Overview
Biographical and family materials, personal correspondence, research materials, work images, exhibition catalogues and promotional materials, paperwork and documentation related to Feininger's work, published materials on Feininger and his work, and images and materials from Hans Hess's catalogue raisonné of Feininger paintings.
Dates
- Creation: 1905-1998
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1905-1955
Conditions on Access
Access: Unrestricted
Conditions on Use
Copyright: Copyright in materials by Lyonel Feininger is held by his heirs or assigns. Copyright in some papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Harvard Art Museums Archives before publishing from any material in the collection.
Copying: Papers may be copied in accordance with the Harvard Art Museums Archives' usual procedures.
Extent
16 linear feet (27 file boxes, 2 13x18 folio boxes, 3 5.5x8.5 card boxes, 1 record carton)This collection is comprised of materials collected by Feininger and his wife, Julia Feininger. The "Personal" series contains published articles about Feininger's life and work, and correspondence, including typed transcripts of letters between Feininger and his wife, as well as between Feininger and art dealer Galka Scheyer. Also included are materials from other members of the Feininger family, such as a photo album, possibly created and captioned by T. Lux Feininger, containing images of family and friends, original frame drawings by Feininger, and photographs from various exhibitions of his work. This series additionally incorporates materials that Feininger used for inspiration and research.
The "Work" series includes documentary photographs of Feininger's watercolors and oil paintings, published reproductions of his various works, exhibition catalogues, paperwork and documentation related to the gifts, sales, and loans of Feininger's works, and contact sheets. The contact sheets were made in 1992 by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) from Feininger's original photographic negatives in the Busch-Reisinger Museum's collection, using duplicate negatives made from interpositives.
The collection contains periodicals, pamphlets, essays, and other published works that discuss Feininger. The third series includes photographs for Hans Hess's catalogue raisonné of Feininger paintings from 1959. The oeuvre catalogue and manuscript include 550 photographs of Feininger's works.
The documents have been re-housed into archival folders and boxes. Most of the collection has been kept in its original order. Following processing in 2013, additional materials were located and subsequently filed with like materials or filed separately as indicated in the finding aid. Such materials are identified with an asterisk and the corresponding folder number in brackets. Oversized items have been separated and housed in appropriately sized containers. The location of these items is also indicated in the finding aid. There are notes on index cards from Harvard's original processing work (probably circa 1963) scattered throughout the collection.
Biography:
Lyonel Charles Feininger was born in New York on July 17, 1871. He was a painter, printmaker, photographer, and caricaturist. He is noted for his figurative painting and distinctive brand of cubism, and is considered a leading exponent of Expressionism.
In his youth, Feininger traveled to Europe to study violin in 1887, and attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Hamburg, Germany, in 1887, the Berlin Academy in 1888, the Collège St.-Servais in Liège, Belgium, from 1890 to 1891, and Studio Schlabitz in Berlin from 1891 to 1892. In 1890, he began publishing caricatures and drawings in Humoristische Blätter.
In 1901, he married Clara Fürst, and the couple had two daughters, Lore and Marianne. Feininger separated from Clara in 1905, and married Julia Berg in 1908; the couple had three sons, Andreas, Laurence, and Theodore (T. Lux or Lux).
Feininger began drawing comic strips for the Chicago Tribune in 1906, and in 1907, he completed his first painting. When Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany, in 1919, Feininger was his first faculty appointment, and directed the printmaking workshop. He was also a member of the exhibition group Blaue Vier. When the Nazi Party came to power in the 1930s, they deemed Feininger's art "degenerate," and removed more than four hundred of his works from German museums in 1937. In 1936, Feininger taught a summer course at Mills College in Oakland, California, at the invitation of the German art historian Alfred Neumeyer. In 1937, he left Germany permanently, teaching a summer course at Mills again before settling in New York City. He was elected president of the Federation of American Painters and Sculptors in 1947 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1955.
Feininger produced many photographic works between 1928 and his death in 1956. These photographs were not published or shared with the public during his lifetime. Feininger also composed music for the piano and organ throughout his life.
Lyonel Feininger died in New York on January 13, 1956.
