Balcomb and Gertrude Greene papers

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Balcomb and Gertrude Greene papers

circa 1880s-2009

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d511d161-4c2b-4b76-8ba7-32ae83aa85af

The Balcomb and Gertrude Greene papers, circa 1880s-2009, bulk circa 1905-1990, measure 9.8 linear feet. Balcomb Greene's career as a painter, educator, and writer - and to a lesser extent his personal life - is documented by biographical material, letters, subject files,writings, artwork, audio-visual recordings, printed material, and photographs. Documentation about sculptor Gertrude Greene, from 1926 until her death in 1956, consists of printed material, photographs, two letters to her, and a brief handwritten list of paintings and constructions.All biographical material relates to Balcomb Greene. Letters are almost exclusively incoming letters; two copies of outgoing letters written by Terryn Greene are included. Those addressed to Balcomb Greene regard articles, his will, an appraisal of a painting by him, and greeting cards with notes from friends. The two letters addressed to Gertrude Greene are photocopies. One from A. E. Gallatin concerns her work selected for the permanent collection of the Museum of Living Art at New York University; the other, a fragment from an unidentified correspondent, is about American Abstract Artists dues and exhibitions. The letters addressed to Terryn Greene concern her husband's career or mention him.Subject files relate to activities and topics of interest to Greene or aspects of Greene's career; some concern estate matters. Of particular interest are: "Balcomb and Gertrude Greene in the WPA," consisting of Terryn Greene's research correspondence on the subject; and a file documenting a Judith Rothschild Foundation grant for conservation of paintings damaged in the 1996 fire that destroyed Balcomb Greene's studio.Writings are by Balcomb Greene, Gertrude Greene, and other authors. Balcomb's writings include articles, novels, short stories, poems, journal entries, lecture notes, student writings, and a thesis. Gertrude Greene's writings consist of a handwritten list of paintings and constructions, noting the dimensions, date, and price of each piece. The writings of other authors are about Balcomb and Gertrude Greene. They include notes for an interview, a poem, student papers, and a thesis.Art work consists of a collage probably by Balcomb Greene, and a sketchbook containing two of his drawings dated January 1976. Another drawing is signed [H?.] R. Balcomb Greene's register of paintings documents each completed painting on a separate sheet containing a small photograph or sketch, title, date of execution, and code or negative number, along with notes relating to exhibitions, loans, and ownership; some sheets bear the notation "destroyed." The register is incomplete, and the surviving portion bears evidence of the 1996 fire that gutted his studio. The least damaged portion documents works from 1941-1948, 1963-1964, and 1980-1982; the remaining part of the register consists of partial pages that are missing titles, dates of execution, or other salient information.Exhibition catalogs and articles from newspapers and periodicals represent the majority of the printed material about or mentioning Balcomb and Gertrude Greene. In addition, there are articles by Balcomb published in a number of periodicals. Museum publications, annual reports, bulletins and newsletters mention the Greenes. Also found are issues of <emph render="italic">Art Front</emph>, 1934-1938 (Balcomb served on the editorial board and contributed articles), and his well-used copy of <emph render="italic">Modern Art</emph> by Katherine S. Drier.Audio-visual recordings consist of interviews with Balcomb Greene and a "McCarthy tape" (Balcomb and Terryn helped organize "Montauk's Day for McCarthy"). Among the video recordings is a videocassette of Greene's 1990 memorial service.Photographs are of art work, events, exhibition installations, miscellaneous subjects, people, and places. Art work of both Balcomb and Gertrude is documented. Among the photographs of people are images of Balcomb Greene, Gertrude Greene, Terryn Greene, family, friends and other individuals (identified and unidentified). Greene family photographs, some surviving from the 19th century, portray three generations. Photographs of events include documentation of the damage caused by the 1996 fire that destroyed Balcomb Greene's studio. Installation photographs document exhibitions that featured Balcomb Greene, the couple, and Gertrude Greene. Of particular interest is a view of Gertrude's contribution to the American Abstract Artists' 1937 show at Squibb Gallery. Miscellaneous subjects are Greene's Rolls Royce and pets. Places recorded include Greene's boyhood homes and churches, the house Balcomb built at Montauk, Gertrude's studio, and travel pictures of Europe and Asia. Also found are a small number of negatives, 35-mm slides, and color transparencies of art work, miscellaneous subjects, and people.

