Mary Frank papers
name: label: Creator
content: Frank, Mary, 1933-
label: Names
content: Frank, Robert, 1924-
label: Names
content: Gibson, Ralph, 1939-
label: Names
content: Lockspeiser, Eleanore, 1900-1986
label: Names
content: Meyerowitz, Joel, 1938-
label: Names
content: Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973
topic: label: Occupation
content: Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2014 and 2019 by Mary Frank.
creator: label: Creator
content: Frank, Mary, 1933-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Mary Frank papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of sculptor and painter Mary Frank measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1884-2017.  Included are correspondence, writings, photographs, artwork and printed material documenting Frank's career. Correspondence is both personal and professional. Writings include dreams recounted in detail, poems, and ideas for works of art, some illustrated. Black and white photographs are of Frank, her sculptures, friends and family, and source material. Artwork includes drawings and sketches in dry point, pencil and watercolor. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, brochures and clippings.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Mary Frank (1933-) is a sculptor, ceramicist, and painter in New York, New York. She was born in London, England in 1933 to writer, Edward Lockspeiser, and artist, Eleanore Weinstein. In 1940, she and her mother moved to Brooklyn, New York and moved in with her mother's parents, Gregory and Eugenie Weinstein. Eventually Frank and her mother moved to the Village in Manhattan. Frank studied modern dance with Martha Graham and attended the High School of Music and Art, the Professional Children's School, and studied under artists Hans Hofmann and Max Beckmann. While still in high school, she met photographer, Robert Frank, whom she eventually married in 1950. They had two children, Pablo and Andrea, and divorced in 1969. Frank first exhibited her artwork at Poindexter Gallery in 1958 and traveled with Red Grooms across Italy in the 1960s, which had a significant impact on her artistic development. Her work is also influenced by her daughter's untimely death in 1974 and her son's illness that began in 1975 and ended in his death in 1994.

Mostly self-taught, Frank works across multiple disciplines including sculpture, painting, ceramics, and drawing. Reflected in her work are themes of grief, loss, love and sorrow. He career has spanned over five decades where she has exhibited works at numerous galleries and museums around the country. She has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including two Guggenheim Foundation Fellowships, and taught classes at Bard College. Mary Frank's works are included in the permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, National Museum of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and many others. She has also been a longtime advocate of solar cooking.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1884-2017
label: Date
content: bulk 1957-1990
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.franmary
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged in five series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1943-2001 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Writings, 1936-circa 1990 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Printed Material, circa 1960-2013 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1-2)

Series 4: Artwork, circa 1930-circa 1990s (0.6 linear feet; Box 2, 4; OV 5)

Series 5: Photographic Material, 1884-circa 2006 (2.4 linear feet; Box 2-3; OV 6-12)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jennifer E. Neal in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of sculptor and painter Mary Frank measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1884-2017.  Included are correspondence, writings, photographs, artwork and printed material documenting Frank's career. Correspondence is both personal and professional. Writings include dreams recounted in detail, poems, and ideas for works of art, some illustrated. Black and white photographs are of Frank, her sculptures, friends and family, and source material. Artwork includes drawings and sketches in dry point, pencil and watercolor. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, brochures and clippings.

Materials in this collection document Mary Frank's career as an artist in New York through correspondence with family, friends, and artists; original drawings and watercolors; writings about ideas for her artwork; photographs of Frank in her studio and artwork; clippings reviewing her work and documenting her interest and support in the solar cooker movement; and exhibition catalogs and announcements. Also included are photographs from Frank's travels with Red Grooms and other artists in Italy in the 1960s, which was a formative experience in Frank's artistic development. The collection provides an illuminating context for Frank's artwork of the 1970s and 1980s, present in the collection as photographed sculpture but also as original drawings and watercolors. 

The collection also offers a glimpse of her family life and early childhood documented through photographs of Robert Frank, and their children; photographs taken by Robert Frank and other known photographers; photographs that belonged to her parents and aunt; drawings by her son, Pablo, and aunt, Sylvia Weinstein; writings by her maternal grandfather; and writings that document personal struggles she experienced throughout her life. The collection provides a penetrating glimpse into the emotional turmoil of the years before Frank's divorce from Robert Frank, and documents through letters and writings Frank's struggles with her daughter's early death in 1974 and her son's illness that began in 1975 and ended in his death in 1994.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Mary Frank conducted by Judith Olch Richards on January 10, 11, and February 3, 2010.