Series and Subseries in the Collection
The papers are arranged in three series:
- Series I: Personal
- ___Subseries A: Personal Correspondence
- ___Subseries B: Research Materials
- ___Subseries C: Family Materials
- ___Subseries D: Biographical Materials
- Series II: Work
- ___Subseries A: Work Images
- ___Subseries B: Exhibitions
- ___Subseries C: Administrative Records
- ___Subseries D: Research Materials
- Series III: Published Materials
- ___Subseries A: Periodicals and Pamphlets
- ___Subseries B: Catalogue Raisonné
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The bulk of this collection was donated to the Busch-Reisinger Museum by Feininger's widow, Julia Feininger, in 1963, with later additions from the Feininger family.
Box and Folder Locations
- Box 1: Folders 1-13
- Box 2: Folders 14-24
- Box 3: Folders 25-31
- Box 4: Folders 32-36
- Card Box 5: Folder 37
- Box 6: Folders 38-54
- Box 7: Folders 55-68
- Box 8: Folders 69-82
- Box 9: Folders 83-95
- Box 10: Folders 96-108
- Card Box 11: Folders 109-112
- Box 12: Folders 113-118
- Folio Box 13: Folder 119
- Box 14: Folders 120-132
- Box 15: Folders 133-149
- Box 16: Folders 150-161
- Box 17: Folders 162-174
- Box 18: Folders 175-189
- Card Box 19: Folders 190, 387
- Box 20: Folders 191-204
- Box 21: Folders 205-215
- Box 22: Folders 216-218
- Box 23: Folders 219-229
- Box 24: Folders 230-245
- Box 25: Folders 246-269
- Box 26: Folders 270-276
- Box 27: Folders 277-300
- Box 28: Folders 301-318
- Box 29: Folders 319-348
- Box 30: Folders 349-373
- Box 31: Folders 374-386
- Carton 32: Folder 388
- Folio Box 33: Oversize materials removed from 196 and 218
General note
Names
- Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956
- Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956 -- Exhibitions
- Feininger, T. Lux
- Hess, Hans, 1907-1975
- Scheyer, Galka E.
- Bauhaus
- Busch-Reisinger Museums -- Exhibitions
General note
Subjects
- Art--Collectors and collecting
- Art--Exhibitions
- Art–-Exhibitions--Catalogs
- Art Galleries and museums
- Art, Modern–-Germany
- Art, Modern–-United States
- Art Museums--Massachusetts--Cambridge--History
- College art museums--Massachusetts--Cambridge
- Contact printing
- Drawings
- Germany--History--1933-1945
- Museum exhibits--Germany
- Museum exhibits--United States
- Painting--Germany--20th century
- Painting, Modern--20th century--United States
General note
Form/Genre Terms
- Clippings
- Correspondence
- Essays
- Exhibition catalogues
- Photographs
- Printed ephemera
- Transcripts
Remediation Note
The finding aid was revised in 2023 to include the full names of individuals previously only identified by their husband’s name. Those revisions took place in folder titles. Archivist-supplied names are indicated in brackets. For questions about revisions, please contact the Harvard Art Museums Archives at am_reference@harvard.edu.
Processing Information
The collection was processed from September 2013 to October 2013 by Olivia Mandica-Hart with assistance from Laura Muir and Megan Schwenke. Joanna Wendel performed initial processing work on the exhibition catalogue and periodical lists in 2010. Diane Radycki did initial cataloguing work on the contact sheet series. Additional materials were processed by Brooke McManus in April 2014.
Subject
- Feininger, Julia (Person)
- Title
- Papers of Lyonel Feininger (BRM 2), 1905-1998: A Guide
- Author
- Busch-Reisinger Museum
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- art00033
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Art Museums Archives Repository
The Harvard Art Museums Archives is the official repository for institutional records and historical documents in all formats relating to the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, 1895 to the present. Its collections include papers of individuals and groups associated with the museums' history, including records of past exhibitions, architectural plans, photographs, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, as well as correspondence with collectors, gallery owners, museum professionals, and artists throughout the twentieth century. Its holdings also document the formation of the museums' collections and its mission as a teaching institution.
32 Quincy Street
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
617-495-2384
am_reference@harvard.edu