Norman Lewis Papers
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Lewis, Norman, 1909-1979
setName: label: See more items in
content: Norman Lewis papers
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1919-1971
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.lewinorm, Series 1
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Eight sketchbooks date from 1935 to 1957 and contain drawings of figures and line drawings. Some scattered drawings are more detailed and are signed by Lewis. Also found are notes and writings on art. Fragments of a diary of Lewis's wife, Joan, comments on their marriage.

Correspondence is with author Millen Brand and artists Ad Reinhardt, Jim Yeargans, and others; unidentified authors and actors; and museums, with many letters relating to arranging exhibits by Black artists and political action organizations. A mixed-media scrapbook of catalogs, clippings, photographs, letters, and announcements concerns Lewis's education at the John Reed Club School of Art; African American art exhibits; the training of African American artists, particularly during the Depression; WPA-New York projects; and Lewis's World War II work as a shipyard employee and poster artist.

Photographs are of Lewis, his artworks, exhibitions, and art classes. Biographical material includes military discharge papers, resumes, and other material. Printed materials include clippings, exhibition announcements, and catalogs for Lewis and other artists.