Sidney Simon papers
name: label: Creator
content: Simon, Sidney, 1917-1997
label: Names
content: Budd (Firm : New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Century Association (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Colby College
label: Names
content: Graham Gallery
label: Names
content: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
label: Names
content: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture -- Faculty
label: Names
content: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers
label: Names
content: Emmerich, André
label: Names
content: Gonzalez, Xavier, 1898-1993
label: Names
content: Gotfryd, Bernard
label: Names
content: Hélion, Jacqueline
label: Names
content: Jencks, Penelope
label: Names
content: Kelly, Ellsworth, 1923- -- Photographs
label: Names
content: King, William, 1925-2015
label: Names
content: Meredith, Burgess, 1907-1997
label: Names
content: Motherwell, Robert -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Nevelson, Louise (1899-1988) -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Pousette-Dart, Richard, 1916-1992
label: Names
content: Watson, Forbes, 1880-1960
topic: label: Occupation
content: War artists
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war
label: Topic
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Sidney Simon lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming in 1965. Rene Simon, Simon's widow, donated the Sidney Simon papers in 2009. Additional material donated in 2022 by the Renee A. Simon Revocable Trust via trustees Barbara Sussman, Alexa Elam and Susanne Howard.
creator: label: Creator
content: Simon, Sidney, 1917-1997
setName: label: See more items in
content: Sidney Simon papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of sculptor, painter, and educator Sidney Simon measure 23.7 linear feet and 2.21 GB and date from circa 1917-2008, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1940-1997. The collection documents Simon's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, sketches, sketchbooks,  printed and digital material, and photographs.

There is a 15.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes exhibition files; commission files; project files; ledgers; photograph albums, slides, transparencies and glass plate negatives of works of art and installations and photographs of Simon, family and others; inventories of works of art; files relating to World War II including personal and professional photographs, blank postcards, sketches, printed material, and personnel information; unidentified CDs and a cassette with a letter from mother; journals with sketches and notes; biographical information including certificates and awards; printed material including catalogs and announcements and articles about Simon; appraisals; correspondence including posthumous letters of condolence; sketchbooks and drawings, including oversized student drawings and drawings for commissions and competitions; interviews with Simon on Hi8 tapes, mini DV; a scrapbook; and a zinc metal plate. Materials date from circa 1940-1997 and 2008.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Sidney Simon (1917-1997) was a sculptor, painter, and educator who worked primarily in New York City and Truro, Massachusetts.  Simon was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, he won a place as a special student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934 and from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1936.   Simon also studied at the Barnes Foundation from 1937-1940.   Simon received professional recognition early in his career; he was awarded the Prix de Rome Collaborative Prize in 1939 and the Edwin Austin Abbey Fellowship in mural painting in 1945.

In 1941, Simon enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Army Corps of Engineers. Assigned to MacArthur's headquarters as an official war artist for the Southwest Pacific Theater, Simon was chosen to paint the signing of the peace treaty between the U.S. and Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. He was discharged from the army with a Bronze Star and five presidential citations. In 1945, along with Bill Cummings and Henry Varnum Poor, Simon co-founded the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, where he later served as a director and a member of the Board of Governors.  By the mid-1950s, Simon's interest shifted from painting to sculpture, creating works in wood, clay, and other media. Over the years, Simon collaborated with architects on a number of public and private commissions, including the doorway for the Downstate Medical Center, the Jewish Chapel at West Point, a playground sculpture for Prospect Park, and the totemic column for the Temple Beth Abraham. In addition to serving on the faculty at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Simon also taught at the Art Students League, Brooklyn Museum, and Parsons School of Design. An active champion of artists' rights, Simon established the New York Artists Equity Association.  He participated in solo and group shows at the Graham Gallery, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and the Sculptors Guild, among other venues. 

