Ralph and Bena Frank Mayer papers
name: label: Creator
content: Mayer, Ralph, 1895-1979
label: Creator
content: Mayer, Bena Frank, 1898-1991
label: Names
content: Biddle, George, 1885-1973
label: Names
content: Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988
label: Names
content: Brook, Alexander, 1898-1980
label: Names
content: Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967
label: Names
content: Florsheim, Richard A., 1916-1979
label: Names
content: Hammer, Victor Karl, 1882-
label: Names
content: Hirsch, Stefan, 1899-1964
label: Names
content: Hurd, Peter, 1904-1984
label: Names
content: MacKendrick, Lilian
label: Names
content: Miller, Kenneth Hayes, 1876-1952
label: Names
content: Pach, Walter, 1883-1958
label: Names
content: Rattner, Abraham
label: Names
content: Sloan, John, 1871-1951
label: Names
content: Smith, David, 1906-1965
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art restorers
label: Occupation
content: Conservators
label: Occupation
content: Restorers
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Artists' materials
label: Topic
content: Art -- Conservation and restoration
label: Topic
content: Art -- Technique
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Material on reels D211-D213 was lent for microfilming in 1965 by Ralph Mayer. Portions were subsequently donated along with unmicrofilmed material, 1972-1979, by Ralph and Bena Frank Mayer.
creator: label: Creator
content: Mayer, Ralph, 1895-1979
label: Creator
content: Mayer, Bena Frank, 1898-1991
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Ralph Mayer: conservator, restorer, painter. Died 1979. Bena Frank Mayer: painter. They lived in New York. Ralph Mayer was educated as a chemical engineer, and spent several years working in the manufacture of paints and varnishes. He also studied painting at the Art Students League. His work in conservation and artists' materials led him to found the Artists Technical Research Institute in 1959. Author of The Artists Handbook of Materials and Techniques (1940) and The Painter's Craft (1948), and numerous articles. Taught at Columbia University.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.5 Linear Feet ((partially microfilmed on 3 reels))
unitdate: label: Date
content: [ca. 1920]-1964
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.mayeralp
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: 35mm microfilm reel D211-D213 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Correspondence, writings, photographs, art work, subject files, scrapbooks, and printed material.
label: Scope and Contents
content: REELS D211-D213: Ralph Mayer's correspondence is with artists, conservators, museum directors, publishers, art organizations, and others. Notebooks contain data on 19th century canvas makers and dealers of artists' materials. Also included are correspondence and a ledger regarding restoration and conservation of paintings, 1929-1963; files on Columbia University, the National Academy of Design, the Newark Museum, The New York State Department of Commerce, the Whitney Museum of Art, subway murals, and other subjects; and correspondence with the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding standards for paints and pigments. Photographs are of Ralph Mayer's paintings. Correspondents include: George Biddle, Isabel Bishop, Alexander Brook, Charles Burchfield, Richard A. Florsheim, Victor Hammer, Stefan Hirsch, Peter Hurd, Lilian MacKendrick, Kenneth H. Miller, Walter Pach, Abraham Rattner, John Sloan, and David Smith.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Bena Frank Mayer's papers consist of biographical material, clippings, correspondence, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and photographs of her paintings. Two scrapbooks contain printed material, letters, and photographs regarding the Mayers' careers.
label: Scope and Contents
content: UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence includes Ralph Mayer's, 1930-1964, mainly concerning the use of artists' materials, Bena Frank correspondence, 1910-1977, and letters concerning Mayer's book, The Painter's Craft, 1948. Among his correspondents are Josef Albers, Thomas Hart Benton, Isabel Bishop, Georgia O'Keeffe, Walter Pach, Paul Sample, John Sloan, and Frederic Taubes. Subject files are on the Artists' Laboratory, the Art Students League, Gustav Berger, Huntington Hartford, the MacDowell Colony, the National Academy of Design, Diego Rivera murals, subway murals, and other subjects. Writings consist of papers on commercial standards of paint, a typescript of The Painter's Craft, and lecture notes from classes Mayer taught at the Art Students League and Columbia University.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Art work consists of sketchbooks and sketches. Photographs are of the Mayers, their studios, family, friends, and paintings. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs and announcements, brochures, clippings, and posters. There are also six scrapbooks, ca. 1930-1940, containing clippings, photographs, letters received, and printed material.