creatorOf National Society of Mural Painters records Archives of American Art
creatorOf Leon Kroll papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf George Biddle letters to Constance Biddle Archives of American Art
creatorOf Adolf Dehn papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Correspondence with Wanda Gág, 1929, n.d. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Papers, 1927-1964. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Waldo Peirce Papers, 1889-1985 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Henry Varnum Poor papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George. [George Biddle] : artist file John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Library, Ringling Museum Library
creatorOf Sidney Simon papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Raphael Soyer papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Biddle, George : Biographical file. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
creatorOf Clifford Wight papers relating to Diego Rivera Archives of American Art
referencedIn Milch Gallery records Archives of American Art
creatorOf Henry Varnum Poor papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894-1962. Additional papers, 1917-1962 and undated. Houghton Library
referencedIn T. M. Cleland Papers, 1880-1964, (bulk 1920-1963) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Ralph and Bena Frank Mayer papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Edward Bruce papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Mary Butler papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Maurice Sterne papers Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Raphael Soyer papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Alexander Brook papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Joe Lasker Papers, 1934-1969 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Letter, 1940, to Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Milch Gallery records Archives of American Art
referencedIn Abraham Walkowitz papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Typed letter signed : New York City, to John Steinbeck, 1943 Mar. 13. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn George Platt Lynes photographs Archives of American Art
referencedIn A. Hyatt Mayor papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf George Biddle papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Kruse, Alexander Z., 1888-1972. Papers of Alexander Z. Kruse, 1890-1972 (bulk 1930s-1960s). Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Reminiscences by contemporaries of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934-1973. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Correspondence with Van Wyck Brooks, 1933-1963. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Papers of Samuel Eliot Morison Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn George Grosz papers, 1893-1981 (inclusive) 1919-1959 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Henry Allen Moe Papers, 1920-1975 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Abraham Rattner and Esther Gentle papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Edward Bruce papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn David E. Finley papers, 1921-1977 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Abraham Rattner and Esther Gentle papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. George Biddle : [vertical file]. Morris Museum of Art Library
referencedIn Helene Sardeau papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. George Biddle artist file. Whitney Museum of American Art, Library
referencedIn Mary Butler papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Frank Weitenkampf letters Archives of American Art
referencedIn Bullitt, William C. (William Christian), 1891-1967. William C. Bullitt papers, 1813-1998 (inclusive), 1909-1967 (bulk). Yale University Library
referencedIn Georgina Klitgaard Papers, 1917-1965 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-. Pekinese [original print]. Denver Public Library, Central Library
creatorOf Marie Sterner and Marie Sterner Gallery papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Max Weber papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf John Henry Bradley Storrs papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Biddle, George, 1885-1973. George Biddle letters and postcard to Francis Hyslop, 1947-1948. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
creatorOf Alfred Levitt papers Archives of American Art
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Karl E. Fortess interviews with artists Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Kenneth M. Adams Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with James Brooks Archives of American Art
creatorOf Oral history interview with Adolph Glassgold Archives of American Art
creatorOf Oral history interview with George Biddle Archives of American Art
Relation Name
associatedWith Adams, Kenneth M. person
correspondedWith Aiken, Conrad, 1889-1973 person
associatedWith American Artists Group. corporateBody
associatedWith Bacon, Peggy, 1895-1987. person
associatedWith Barber, John, 1893-1965. person
correspondedWith Bedell family. family
associatedWith Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975. person
associatedWith Benton, William, 1900-1973. person
associatedWith Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959. person
associatedWith Biddle, Constance. person
correspondedWith Biddle, Francis, 1886-1968 person
associatedWith Billings, Henry, 1901- person
associatedWith Borie, Adolphe, 1877-1934. person
associatedWith Brewer, Bessie Marsh, d. 1952. person
associatedWith Brook, Alexander, 1898-1980. person
associatedWith Brooks, James, 1906- person
associatedWith Brooks, Van Wyck, 1886-1963. person
associatedWith Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943. person
associatedWith Bullitt, William C. (William Christian), 1891-1967. person
associatedWith Butler, Mary person
associatedWith Butler, Mary. person
correspondedWith Bynner, Witter, 1881-1968 person
associatedWith Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960. person
correspondedWith Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926 person
correspondedWith Chapin, Katherine Garrison, 1890-1977 person
correspondedWith Cheever, John person
correspondedWith Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland), 1880-1964 person
associatedWith Contreras, Belisario R., 1916- person
correspondedWith Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894-1962 person
associatedWith Danielson, Richard Ely, 1885-1957. person
associatedWith Dehn, Adolf, 1895-1968. person
associatedWith Demuth, Charles, 1883-1935. person
