Overview
Correspondence between American born German artist Lyonel Feininger and his family and other correspondents, as well as musical compositions by him and his father Karl Feininger.
Dates
- Creation: 1883-1960
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English and German.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
MS Ger 146.1 was formerly restricted until his wife, Julia Feininger's death in 1970.
Extent
24 linear feet (44 boxes and 5 volumes)Chiefly correspondence of the Feininger family, between Feininger and his wife Julia (Lilienfeld) Feininger, their children, and other members of the Feininger and Lilienfeld families. Also a considerable amount of correspondence of Lyonel's father Karl Feininger, as well as about 40 musical compositions, essays, and other writings by him, chiefly on music.
Letters, 1939-1955, to Laurence Feininger from his parents contain many pen and ink drawings and woodcuts by Lyonel; Other correspondents represented in the collection include artists and architects, such as Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Rudolf Probst, Gerhard Marcks, and Walter Gropius; Alfred Hamilton Barr and others at the Museum of Modern Art; and German friends and family. Subjects range from wartime experiences in Germany, to exhibitions of the Blue Four.
Additionally, there are autograph manuscript musical compositions and an autobiographical sketch by Feininger as well as clippings pertaining to him, among other items. There are also transcripts (5 v., typewritten) of portions of the correspondence, prepared by Julia Feininger.
Biographical / Historical
Feininger was an American-born artist who went to Germany in 1887 and returned to the U.S. in 1936.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- I. MS Ger 146: Correspondence and related materials
- ___A. Correspondence and related materials
- ___B. Additional correspondence and related materials
- II. MS Ger 146.1: Additional correspondence
- III. MS Ger 146.2: Letters to Laurence Feininger
- IV. MS Ger 146.3: Musical compositions
- V. MS Ger 146: Additions
Physical Location
b
Series V. Additions, is located in P-5, awaiting end-processing.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
62M-266. Gift of Feininger family; received: 1963.
62M-266A. Deposited by the Busch-Reisinger Museum Cambridge 38, Massachusetts ; received: 1963 June 30.
These papers were restricted during the lifetime of Mrs. Feininger.
78M-11. Gift of Mr. T. Lux Feininger, 22 Arlington Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140; received: 1979 January.
91M-63. Gift of T. Lux Feininger; received: 1992.
94M-92. Gift of T. Lux Feininger to Busch-Reisinger Museum; Busch-Reisinger Museum deposit; received: 1995.
95M-62. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. T. Lux Feininger; received: 1996.
2013M-34. Gift of T. Lux Feininger via Conrad Feininger; received: 2013 October 24.
2013M-106. Bequest of T. Lux Feininger; received: 2014 June 2.
Processing Information
In 2018, five additions were integrated into the original finding aid for MS Ger 146-146.3. These additions are listed in Series V and were kept in original order, as received. The description is less detailed and material has not been end-processed.
Processing Information
In 2020-2021, as part of a conscious and inclusive re-description effort, titles were updated to include a woman’s first name when identified.
- Title
- Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956. Lyonel Feininger papers, 1883-1960 (MS Ger 146-146.3): Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou00818
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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