Joseph Stella papers
name: label: Creator
content: Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946
label: Names
content: United States. Works Progress Administration
topic: label: Occupation
content: Draftsmen (artists) -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painting, American
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States
label: Topic
content: Italian American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Joseph Stella papers were donated in three installments. Stella's nephew, Sergio Stella, donated records in 1971 and 1986. Alan Pensler, a Washington, D.C. art dealer who acquired the papers from a woman who purchased the home and its contents of Dr. Giovanni Stella, Stella's brother, donated records in 1996.
creator: label: Creator
content: Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946
setName: label: See more items in
content: Joseph Stella papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of artist Joseph Stella measure 2.8 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1970. The papers shed light on his life and career through biographical materials, mixed personal and professional corresponence, writings by Stella and others, printed materials, and photographic materials.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Joseph Stella (1877-1946) was a New York City Painter and draughtsman who immigrated from Muro Lucano Italy in 1896. He received a traditional education while in Italy. At the suggestion of his brother, a medical doctor, Stella studied medicine for two years before leaving that path for his art. His primary subjects to draw and paint during this time were immigrants, laborers, and others he saw in the streets of New York City. Giotto, Masaccio, and Andrea Mantegna were his primary influences at the time. In circa 1899, Stella began taking classes at the Art Students League of New York, studying under William Merritt Chase. He received a scholarship for a year's tuition and began exhibiting his artwork shortly after. In 1902, Stella was sent to Pittsburgh by the periodical The Survey to paint scenes of that city. Illustrating for periodicals became his primary source of income during this period. In 1909, Stella moved to Italy to study glazing, and in 1911, he moved to Paris, where he encountered Fauvism, Cubism, and Futurism for the first time. During these few years in Europe, he befriended Marcel Gromaire, Jules Pascin, Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini, and Amedeo Modigliani. Stella returned from Europe in 1912 and had three paintings exhibited in the 1913 Armory Show. Several years later, his subject matter shifted towards New York architecture, and he created some of his most well-known works including Brooklyn Bridge (1919-20) and New York Interpreted (1922). Bourgeois Gallery exhibited Stella's work from the late teens until the artist went to Dudensing Galleries in 1925. The following year, he moved to Naples and returned to the U.S. in 1934. In 1936, Stella had a solo exhibition at Cooperative Gallery in Newark, New Jersey; and the gallery exhibited his work for the rest of his life. There was a retrospective of Stella's work at The Newark Museum in 1936 and solo shows at Associated American Artists (1941) and Knoedler Galleries (1942). Other galleries who exhibited Stella's work include Valentine Gallery, New York, Galerie Sloden, Paris, Galerie Jeune Peinture, Paris, and Zabriskie Gallery, New York. From 1935 to 1937, he worked for the Works Progress Administration in the easel division. Stella served on the exhibition committee of Societe Anonyme, was a director of the Salons of America, and a member of the Federation of Painters and Sculptors Inc. He died of heart failure in 1946.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.8 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1900-1970
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.steljose
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as five series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1915-1970 (Boxes 1, 4, OV 5; .3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1921-1960 (Box 1; .8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1920s-1940s (Box 2; .5 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Materials, 1896, 1912-1963 (Boxes 2-4, OV 5)

Series 5: Photographic Materials, circa 1900-1960 (Boxes 3-4, OV 5; .5 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2022.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 346-347, 440, and 5137 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of artist Joseph Stella measure 2.8 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1970. The papers shed light on his life and career through biographical materials, personal and professional corresponence, writings by Stella and others, printed materials, and photographic materials. 

Biographical materials include address books and loose addresses for contacts in the U.S. and abroad, calling cards, business cards, inventories of Stella's artwork, financial papers, drawings and artwork by children and others, several oversized sketches by Stella, papers from the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors Inc., a ration book from World War II, one contract from the Cooperative Gallery, and other miscellaneous personal papers. Correspondence includes mostly letters received by Stella from art organizations, museums, dealers, family members, and colleagues including the Museum of Modern Art, Artists for Victory, ACA Gallery, M. Knoedler & Co., the Whitney Museum, Andrew Bondi, Marie Dumoulard, Katherine Dreier, August Mosca, and Charmion von Wiegand. An invitation to a lecture on Joseph Stella by Phyllis Ackerman is also present. Writings in Italian and English include an autobiography by Stella, essays about his life and work, poems, loose notes about his paintings and materials, and three notebooks. Writings about Stella by others, drafts of letters (especially in Italian), and some sketches are also present. Printed materials consist of newspaper clippings mostly concerning Stella's career, exhibition invitations and catalogs, printed reproductions of Stella's artwork, reference material, and more. Photographic materials include portraits of Stella, photos from his studio and travels, and the artist with friends and family; images of his artwork; and several photos from exhibitions.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reel 5137 (frames 1-63) including 29 loose sketches and a 16-page sketchbook by Joseph Stella. The materials were returned to Alan Pensler after microfilming, and are not described in the collection container inventory.