associatedWith Diederich, William Hunt, 1884-1953. person
correspondedWith Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898-1980 person
associatedWith Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973. person
associatedWith Federal Art Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Finley, David E. (David Edward) person
associatedWith Fortess, Karl E. (Karl Eugene), 1907- person
associatedWith Gellert, Hugo, 1892-1985 person
associatedWith George Biddle, person
associatedWith Gross, Chaim, 1904- person
associatedWith Grosz, George, 1893-1959. person
associatedWith Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970. person
associatedWith Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943. person
correspondedWith Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963 person
associatedWith Hyslop, Francis E. (Francis Edwin), 1909-1979, person
associatedWith Jackson, Gardner, 1896-1965. person
correspondedWith James, William, 1842-1910 person
associatedWith John Herron Art Institute. corporateBody
associatedWith Kent, Norman, 1903-1972. person
associatedWith Klitgaard, Georgina, 1893- person
associatedWith Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974. person
associatedWith Kruse, Alexander Z., 1888-1972. person
associatedWith Kuh, Katharine. person
associatedWith Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953. person
associatedWith Lankes, Julius J., 1884-1960. person
associatedWith Lasker, Joe Archives. person
associatedWith Levitt, Alfred H. (Alfred Hofmann), 1894-2000. person
correspondedWith Lippmann, Walter, 1889-1974 person
associatedWith Lynes, George Platt, 1907-1955. person
correspondedWith Mailer, Norman person
correspondedWith Mann, Thomas, 1875-1955 person
associatedWith Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954. person
associatedWith Mayer, Ralph, 1895- person
associatedWith Mayor, A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt), 1901-1980. person
associatedWith Milch Gallery. corporateBody
associatedWith Miller, George C. person
associatedWith Miller, Kenneth Hayes, 1876-1952. person
associatedWith Moe, Henry Allen, 1894-1975. person
associatedWith Morison, Samuel Eliot, 1887-1976. person
correspondedWith Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990 person
associatedWith Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith National Society of Mural Painters (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith National Society of Mural Painters (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project. corporateBody
correspondedWith Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 person
associatedWith Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949. person
associatedWith Pascin, Jules, 1885-1930. person
associatedWith Peirce, Waldo, 1884-1970. person
associatedWith Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington), 1920- person
associatedWith Poor, Anne, 1918- person
associatedWith Poor, Henry Varnum person
associatedWith Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970. person
associatedWith Pound, Ezra, 1885-1972. person
associatedWith Public Works of Art Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Rattner, Abraham. person
associatedWith Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957. person
associatedWith Robinson, Boardman, 1876-1952. person
correspondedWith Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 person
correspondedWith Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962 person
associatedWith Roosevelt family. family
associatedWith Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945. person
associatedWith Rubinstein, Helena, 1870-1965. person
correspondedWith Saint-John Perse, 1887-1975 person
correspondedWith Santayana, George, 1863-1952 person
associatedWith Sardeau, Hélène, 1899-1969. person
associatedWith Schack, William, b. 1898. person
associatedWith Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969. person
associatedWith Simon, Sidney, 1917-1997. person
associatedWith Siqueiros, David Alfaro. person
associatedWith Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987. person
associatedWith Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968, person
associatedWith Sterne, Maurice, 1878-1957. person
associatedWith Sterner, Marie, 1880-1953. person
associatedWith Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. person
associatedWith Storrs, John Henry Bradley, 1885-1956. person
associatedWith Tamayo, Rufino, 1899- person
correspondedWith Tate, Allen, 1899-1979 person
associatedWith The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Library. corporateBody
correspondedWith Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 person
associatedWith United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Treasury Dept. Public Works Board, Procurement Division. Section of Painting and Sculpture. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. War Department. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. War Dept. Art Advisory Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. War Dept. Art Advisory Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith Walker, William Bond, 1930- person
associatedWith Walkowitz, Abraham, 1880-1965. person
associatedWith Weber, Max person
associatedWith Weber, Max, 1881-1961. person
associatedWith Weitenkampf, Frank, 1866-1962. person
correspondedWith Wheelock, John Hall, 1886-1978 person
associatedWith Whitney Museum of American Art. corporateBody
associatedWith Wight, Clifford, 1900-ca.1960. person
correspondedWith Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972 person
correspondedWith Wister, Owen, 1860-1938 person
correspondedWith Wood, Grant, 1891-1942 person
correspondedWith Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959 person
correspondedWith Wyeth, Andrew, 1917-2009 person
correspondedWith Zorach, Marguerite, 1887-1968 person
associatedWith Zorach, William, 1887-1966. person
associatedWith Zucker, Jacques, 1900- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Philadelphia (Pa.)
New York (State)--New York
United States
New York (State)
United States
United States
New York (State)
Subject
Art, American
Art
Art and state
Art and war
Artists
Artists
Arts
Arts
Courthouses
Dogs in art
Federal aid to the arts
Federal aid to the arts
Lithography, American
Mural Painters
Mural painting and decoration
Mural painting and decoration, American
Mural painting and decoration, American
New Deal, 1933-1939
Painters
Pekingese dog
Public art
Sculptors
War crime trials
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945
Occupation
Artists
Public officials
Activity

Person

Birth 1885-01-24

Death 1973-11-06

Americans

Information

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SNAC ID: 30924227