Avel de Knight papers
name: label: Creator
content: De Knight, Avel, 1921-1995
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Educators
label: Occupation
content: Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Avel de Knight loaned materials for microfilming in 1969. Additional papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2003 by Stephen J. and Sunchita F. Tyson, executors of Avel de Knight's estate.
creator: label: Creator
content: De Knight, Avel, 1921-1995
setName: label: See more items in
content: Avel de Knight papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Avel de Knight papers measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1947 to 2003 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1957 to 1968. The collection includes professional files, writings, printed material, and photographic material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Avel C. de Knight (1921-1995) was an African American painter, educator, and art critic. His birth dates are also cited as 1923, 1925, 1931, and 1933. Born in New York to parents from Barbados and Puerto Rico, he attended Pratt Institute before serving in a segregated United States Army unit in World War II. After the war, he studied at the École de Beaux-Arts, the Grand Chaumière, and the Académie Julian in Paris under the G.I. Bill. He returned to the United States in 1956 and in 1957 began reviewing New York exhibitions for France-Amérique. He also taught at the Art Students League and later at the National Academy School of Fine Arts. De Knight was an Academician of the National Academy of Design and his works are held in collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the University of Richmond Museums.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1947-2003
label: Date
content: bulk 1957-1968
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.deknavel
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Menus
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged in four series.

Series 1: Professional Files, circa 1966-1998 (Box 1; 3 Folders)

Series 2: Writings, 1957-1968, undated (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1947, 1962-2003, undated (Box 2; 4 Folders)

Series 4: Photographic Material, circa 1959-1989 (Box 2; 3 Folders)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2018 with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Materials lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels D388 and N69-111 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Menus
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Avel de Knight papers measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1947 to 2003 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1957 to 1968. The collection includes professional files, writings, printed material, and photographic material.

Professional files include biographies and chronologies, professional correspondence, and material related to de Knight's menu designs for l'Escargot Restaurant, a French restaurant in Chicago.

Writings make up the bulk of the collection and consist primarily of clippings of de Knight's critiques in France-Amérique. Filed within these critiques are occasional letters from artists whose shows de Knight reviewed in the paper. Also included in this series are artist statements and notes.

Printed material includes exhibition announcements, catalogs, and invitations; clippings and reviews; press releases and newsletters; and reproductions of de Knight's works of art.

Photographic material includes photographs and contact sheets of Avel de Knight and his work.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Avel de Knight conducted by Henri Ghent, 1968.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reels D388 and N69-111. This includes art criticism and Department of State correspondence, letters and certificates of award from the American Watercolor Society, notices of purchase and awards from the National Academy of Design, material from the National Institute of Arts and letters concerning grants, and photographs of de Knight with his work. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.