Roszak, Theodore, 1907-1981

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Theodore Roszak (May 1, 1907 – September 2, 1981) was a Polish-American sculptor and painter. He was born in Posen, Prussia (German Empire), now Poznań, Poland, as a son of Polish parents, and emigrated to the United States at the age of two. From 1925 to 1926 he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, In 1930 he won the Logan Medal of the Arts, then moved to New York City to take classes at the National Academy of Design with George Luks and at Columbia University, where he studied logic and philosophy.

Roszak established a studio in New York City in 1932 and worked as an artist for the Works Progress Administration during the depression before going back to Chicago to teach at the Art Institute. He taught at Sarah Lawrence College throughout the 1940s and 1950s and at Columbia University from 1970 to 1973. He was a participating artist at the documenta II in Kassel 1959 and at the Venice Biennale in 1960. Roszak's sculpture, at first closer to Constructivism and displaying an industrial aesthetic, changed after around 1946 to a more expressionistic style.

Roszak was affiliated with the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the American Academy in Rome, and the National Academy of Design. He served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1963 to 1969. He received the Logan Medal of the Arts (1930), a Tiffany Foundation Fellowship (1931), and the Eisendrath Award of the Art Institute of Chicago (1934). Roszak was also an accomplished violinist, and liked to use musical references in his artworks. Roszak died in New York City, where he lived.

Roszak sculpted the 35-foot (11 m) gilded aluminum eagle on the pediment of the former US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Joan Seeman papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Roszak, Theodore, 1907-1981. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
creatorOf Roszak, Theodore. Roszak, Theodore : [photography bio file]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Guild Art Gallery records Archives of American Art
referencedIn Ezio Martinelli Papers, 1927-1968 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Roszak, Theodore : Biographical file. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
referencedIn American Federation of Arts records Archives of American Art
creatorOf Roszak, Theodore, 1907-1981. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Roszak, Theodore, 1907-1981. Theodore Roszak papers, 1930-1980. Getty Research Institute
referencedIn Roszak, Theodore, 1907-1981 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf De Mille, Richard, 1922-. The Richard De Mille Collection, 1959-1979. University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB Library
creatorOf International Association of Art Critics panel discussions Archives of American Art
creatorOf Belle Krasne Ribicoff papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Theodore Roszak papers, 1926-1994, 1930-1980 Getty Research Institute
referencedIn Pierre Matisse Gallery printed material Archives of American Art
referencedIn Belle Krasne Ribicoff papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Rhys Caparn Papers, 1932-1973 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Remo Farruggio papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Theodore Roszak papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Yaddo records, 1870-1980 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn José de Creeft papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Roszak, Theodore, 1907-1981. Theodore J. Roszak : 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
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Oral history interview with Theodore Roszak Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Peter Agostini Archives of American Art
Relation Name
associatedWith Agostini, Peter person
associatedWith American Federation of Arts corporateBody
associatedWith Barr, Alfred Hamilton, 1902- person
associatedWith Bellows, George, 1882-1925. person
associatedWith Caparn, Rhys, 1909- person
associatedWith De Creeft, José, 1884-1982. person
associatedWith De Mille, Richard, 1922- person
associatedWith Farruggio, Remo, 1906-1981. person
associatedWith Goodrich, Lloyd, 1897- person
associatedWith Guild Art Gallery (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 1872-1930. person
associatedWith International Association of Art Critics. corporateBody
associatedWith Luks, George Benjamin, 1867-1933. person
associatedWith Martinelli, Ezio, 1913- person
associatedWith Matisse, Pierre, 1900-1989. person
associatedWith Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946 person
associatedWith Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington), 1920- person
associatedWith Pierre Matisse Gallery (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Ribicoff, Belle Krasne, 1924- person
associatedWith Saarinen, Aline B. (Aline Bernstein), 1914-1972. person
associatedWith Saarinen, Eero, 1910-1961. person
associatedWith Seeman, Joan French. person
associatedWith Smith, David, 1906-1965. person
associatedWith Sweet, Frederick A. (Frederick Arnold), 1903-1984. person
associatedWith Yaddo (Artist's colony) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York City NY US
Republic of Poland 00 PL
Subject
Abstract expressionism
Art, American
Sculpture, American
Art
Art and state
Art teachers
Constructivism (Art)
Painters
Painters
Painting, Modern
Public art
Public art
Sculptors
Sculptors
Sculpture, Abstract
Sculpture, Modern
Occupation
Artist
Painter
Photographers
Sculptor
Activity

Person

Birth 1907-05-01

Death 1981-09-02

Male

Poles,

Americans

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 85812892