Dimitri Hadzi papers
name: label: Creator
content: Hadzi, Dimitri, 1921-2006
label: Names
content: Harvard University -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Foundry, Nicci
topic: label: Occupation
content: Educators -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Italy -- Rome
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge
label: Topic
content: Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1989 and 1998 by Dimitri Hadzi and in 2008 and 2011 by Cynthia Hadzi, Dimitri Hadzi's widow.
creator: label: Creator
content: Hadzi, Dimitri, 1921-2006
setName: label: See more items in
content: Dimitri Hadzi papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Greek American sculptor and educator Dimitri Hadzi measure 37.3 linear feet and date from 1910s-2007, with the bulk of records dating 1936-2007.  The collection documents Hadzi's career through biographical material such as education records, World War II files, and some interviews; correspondence with family, artists, art historians, architects, and professional organizations; diaries, notebooks, and other writings; exhibition, gallery and museum, teaching, and project files; personal business records; clippings, exhibition ephemera, invitations, and other printed material; photographs of Hadzi, events and exhibitions, installations, foundries, and studios; some artwork; and audio recordings and motion picture films.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Dimitri Hadzi (1921-2006) was an Greek American sculptor who lived and worked in Rome from the 1950s to 1975, and then in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1975 to 2006. Born to Greek immigrants, Hadzi attended Brooklyn Technical High School before enlisting in the Army Air Force in 1942. After the World War II, Hadzi studied painting and sculpture at Cooper Union and graduated with honors in 1950. He was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study at the Polytechnion, Athens, Greece, and subsequently moved to Rome where he remained until the mid-1970s. Hadzi worked mostly with stone and bronze, from which he created semi-abstract shapes and structures drawn from his Greek heritage. His work was selected for the Venice Biennale in 1956, and and his first solo-exhibition came two years later at the Galeria Schneider, Rome, Italy.  Throughout his career, Hadzi held solo exhibitions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Philips Collection, Athens Gallery in Greece, Rikugie Gallery in Japan, and many others. His group exhibitions include Recent Sculptor USA (1959), Museum of Modern Art, New York; Annual Exhibition, The Whitney Museum (1961);  Seven Sculptors at Harvard, Harvard University (1983); and American Academy of Arts & Letters Centennial Portfolio, Pace Prints, New York (1998). Hadzi's public commissions include those at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1963), St. Paul's Church, Rome, Italy (1966-1976), Dallas Center, Texas (1980). His artwork is held in permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Scultpure Garden, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Hakone Museum of Sculpture in Japan, and the Montreal Museum of Art, among others. Hadzi was professor of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University from 1975-1989, and was named Professor Emeritus in 1989.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 37.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1910s-2007
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.hadzdimi
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Motion picture film
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 13 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1910s, bulk 1936-2004 (Box 1-3, 33; 2.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1943-2007 (Box 3-6; 3 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notebooks, 1939-2006 (Box 6-9; 3 linear feet)

Series 4: Writing Files, 1945-2003 (Box 9; 10 folders)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1958-2002 (Box 9-10; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Project Files, 1957-2002 (Box 11-15, 33, OV 128; 4.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Teaching Files, 1955-2000 (Box 15-16; 12 folders)

Series 8: Museum and Gallery Files, 1947-2008 (Box 16-17; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 9: Personal Business Records, 1949-2007 (Box 17-20; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1949-2007 (Box 20-24, 33; 3.7 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1930s-2006 (Box 24-25, 33; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 12: Artwork, circa 1939-1998 (Box 25; 11 folders)

Series 13: Audiovisual Material (Box 26-40; 11.1 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2020.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Motion picture film
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Greek American sculptor and educator Dimitri Hadzi measure 37.3 linear feet and date from 1910s-2007, with the bulk of records dating 1936-2007. The collection documents Hadzi's career through biographical material; correspondence; diaries, notebooks, and other writings; exhibition, gallery and museum, teaching, and project files; personal business records; printed material; photographs, some artwork, audio recordings, and motion picture films. 

Biographical material includes files pertaining to Hadzi's education at Cooper Union (1946-1950) and Polytechnion in Athens, Greece (1950-1951) as well as his high school years at Brooklyn Technical High School (1936-1940); years enlisted in the Army Air Force (1942-1946); and his hobbies of music, mineral collecting, and geology. Also found are address books, honors and awards, interviews, and resumes.  Hadzi's professional correspondents include artists, art historians, architects, and professional organizations. Also found is personal correspondence with family, friends, and acquaintances, most extensively during his years in the military.  

Diaries and notebooks consist of memoranda books, travel logs, and annotated calendars. Writings include drafts, correspondence, and some printed material from Dimitri Hadzi (1996) by Peter Selz. Material gathered for his incomplete memoir, artist statements, and writings about Hadzi are also present.

Exhibition files shed light on various group and solo exhibitions of Hadzi's work. The files mostly consist of shipping records, correspondence, press releases and other printed matter, photographs, and loan documents. Gallery and museum files include loan and sale agreements, price lists, clippings, newsletters, shipping information, and some papers related to exhibitions. 

Project files include sketches and blueprints, correspondence, legal documents, shipping information, and some audiovisual material regarding the installation of Hadzi's sculptures. The files also pertain to recasted sculptures, small-scale projects, and unexecuted commissions. Teaching Files include administrative correspondence, clippings, lecture and discussion notes, course descriptions, and correspondence from Hadzi's tenure as Visual and Environmental Studies professor at Harvard University. Papers related to instructor positions, employment opportunities, and lectures outside of Harvard are also present. Personal business records include sales, inventories, and other financial material; correspondence, shipping information, and price lists from foundries and material distributors; studio logs, correspondence, and notes.

Printed materials consist of exhibition invitations, announcements, post cards, and books; news clippings and articles; printed matter from special events, exhibitions of other artists, press releases, and newsletters. Photographs include portraits and snapshots of Hadzi, depicting him working in studios and foundries, at installation sites and events, and with his family. Also included are photographs of other artists, Hadzi's travel in Japan, and his artwork. Artwork found in this collection consists of six sketchbooks, several small drawings, and one woodblock.

Audiovisual material is extensive and includes documentation of the creation, installation, and exhibition of some of Hadzi's work. The majority of the footage centers on the creation and installation of the Thermopylae sculpture in front of the JFK Federal Building in Boston, Massachusetts in 1968.