Victor Mikhail Arnautoff papers
name: label: Creator
content: Arnautoff, Victor Mikhail, 1896-1979
label: Names
content: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
label: Names
content: Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco
label: Topic
content: Artists -- California -- San Francisco
label: Topic
content: Muralists -- California -- San Francisco
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Victor Mikhail Arnautoff papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1983 by Jacob and Vasily Arnautoff, Victor Arnautoff's sons. Additional papers were donated in 2018 by Michael and Peter Arnautoff, Victor Arnautoff's son and grandson, and by Robert Cherney, a scholar who wrote a book about Arnautoff.
creator: label: Creator
content: Arnautoff, Victor Mikhail, 1896-1979
setName: label: See more items in
content: Victor Mikhail Arnautoff papers
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Victor Mikhail Arnautoff (1896-1979) was an artist and art teacher known for his murals. Arnautoff was born in the Ukraine and served in the Russian army during World War I. After a defeat in Siberia, he crossed into China, where he remained for five years. In China he met and married his wife Lydia, and they had their first two sons. 

In 1925 Arnautoff went to San Francisco to study at the California School of Fine Arts. He continued with his family to Mexico in 1929 and became an assistant to muralist Diego Rivera. While in Mexico, his third son was born, and Arnautoff met Bernard Zakheim, with whom he would later work on the Coit Tower murals. Arnautoff and his family returned to San Francisco in 1931 and in 1934 he was chosen to paint one of the murals at the Coit Tower with funding from the Public Works of Art Project. Arnautoff was one of the most prolific muralists in San Francisco in the 1930s, completing murals at Coit Tower and the Palo Alto Clinic, as well as the Presidio chapel, George Washington High School, and the California School of Fine Arts library. He also painted murals at five post offices in California and Texas.

Arnautoff began teaching at the California School of Fine Arts in 1936. He taught at Stanford from 1938 to 1962 and also taught art courses at the California Labor School.

Following the death of his wife in 1961, Arnautoff retired from teaching at Stanford and returned to the Soviet Union in 1963. While living there he continued to create works of art and published a memoir. He died in Leningrad in 1979.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1920-2017
label: Date
content: bulk 1920-1953
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.arnavict
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged in eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1920-1952, 1961-1979, 1995-1997 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1923-2008 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1956, circa 1984-2006 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 4: Professional Records, 1940-1953, 1963-2004 (Box 1, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1923-1998, 2007-2017 (Boxes 1-2, OV 5; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbook, 1928-1968, 1979-1981 (Bound Volume 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1920s-circa 1960s, 2015 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1920s-circa 1950s (Boxes 2-3, OVs 6-13; 1.4 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2018.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of this collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 3429-3430 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the  container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of artist and art teacher Victor Mikhail Arnautoff measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1920 to 2017 with the bulk of the material dating from the 1920 to 1953. The collection contains biographical material such as marriage certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, and an Arnautoff family history; correspondence between family members, as well as with colleagues including Diego Rivera, and with institutions concerning Arnautoff's work; writings about Arnautoff and others, including his statement regarding the House Un-American Activities Committee Hearing; professional records related to mural projects and exhibitions of Arnautoff's work; and printed material including exhibition announcements and catalogs, clippings, and On the Drumhead by Mike Quin, illustrated by Victor Arnautoff. Also included are a scrapbook containing correspondence, printed material, and photographs highlighting Arnautoff's career with particular emphasis on the controversy surrounding his Dix McSmear lithograph, as well as photographic material depicting Arnautoff, other individuals, and works of art. The bulk of the collection is made up of artwork, including sketches, a sketchbook, watercolors, and prints.