Ethel Fisher papers
name: label: Creator
content: Fisher, Ethel, 1923-
label: Names
content: Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Brentwood Art Center
label: Names
content: Barnet, Will, 1911-2012
label: Names
content: Boxer, Stanley
label: Names
content: Coleborn, Keith
label: Names
content: Ehrenkranz, Elaine
label: Names
content: Fernandez, Rafael
label: Names
content: Fine, Irving, 1914-1962
label: Names
content: Getz, Ilse, 1917-
label: Names
content: Jones, Keri
label: Names
content: Kitaj, Sandra Fisher
label: Names
content: Kott, Seymour
label: Names
content: Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003
label: Names
content: Pearson, Henry, 1914-2006
label: Names
content: Thek, Paul
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Ethel Fisher papers were donated by Ethel Fisher in two installments in 1997 and 2015.
creator: label: Creator
content: Fisher, Ethel, 1923-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ethel Fisher papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of California and New York painter Ethel Fisher measure 12.5 linear feet and 0.558 GB and date from 1930 to 2017.  Included are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, project files, exhibition files, artists' files, personal business records, printed and digital material, artwork and several sketchbooks, a few sound and video recordings, and photographic material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ethel Fisher (1923-2017) was a painter who lived in Pacific Palisades, California.

Ethel Fisher was born in Galveston, Texas in 1923.  She studied art at the University of Houston, University of Texas, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  After college, she moved to New York City and attended The Art Students League on scholarship from 1943-1946.  In New York, she studied with painter Will Barnet, Morris Kantor, and Robert Beverly Hale, and befriended many people in the art world.  She married Gene Fisher and their first daughter Sandra was born.  Sandra also became a painter and later married artist R. B. Kitaj.

Fisher and her family moved to Miami in 1948 where her daughter Margaret was born.  Upon her divorce, Fisher travelled in Europe for about a year before returning to New York City in the early 1960s, where she continued to paint and maintained 2 studios for her artwork.  She married art historian Seymour Kott in 1963.

In 1970, Fisher and her husband moved to Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, California.  Throughout her career as a painter, Ethel Fisher has had solo and group exhibitions at galleries in Havana, Cuba; West Palm Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; New York City, New York; and San Francisco and Los Angeles, California.  She has been the recipient of numerous awards and continues to paint.  In 2003, Fisher had solo exhibit of portraits at Platt Gallery in Los Angeles.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 12.5 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.558 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1930-2017
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.fishethe
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Travel diaries
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Watercolors
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 10 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-2014 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1, 13)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-2017 (5.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-6, 13, 15)

Series 3: Writings, 1965-2014 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 13)

Series 4: Project Files, 1954-2011 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 7, 12, 0.128 GB; ER01)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1945-2006 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)

Series 6: Artists' Files, 1952-2010 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 8, 12)

Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1959-2017 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 8, 13)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1940-2016 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 12-13)

Series 9: Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1944-2014 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 9, 12-15, OV16)

Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1942-2014 (2.2 linear feet;Boxes 9-11, 14, 0.430 GB; ER02)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed by Rihoko Ueno in 2016. The 2018 addition was processed by Ryan Evans in 2018. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Travel diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of California and New York painter Ethel Fisher measure 12.5 linear feet and 0.558 GB and date from 1930 to 2017.  Included are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, project files, exhibition files, artists' files, personal business records, printed and digital material, artwork and several sketchbooks, a few sound and video recordings, and photographic material.

Biographical material includes Art Students League records, address books and business cards, artist statements and resumes, an interview transcript and sound cassette, and other miscellaneous documents.

Correspondence is with family, friends, colleagues, artists, galleries, and museums.  The bulk of the correspondence is with daughter Sandra Fisher and husband Seymour Kott.  Notable correspondents include Will Barnet, Keith Coleborn, Elaine Ehrenkranz, Rafael Fernandez, Henry Pearson, and others.  There are also greeting cards and postcards, inluding numerous illustrated cards from Fisher to her husband Seymour.

Writings mostly consist of annotated appointment calendars and travel diaries along with some writings by others, such as a travel diary by Keith Coleborn and a graduate thesis by Keri Jones. 

Project files include correspondence, grant applications, printed and digital material, and publication agreements for art projects, commissions, studio tours, auctions, and speaking engagements.  Notable projects include material on the NBC-TV film Family Ties, art loans for the Showtime movie Town of the Eighties, and teaching material from Brentwood Art Center.

Exhibition files contain exhibition announcements, catalogs, publicity, reviews, correspondence, exhibition lists, price lists of artwork, and other material for Ethel Fisher's group and solo shows.

Artists' files include printed material about and limited correspondence with various artists in which Fisher was interested or with whom she was friends, including Stanley Boxer, Irving Fine, Ilse Getz, Ibram Lassaw, and Paul Thek.

Personal business records include consignments, price lists, loan agreements, receipts, donations, and sales documentation.

Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, magazines, and clippings about Ethel Fisher and other artists.  There are also books inscribed to Fisher.  

The artwork series includes sketchbooks, drawings, watercolors, and loose sketches.  

Photographic material consists of photographs, digital photographs, slides, and negatives of Ethel Fisher, her artwork, exhibitions, events, family, friends, artists, studios, and travel.  There are also "reference photos" of people, places, and objects which Fisher used for her portraits and paintings.