Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1929-1972, n.d.

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Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1929-1972, n.d.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/155900868

Although letters date from 1929, Zigrosser first met Caroline Durieux in Mexico, introduced by William Spratling. With her work on display at Weyhe Gallery, Durieux was in regular correspondence with Zigrosser, writing frequent letters (from Mexico until 1936) about the progress of her work and shipments to the Gallery. Her letters also record life in Taxco, Mexico among the Americans living and visiting there: Natalie Scott, William Spratling, Howard Cook and Barbara Latham, and Hart Crane (written the month of his suicide), as well as news of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Included from this time are photographs of the artist and her Taxco home, and clippings in Spanish about her work. Her letters include responses to Zigrosser's criticism and suggestions -- her satiric subject matter made her paintings and prints difficult to sell. As the Depression lengthened, Durieux returned to her native New Orleans and worked there as an artist, educator (Louisianna State University), and administrator for the Federal Arts Project in Louisianna. Her letters mention family news, comments on aspects of 'southerness,' and her submissions to shows around the country. Her teaching responsibilities at LSU bring printmaking to the fore: she asks for advice about setting-up a good print studio and becomes more critical of print quality, she expands her knowledge of the technical aspects of printing and the building of a well-rounded faculty for the Art Department. The 1950's expanded Caroline Durieux' horizons as an artist. She summered in Paris and began printing color lithographs at Atelier Desjobert.She was instrumental in developing Electron Printing, a controversial technique using radioactive isotopes which allowed the artist to print an unusually wide and subtle range of tones. The correspondence on this topic includes statements written by Zigrosser about the technique, notes about the chemistry involved, and University publicity. Another frequent topic is Durieux' health, which was in decline. She did manage to visit with Carl and Laura Zigrosser throughout the 1950's. There is a gap in the correpondence from March, 1960 to February, 1964. As Zigrosser and Durieux both retired early in the 1960's, the correspondence becomes more personal. A copy of a 1967 letter to Durieux from Elizabeth Anderson (ex-wife of Sherwood Anderson) details the death of William Spratling in Mexico. The letters speak about the changing times and their changing lives. Each decries the appearance of gigantic runs of "fine prints" by prominent artists that are flooding the market. Zigrosser slipped many drafts of his own letters into this correspondence. Included are printed matter such as clippings, exhibition pamphlets, and publicity brochures, as well as photographs of Durieux in the studio, photographs of her work and two pencil drawings of Durieux in the nude by Carl Zigrosser.

403 items (593 leaves).

University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6900301

University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library

Related Entities

There are 11 Entities related to this resource.

Crane, Hart, 1899-1932

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64v78rh (person)

At the time of his early death at thirty-two in 1932, Hart Crane was already recognized as a major American poet, though he had published only two volumes of poetry and a handful of poems in various magazines. Born in the small town of Garretsville, Ohio, on July 21, 1899, the only child of Clarence A. and Grace Hart Crane, Harold Hart Crane experienced an unsettling childhood and adolescence that undoubtedly affected his adult personal life and poetical career. Though he was freed of economi...

Kahlo, Frida, 1907-1954

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Frida Kahlo (born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, 6 July 1907, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico – died 13 July 1954, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico), Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical ele...

Anderson, Elizabeth, 1959-....

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qj8zz1 (person)

Atelier Desjobert (Paris).

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66j1ksx (corporateBody)

Cook, Howard Norton, 1901-1980

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p26wg1 (person)

American painter, illustrator, muralist. From the guide to the Howard Norton Cook Papers, 1866-1979, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries) ...

Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v40wfj (person)

Mexican painter and muralist. From the description of Declaration in connection with a watercolor and a drawing sold to Mrs. Schwartz, 1934 March 7, Mexico City. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 81939422 Diego Rivera, a renowned Mexican mural painter, was commissioned by Mrs. Samuel Strong in 1935 to paint a portrait of her friend, Kathleen Burke, of Cleveland, Ohio. From the description of Receipt from Diego Rivera, 1935 Mar. 5. (Unknown). WorldCa...

Spratling, William, 1900-1967

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zk5hvp (person)

Spratling studied architecture at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University), 1917-1921. He designed the university seal that, with minor changes, is still in use; he also taught drafting at API. Spratling moved to New Orleans where he taught at Tulane University and shared an apartment with novelist William Faulkner. Soon after, Spratling moved to Taxco, Mexico, reviving that town's silver industry. He authored many articles about architecture as well as a critically-acclaimed book, ...

Durieux, Caroline

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jq24f8 (person)

Weyhe Gallery

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sf6jxf (corporateBody)

Carl Zigrosser was the manager of the art gallery section of Erhard Weyhe's New York City book shop from 1918 to 1940. From the description of Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1916-1971, n.d. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155899805 Weyhe Gallery, established in 1919, was one of the first galleries in New York to specialize in prints. Carl Zigrosser (1891-1975) directed Weyhe Gallery from 1919 until 1940 when he left to become Curator of Prints ...

Latham, Barbara

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bs67j6 (person)

Scott, Natalie, 1890-1957

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm4ffh (person)

Natalie Vivian Scott was born on July 18, 1890 in Bristol, Virginia, to Nathaniel Craves Scott and Martha Vivian Fauver. The family moved to New Orleans, where her father worked as a railroad contractor. Natalie Scott graduated from Newcomb College in 1909, and continued her studies there, earning a Master's degree in 1914, writing her thesis on Zuripidos, Seneca, and Corneille. During World War I, she served with the Red Cross in a field hospital in France, then returned to New Orleans with the...