Lena Gurr papers
name: label: Creator
content: Gurr, Lena, 1897-1992
label: Names
content: ACA Galleries
label: Names
content: Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: John Reed Club
label: Names
content: New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Allen, Mary Cecil, 1893-1962
label: Names
content: Ascher, Mary G. (Mary Goldman), b. 1900
label: Names
content: Baron, Herman, 1892-1961
label: Names
content: Biel, Joseph, 1891-1943
label: Names
content: Block, Dorothy, 1904-1984
label: Names
content: Ehrenreich, Emma, 1906-
label: Names
content: Fabri, Ralph, 1894-1975
label: Names
content: Force, Juliana, 1876-1948
label: Names
content: Grosz, George, 1893-1959
label: Names
content: Harkavy, Minna, b. 1895
label: Names
content: Jones, Joe, 1909-1963
label: Names
content: Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
label: Names
content: Knaths, Karl, 1891-1971
label: Names
content: Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000
label: Names
content: Lozowick, Louis, 1892-1973
label: Names
content: Model, Elisabeth D. (Elisabeth Dittmann), 1897-1993
label: Names
content: Norman, Maria
label: Names
content: Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987
label: Names
content: Von Wicht, John, 1888-1970
label: Names
content: Ward, Lynd, 1905-1985
place: label: Place
content: New York (N.Y.) -- Pictorial works
topic: label: Occupation
content: Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Works of art
label: Topic
content: Painting, American -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women photographers
label: Topic
content: Women printmakers
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Lena Gurr papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Lena Gurr from 1966 to 1979.
creator: label: Creator
content: Gurr, Lena, 1897-1992
setName: label: See more items in
content: Lena Gurr papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Lena Gurr (1897-1992) papers date from 1908 to 1979 and measure 7.0 linear feet. Gurr was a painter and printmaker who studied under John sloan and Maurice Sterne at the Art Students League between 1920-1922. She also studied in France and married painter and photographer Joseph Biel in 1931. The papers document both Gurr and Biel's careers through correspondence, notes, art work, printed material, scrapbooks, and photographs. The collection offers researchers a valuable resource for studying the New York art community of the pre-war era.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Born October 27, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York, Lena Gurr was the daughter of Hyman and Ida (Gorodnick) Gurr. She attended the Maxwell Training School for Teachers from 1915 to 1917, then turned her energies toward art. She studied painting and printmaking at the Educational Alliance Art School in 1919, and at the Art Students League (1920-1922), where she was a student of John Sloan and Maurice Stern. She also studied art in Paris, Nice, and Mentone, France. Her first solo exhibition was in 1932 at the Brooklyn Museum.

On November 24, 1931, Gurr married painter and photographer Joseph Biel. He was born October 27, 1891 in Russia, studied at the Russian Academy in Paris, and at the Workman's College, Melbourne, Australia. He also established the first Jewish Library in Melbourne. Upon his arrival in the United States, he studied under George Grosz at the Art Students League. Biel died in April 1943 of a heart ailment.
function: label: Function
content: Artists' studios -- France
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1908-1979
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.gurrlena
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Christmas cards
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Phonograph records
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into eight series. Material within each series is arranged chronologically.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1968, undated (box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-1979, undated (boxes 1-4; 3.1 linear ft.)

Series 3: Notes, 1926-1972 (box 4; 4 folders)

Series 4: Interview, 1950 (box 4; 1 folder)

Series 5: Artwork, circa 1908-1951 (box 4; 36 folders)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1912-1948 (boxes 4-5, 8-11; 1.45 linear ft.)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1926-1978 (box 5; 21 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, 1912-1978 (boxes 5-7; 1.05 linear ft.)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Jean Fitzgerald in 1994. The finding aid was modified during conversion to EAD by Stephanie Ashley in 2002.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 4940-4948 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Christmas cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Phonograph records
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The Lena Gurr papers date from 1908 to 1979 and measure 7.0 linear feet. The collection presents a good overview of Gurr's career as a painter and printmaker, and her relationship with her husband, painter Joseph Biel. Through biographical material, correspondence, notes, an interview with Lena Gurr, original artwork by Gurr and others, scrapbooks, printed material, photographs of Gurr, family, and friends, and photographs of artwork by Gurr and others, the collection offers researchers a valuable resource for studying the New York art community of the pre-war era.