Philip Pearlstein papers
name: label: Creator
content: Pearlstein, Philip, 1924-
label: Names
content: WBAI Radio (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: WRFM (Radio station : New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Barnet, Will, 1911-2012
label: Names
content: Blaine, Michael
label: Names
content: Cantor, Dorothy
label: Names
content: Close, Chuck, 1940-
label: Names
content: Downes, Rackstraw
label: Names
content: Dückers, Alexander, 1939-
label: Names
content: Field, Richard
label: Names
content: Haas, Richard, 1936-
label: Names
content: Hampleman, Jean
label: Names
content: Kelly, W. J.
label: Names
content: Levine, Jack, 1915-2010
label: Names
content: McCarthy, David, 1960-
label: Names
content: Shaman, Sanford Sivitz
label: Names
content: Storr, Robert
label: Names
content: Tamburini, Fernando
label: Names
content: Tsao, Vivian, 1950-
label: Names
content: Updike, John
label: Names
content: Viola, Jerome
label: Names
content: Wallin, Leland
label: Names
content: Ward, John
label: Names
content: Warhol, Andy, 1928- -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Witkin, Jerome
label: Names
content: Yezzi, David
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Architecture -- Egypt
label: Topic
content: Architecture, Roman
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated in multiple installments by Philip Pearlstein from 1975 to 2009.
creator: label: Creator
content: Pearlstein, Philip, 1924-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Philip Pearlstein papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of New York artist Philip Pearlstein measure 31.8 linear feet and 16.68 GB and date from circa 1940 to 2008. The collection is comprised of biographical material, correspondence, interviews and transcripts, writing projects and lectures, personal business records, printed material, three scrapbooks, photographs and moving images,  documentary production material, digital records, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film that documents Pearlstein's career as a painter and educator.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Philip Pearlstein (1924- ) is a painter and educator based in New York, N.Y. 

Pearlstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he attended classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art as a child. While still in high school, his paintings were reproduced in Life magazine after winning Scholastic magazine's high school art competition. After graduating from high school Pearlstein enrolled in the Carnegie Institute of Technology's (CIT) art school, but left after a year to serve in the Army during World War II. He gained knowledge of printing, drafting, and sign painting while stationed in Florida and Italy. After the war he returned to CIT as a student and became art editor of the engineering school's Carnegie Technical magazine. During this time Pearlstein met his wife, Dorothy Cantor, and became close friends with Andy Warhol, both classmates at CIT. Pearlstein moved to New York City with Warhol after receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1949. In 1955, he completed his thesis on Francis Picabia and received a Master of Arts in art history from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. 

As Pearlstein's career evolved, he became known for his realistic nudes and landscapes. Many of Pearlstein's paintings were inspired by his travels to the western United States, Peru, Egypt, and to Italy as a 1958 Fulbright Grant recipient. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally, and he has worked closely with the Tanager and Alan Frumkin Galleries in New York. In addition to his painting career, Pearlstein was an instructor at Pratt Institute from 1959 to 1963 and at Brooklyn College from 1963 to 1988. He is also a member of the National Academy of Design and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, serving as president from 2003 to 2006.

Pearlstein continues to work and live in New York, N.Y.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 31.8 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 16.68 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1940-2008
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.pearphil
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 10 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1964-2008 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 1, 36, OV42)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1955-2008 (8.5 linear Feet; Boxes 1-10, OVs 42-43, 0.168 GB; ER01)

Series 3: Interviews and Transcripts, 1957-2003 (0.5 linear Feet; Box 10)

Series 4: Writing Projects and Lectures, circa 1945-2008 (2.5 linear Feet; Boxes 10-13, 37-38, 8.26 GB: ER02-ER13)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1955-2007 (1 linear Feet; Boxes 13-14, 3.77 GB: ER14-ER15)

Series 6: Printed Materials, 1946-2008 (3.0 linear Feet; Boxes 14-21, 36, OVs 42-43)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, circa 1953-1970s (0.4 linear Feet; Box 22)

Series 8: Artwork, undated, 1967-2004 (0.2 linear Feet; Box 22, OV 42)

Series 9: Photographs and Moving Images, 1940s-2008 (3.3 linear Feet; Boxes 22, 37, 39-41, 4.18 GB; ER16-ER18)

Series 10: Philip Pearlstein Draws the Artist's Model, Documentary Production Material, 1983-1991 (8.5 linear Feet; Boxes 23-30, SAV 31-35)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy and Megan McShea in 2018. Motion picture film reels were inspected and re-housed in 2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Preservation and Collection Care Fund. Additional finding aid description of the video recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of New York artist Philip Pearlstein measure 31.8  linear feet and 16.68 GB and date from circa 1940 to 2008. The collection is comprised of biographical material, correspondence, interviews and transcripts, writing projects and lectures, personal business records, printed material, three scrapbooks, photographs and moving images,  documentary production material, digital records, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film that documents Pearlstein's career as a painter and educator.

Biographical material  includes appointment books, several awards, annotated calendars, a catalogue raisonné working list,  identification card, membership files, resumes, and one sound recording. Correspondence is with Will Barnet, Chuck Close, Rackstraw Downes, Richard Haas, Jack Levine, Robert Storr, John Updike, Leland Wallin, Jerome Witkin, family, galleries and museums, students, colleagues, artists, arts organizations, and includes a digital recording.

Also found are sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with Pearlstein by Vivian Tsao, Michael Blaine, Sanford Sivitz Shaman, David McCarthy, and broadcast stations WRFM and WBAI. Writing projects and lectures by Pearlstein consist of student work, numerous articles and essays, sound and video recordings of lectures and speeches, letters, memorials, miscellaneous manuscripts and notes, and a U.S. and U.S.S.R. Workshop Exchange project proposal. Writings by others about Pearlstein are by W.J. Kelly, Alexander Dückers, Richard Field, John Ward, Jerome Viola, Robert Storr, and David Yezzi.

Personal business records contain agreements, consignment and loan documents, donations, financial material, exhibition files,  insurance and inventories, recommendations written by Pearlstein, reproduction permissions, digital recordings, and teaching files for various institutions. Art reproductions, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for exhibitions of artwork by Pearlstein and others, magazines and journals, newsletters, postcards, and publicity files that include one digital recording are in printed materials. 

Two scrapbooks are of Egyptian and Roman architecture and objects accompanied by notes and a small amount of sketches, and one scrapbook is printed material regarding Pearlstein's work and exhibitions. Artwork is by Jean Hampleman, Fernando Tamburini, and unidentified artists. Photographs and moving images that include video recordings and motion picture film of Pearlstein in the studio, portraits, and candids; personal photographs of family, travel, and classmates including Andy Warhol and Dorothy Cantor; artist's models; events and exhibitions; and works of art.

Completed and unedited video and sound recordings, computer graphics footage, soundtrack material, and administrative records for the 1985 documentary video production Philip Pearlstein Draws the Artist's Model are also in this collection.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Philip Pearlstein conducted by Paul Cumming, June 8 to August 10, 1972.