John Altoon art work and papers
name: label: Creator
content: Altoon, John, 1925-
label: Names
content: Tyler, Kenneth E.
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Prints -- Technique -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1998 by Roberta L. Thompson, John Altoon's widow and in 2017 by printmaker Kenneth E. Tyler who collaborated on projects with John Altoon.
creator: label: Creator
content: Altoon, John, 1925-
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: John Altoon (1925-1969) was a painter in Los Angeles, Calif. Altoon (born Altoonian), was a major figure in the Los Angeles art scene from the 1950s until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He began painting in the abstract-expressionist style, but by the mid-1960s his works turned to the figure, characterized by skillful draftsmanship and sexual imagery.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1940-1969
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.altojohn
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Over 300 pencil and pencil and ink drawings, circa 1950s-1960s, mostly contained in sketchbooks and tablets, as well as numerous loose sketches and several mixed-media works on board. Also found are Altoon's letters and a ship's log dating from his years of WWII Navy service in the Pacific.
label: Scope and Contents
content: An addition of 0.6 linear feet donated 2017 included approximately 100 sketches by John Altoon, 1956-1966 and undated, created in printmaker Kenneth Tyler's Los Angeles workshop.