In 1997, Sidney Simon died at the age of 80 in Truro, Massachusetts. Simon was divorced from Joan Crowell in 1964. He is survived by his wife, Renee Adriance Simon and five children from his first and second marriages.
function: label: Function
content: Artists' studios -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 23.7 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 2.21 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1917-2008
label: Date
content: bulk 1940-1997
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.simosidn
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Illustrated letters
label: Type
content: Diaries
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 10 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1940-1998 (Boxes 1, 9; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-2002 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1943, circa 1960-1997 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet, ER01-ER03; 2.21 GB)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1940-1941, 1951-1997 (Boxes 2-4, 9; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Sketches, 1937-1942 (Box 4; 1 folder)

Series 6: Sketchbooks, 1939-1995 (Boxes 4-5, 9; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1933, 1942-1998 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1978-1995 (Box 5; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographs, circa 1917-1997 (Boxes 5-10; 3.0 linear feet)

Series 10: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1940-1997, 2008 (Boxes 11-27, OV 28-43; 15.7 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Joy Goodwin in 2012. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. The 2022 addition is unprocessed.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Materials lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reel D210 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Illustrated letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of sculptor, painter, and educator Sidney Simon measure 23.7 linear feet and 2.21 GB and date from circa 1917-2008, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1940-1997. The collection documents Simon's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, sketches, sketchbooks, printed and digital material, and photographs.

Biographical material chronicles Simon's academic training and professional activities through curriculum vitae, biographical accounts, and awards. Included are letters and memoranda, many from Forbes Watson pertaining to Simon's service as a combat artist in World War II.  Also found is a transcript of an interview with Simon recounting his experiences in the Southwest Pacific.  Simon's personal correspondence with colleagues, friends, and family includes scattered letters from Jacqueline Helion, Penelope Jencks, William King, Burgess Meredith, among others.   Many letters are illustrated by Sidney Simon and others.  General correspondence includes letters from artists, galleries, museums, public and religious institutions primarily relating to Simon's exhibitions and commissioned projects. Among the correspondents are Castle Hill, Truro Center for the Arts, Colby College, André Emmerich, Eric Makler Gallery, Xavier Gonzalez, Graham Gallery, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Interspersed among the files are letters of a personal nature.  Other correspondence relates to Simon's faculty positions and his activities in professional organizations, e.g., Century Association, National Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.  

Writings and notes include Simon's 1943 diary entries recording his activities in the Army Corps of Engineers, draft versions of writings and lectures, and notes.  Included are digital audio recordings of Simon's lectures at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.  Subject files provide documentation on Simon's commissioned projects, select exhibitions and competitions, as well as his faculty positions and memberships in several arts organizations.  Printed material consists of clippings, invitations, announcements, newsletters, and programs.  Exhibition catalogs are of Simon's solo and group shows at galleries, museums, and art organizations from 1959-1966.  Photographs are of Simon by Budd Brothers, Richard Pousette-Dart, and Bernard Gotfryd. There are a number of photographs of the artist in his studio and outdoors as well as of Simon's family and friends, including group photographs with Ellsworth Kelly, André Emmerich, Robert Motherwell, and Louise Nevelson.  Also found are three personal and family albums and twenty-one photograph albums of Simon's paintings and sculptures.


There is a 15.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes exhibition files; commission files; project files; ledgers; photograph albums, slides, transparencies and glass plate negatives of works of art and installations and photographs of Simon, family and others; inventories of works of art; files relating to World War II including personal and professional photographs, blank postcards, sketches, printed material, and personnel information; unidentified CDs and a cassette with a letter from mother; journals with sketches and notes; biographical information including certificates and awards; printed material including catalogs and announcements and articles about Simon; appraisals; correspondence including posthumous letters of condolence; sketchbooks and drawings, including oversized student drawings and for commissions and competitions; interviews with Simon on Hi8 tapes, mini DV; a scrapbook; and a zinc metal plate. Materials date from circa 1940-1997 and 2008.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives has two oral history interviews with Sidney Simon conducted by Paul Cummings in October 17-November 8, 1973 and the Karl E. Fortress taped interviews with artists, [1963-1985].
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds materials lent for microfilming (reel D210) including biographical material, correspondence, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, and photographs of Sidney Simon. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.