Calvert Coggeshall Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Coggeshall, Calvert, 1907-1990
label: Names
content: Artists Space (Gallery)
label: Names
content: Betty Parsons Gallery
label: Names
content: Bowdoin College, Museum of Art
label: Names
content: Jack Tilton Gallery
label: Names
content: William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum
label: Names
content: Evans, Walker, 1903-1975
label: Names
content: Lekakis, Michael, 1907-
label: Names
content: Morgan, Priscilla
label: Names
content: Penn, Arthur, 1922-
label: Names
content: Perkins, Frances
label: Names
content: Shoji, Sadao, 1937-
label: Names
content: Tworkov, Jack
label: Names
content: Washburn, Gordon B. (Gordon Bailey), 1904-1983
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Maine
label: Topic
content: Designers -- Maine
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Poets -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Interior decorators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers of Calvert Coggeshall were donated in 2006 by his son Tomlin Coggeshall.
creator: label: Creator
content: Coggeshall, Calvert, 1907-1990
setName: label: See more items in
content: Calvert Coggeshall Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Maine abstract painter and interior designer Calvert Coggeshall measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1920-1999, with the bulk of the material dating from 1965-1989. They consist of scattered biographical material, personal and business related correspondence, writings, exhibition files, design business files, printed material, and photographs of Coggeshall, his friends, and his work.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Calvert Coggeshall (1907-1990) worked as an abstract painter and interior designer primarily in Maine and New York City. From 1951 to 1978, he exhibited regularly with the Betty Parsons Gallery.

Born in Whitesboro, New York, Coggeshall started his career as an interior designer, working on commissions for clients in the New York City area. He later consulted on the interior designs for Henry Dreyfuss'line of cruise/cargo ships called American Export, popular from the 1940s through the 1960s. In the 1940s, he also worked with inventor Arthur Young to design interiors for the first full-sized scale of Bell helicopter models. By the 1950s, Coggeshall began splitting his time between painting and design work, though he continued to regularly consult and work on several architectural and interior design projects throughout the 1980s.

As a painter, his early monochromatic abstracts were influenced by his friend and abstract expressionist, Bradley Walker Tomlin. An early member of Betty Parson's stable of painters, Coggeshall was friends with other artists, including Jack Tworkov, Grace Hartigan, Katharine Kuh, Nora Sayre, Hedda Sterne, and Richard Tuttle. After summering and eventually moving to Newcastle, Maine in the 1960s, he began introducing color into his abstract paintings. and A major retrospective of his work was held at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Maine in 1977. In 1978, he received a Guggenheim fellowship in recognition of his work. Working out of his studios in Newcastle and Manhattan, Coggeshall continued producing abstract paintings into the late 1980s. Coggeshall died in 1990.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.7 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1920-1999
label: Date
content: bulk 1965-1989
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.coggcalv
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Architectural drawings
label: Type
content: Oral histories (document genres)
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Essays
label: Type
content: Blueprints
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drafts (documents)
label: Type
content: Poems
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1960-1990 (Box 1, OV 3; 8 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1920-1993 (Box 1, OV 3; 28 folders)

Series 3: Writings, 1965-1989 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1970-1992 (Box 1, OV 3; 12 folders)

Series 5: Business Files, 1973-1989 (Boxes 1-2, OV 4-5; 27 folders)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1950-1999 (Box 2, OV 3; 6 folders)

Series 7: Photographs, 1940-1985 (Box 2; 6 folders)
processinfo: label: Processing Information note
content: The collection was fully processed by Judy Ng in January 2011.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Architectural drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Oral histories (document genres)
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Essays
label: Genre/Form
content: Blueprints
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Drafts (documents)
label: Genre/Form
content: Poems
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The papers of Maine abstract painter and designer Calvert Coggeshall measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1920-1999, with the bulk of the material dating from 1965-1989. They consist of biographical material, personal and business correspondence, personal writings, exhibition and business files, printed material, and photographs. The bulk of the material documents Coggeshall's professional work and his friendships with other artists.

Biographical material includes Coggeshall's personal address books and day planning notes, oral history transcripts, including an interview discussing his friendship with Walker Evans, a copy of his Guggenheim application and acceptance letters, and miscellaneous records.

Correspondence is predominantly in the form of cards, postcards, and short letters received from family and friends. These include correspondence from Coggeshall's father, children, his older grandchildren, and his mother-in-law, Frances Coralie Perkins. Other frequent correspondents include family friend Daphne Cox, artists Michael Lekakis, Loren McIver, Jack Tworkov, and museum director Gordon Washburn.

Personal writings consist of poetry notes and drafts and a short essay on church design.

Exhibition files concern Coggeshall's one man shows at the Betty Parsons Gallery during the 1970s and early 1980s, his retrospective at Bowdoin College in 1977, and his inclusion in shows at Artists Space, the Farnsworth Museum, and Jack Tilton Gallery.

Business files related to Coggeshall's interior design work consist of architectural renderings and blueprints, work proposals, invoices, and receipts. Some of the more significant projects include work done for Lisa de Kooning, Priscilla Morgan, Arthur Penn, and Shoji Sadao.

Printed material includes newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements from other artists, and a booklet showcasing abstract artists titled, "Artfully Taught."

Photographs are color and black and white prints of Coggeshall and his friends in his studio and outside his Newcastle, Maine residence. There are also black and white photographs of Coggeshall's early design work in furniture and fabric, as well as documentation of his gallery design work for the Albright Art Gallery.