Archives of American Art

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6630517

Archives of American Art

Related Entities

There are 13 Entities related to this resource.

Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fz1734 (corporateBody)

Art organization; New York, N.Y. From the description of New directions in American painting and sculpture, 1960 Apr. 13. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122502730 Art association; New York, N.Y. Founded 1940 as an alternative to the Artists' Congress. From the description of Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors records, 1940-1975. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122291598 ...

Namuth, Hans

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p26xdj (person)

Photographer, filmmaker; New York, N.Y.; d. 1990. From the description of Oral history interview with Hans Namuth, 1971 Aug. 12-1971 Sept. 8 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81603857 Hans Namuth (1915 -1990) was a photographer and a filmmaker from New York, N.Y. From the description of Oral history interview with Hans Namuth, 1971 Aug. 12-Sept. 8 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 495595056 Photographer, filmmaker; New Yor...

Greene, Terryn.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6155v20 (person)

Fortess, Karl E. (Karl Eugene), 1907-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64b3jqp (person)

Fortess was a painter and printmaker, b. 1907 in Belgium. [Fortess died in 1993.]. From the description of Karl E. Fortess taped interviews with artists, [1963-1985]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81173100 Nathaniel Kaz (1917- ) is an American sculptor and artist known for his bronze pieces and religious drawings; he studied at the Art Students League of New York and the Cooper Union Art School, and later taught at the Art Students League. Karl Fortess (1907-1993) was a Bel...

Sekola, Lenore.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65443jp (person)

Gore, Marian L.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60p24bm (person)

Gore was a volunteer interviewer for Pacifica radio station KPFK, Los Angeles. From the description of KPFK "Art Scene" interviews, 1962-1964 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81548778 ...

United States. Works Progress Administration

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67b4x1k (corporateBody)

Organizational History President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935 as a part of his New Deal to curtail the Depression's effects on the United States. The WPA attempted to provide the unemployed with jobs that allowed individuals to preserve skills or talents. The Federal Writers' Project (FWP), one branch of the WPA, provided work for over 6,600 unemployed writers, journalists, edit...

Carnegie Institute of Technology

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m0802b (corporateBody)

Founded in 1905, by steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie; well-known for its engineering and science programs. Merged with Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in 1967, changing the name to Carnegie-Mellon University. From the description of Official guide: Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1915. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 154305814 ...

United States

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6f874hn (corporateBody)

Idaho became a state on July 3, 1890 with post offices being established as early as 1876. From the guide to the Franklin County, Idaho Post Office Location Records, 1876-1945, (Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives) These photographs document Region 4, started in 1910, of the US Forest Service, covering Utah, Nevada, Southern Idaho, and Western Wyoming. From the guide to the US Forest Service Photograph Collection., 19...

Gallatin, A. E. (Albert Eugene), 1881-1952

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61g0q87 (person)

American art museum founder, critic, and painter. From the description of Letter to Robert O. Shad, 1943. (Huntington Library, Art Collections &amp; Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122443834 Archeologist, collector of ancient and eastern art, and contemporary sculptor Carl Paul Jennewein; New York, N.Y. From the description of Albert Gallatin papers, 1950-1964. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122394268 Art collector; New York, N.Y. ...

Greene, Balcomb, 1904-1990

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ww7tw3 (person)

Balcombe (John Wesley) Greene (1904-1990) was an American artist known for his modernist landscapes and collages. From the guide to the Balcombe Greene Papers, unspecified, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries) Balcomb Greene (1904-1990) was a painter from New York, N.Y. From the description of Oral history interview with Balcomb Greene, 1972 Mar. 13 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 495595043 Painter; New Y...

Greene, Gertrude, 1904-1956

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61z5gpf (person)

Greene, Terryn

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h54s3k (person)