William Kienbusch papers
name: label: Creator
content: Kienbusch, William, 1914-1980
label: Names
content: Clifford, Stanley
label: Names
content: Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964
label: Names
content: Kraushaar, Antoinette M., 1902-1992
label: Names
content: Maitland, Walter McClymonds, 1912-1989
label: Names
content: Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970
label: Names
content: Rattner, Abraham
label: Names
content: Schrag, Karl
label: Names
content: Tam, Reuben
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Landscape painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painting, Abstract -- United States
label: Topic
content: Painting, American
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945
label: Topic
content: Painting -- Technique
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: William Kienbusch lent materials for microfilming in 1970. Other papers were donated by his sisters, Millicent Kelly and Juliana Little, and his friend Stanley Clifford as co-executives of the Kienbusch estate from 1985-1991. Stanley Clifford donated additional materials in 2008 and 2010.Clifford's sons, Leslie and Stuart Clifford donated additional material in 2024.
creator: label: Creator
content: Kienbusch, William, 1914-1980
setName: label: See more items in
content: William Kienbusch papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of landscape painter and art instructor William Kienbusch measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1915 to 2006, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1936 to 1980. The collection documents Kienbusch's life as an artist in New York City and Cranberry Island, Maine. Files include biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; writings and notes; scattered printed material; photographs; and artwork, including 17 sketchbooks.

There is a 2.1 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2024 that includes printed material; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of Kienbusch, family, friends, events and works of art; an interview on two cassettes; a VHS tape; and a guest book. Materials date from circa 1943-2006.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: William Kienbusch (1914-1980) was a painter and art instructor in New York, NY, and Cranberry Island, Maine. 

Kienbusch was born in New York City and attended boarding school at Hotchkiss Preparatory school, where he was taught painting by Robert Osborn. During the summers of 1934 and 1935, while attending Princeton University, he studied watercolor with Eliot O'Hara at Goose Rocks Beach, Maine. After graduating from Princeton in 1936, he attended the Art Students League, studied with Henry Varnum Poor at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and spent a year in Paris, studying at the Academie Colarossi. During this time he also had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe before the outbreak of World War II. He returned to New York City in the winter of 1938 and settled in Greenwich Village, at one point living above artist Stuart Davis.

 Kienbusch spent the summers of 1940 and 1941 in Stonington, Maine. Here he found his true identity as an abstract expressionist landscape painter. During World War II he served in the Army, teaching camouflage design and making maps in Guam. When he returned to New York in 1946, he began painting in casein rather than oils or watercolor. In 1947 he joined Kraushaar Galleries, which would continue to be his dealer for the remainder of his career. From 1948 to 1969 he taught at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School and spent summers in Maine. Kienbusch lost much of his artwork and personal papers in a 1969 fire at his New York studio apartment. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art among many others. After several years of poor health, Kienbusch died in 1980.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1915-2006
label: Date
content: bulk 1936-1980
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.kienwill
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Drafts (documents)
label: Type
content: Visitors' books
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Notebooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1915-1980 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1920-2001 (Box 1-3; 2.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940s-1970s (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1937-1980 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1920-1980s (Box 3-5; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1930s-1970s (Box 5; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1943-2006 (Box 6-9; 2.1 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Erin Kinhart in 2011.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Material lent for microfilming is available on 35mm microfilm reel N70-22 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Drafts (documents)
label: Genre/Form
content: Visitors' books
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Notebooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of landscape painter and art instructor William Kienbusch measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1915 to 2006, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1936 to 1980. The collection documents Kienbusch's life as an artist in New York City and Cranberry Island, Maine. Files include biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; writings and notes; scattered printed material; photographs; and artwork, including 17 sketchbooks. 

Biographical materials include military records, identification and membership documents, guestbooks, and an album entitled "Book of Friendship" containing short notes written by friends for Kienbusch on the occasion of his 60th Birthday. Also of note is copy of the "In Memoriam" written for Kienbusch by Karl Schrag.

The bulk of the papers consist of family and general correspondence. Family correspondence includes letters from Kienbusch to his parents regarding school, summer camps, travel, and the army. General correspondence includes many letters he sent to his close friend, Stanley Clifford, as well as letters from friends and associates, such as Stuart Davis, Antionette Kraushaar, Walter Maitland, Henry Varnum Poor, Abraham Rattner, Karl Schrag, Reuben Tam, and others.

Writings and notes include scattered notes, lists, and draft writings, as well as three notebooks, including one on casein technique. Printed material includes several armed forces publications and maps from World War II, clippings, and press releases. Photographs are of William Kienbusch, including two snapshots of Kienbusch with friends Dorothy Andrews and Reuben Tam. Also found are numerous travel and nature photographs. Artwork includes drawings created by Kienbusch while on his military tour in Guam and seventeen sketchbooks containting drawings in pencil, ink, and pastel.

There is a 2.1 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2024 that includes printed material; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of Kienbusch, family, friends, events and works of art; an interview on two cassettes; a VHS tape; and a guest book. Materials date from circa 1943-2006.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is the Walter Maitland correspondence with and about William Kienbusch, 1969-1981; the William Kienbusch letters to Francis and Sydney Hamabe, 1958-1977; the Thomas Barrett and Leni Mancuso papers relating to William Kienbusch, 1950-1980; and an oral history interview with William Kienbusch conducted by Forrest Selvig, November 1-7, 1968.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Material
content: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N70-22) including a scrapbook of clippings, exhibition catalogs, photographs of Kienbusch, letters, writings, and two journals describing his travels in Europe and Asia. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.