Elaine de Kooning papers
name: label: Creator
content: De Kooning, Elaine
label: Names
content: Chessman, Caryl, 1921-1960
label: Names
content: De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997
label: Names
content: Kennedy, John F. (1917-1963)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State)
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State)
label: Occupation
content: Authors -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Artists -- Political activity
label: Topic
content: Capital punishment
label: Topic
content: Abstract expressionism
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women educators
label: Topic
content: Women authors
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2003 by Denise Lassaw, de Kooning's goddaughter  and her mother Ernestine Lassaw, and in 2013-2015 by Denise Lassaw. Interview transcripts and lectures were  donated in 2015 by Doris Aach, a friend who transcribed them for de Kooning.
creator: label: Creator
content: De Kooning, Elaine
setName: label: See more items in
content: Elaine de Kooning papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The scattered papers of Abstract Expressionist painter Elaine de Kooning are dated circa 1959-2013 and measure 1.1 linear feet and 0.003 GB. Found within the papers are letters, writings, a sketch of John F. Kennedy, notes, a sound recording, a few documents regarding Willem de Kooning, transcripts of interviews of de Kooning, transcripts of recorded conversations between de Kooning and others, and transcripts of lectures by de Kooning and others.  There are a few photographs of de Kooning and of de Kooning with others, including John F. Kennedy, artist James Bohary, and Ad Reinhardt, and of artwork. Most of the transcripts and few photographs are digitized. Also found are printed materials and two scrapbooks containing a variety of documents about de Kooning's protest against the death penalty and efforts to save the life of convicted criminal Caryl Chessman.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989) was an Abstract Expressionist painter, teacher and writer who lived and worked in New York City and East Hampton, N.Y.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, de Kooning studied briefly at Hunter College before enrolling at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School in New York City. She had her first solo exhibition in 1952 at the Stable Gallery in New York and has paintings in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and other institutions. She taught at Yale University, Carnegie Mellon Institute, University of Pennsylvania and other colleges and art schools. Elaine de Kooning died of lung cancer in 1989 at Southampton Hospital in Southampton, New York. Willem de Kooning, her husband of 48 years, survived her.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.1 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.003 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1959-2013
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.dekoelas
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 5 series:

Series 1: Personal Papers, circa 1960s-1989 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Interviews, Conversations, and Lectures, 1978-1988 (Box 1, ER01; 0.3 linear feet, 0.001 GB)

Series 3: Photographs, circa 1960s (Box 2, ER02; 4 folders, 0.002 GB)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1961-1982 (Boxes 2-3; 5 folders)

Series 5: Scrapbooks, circa 1959-1962 (Boxes 2-3: 0.3 linear ft.)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Harriet E. Shapiro in 2013. Additional papers were processed in 2015 by Erin Kinhart.
Born-digital material was processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The scattered papers of Abstract Expressionist painter Elaine de Kooning are dated circa 1959-2013 and measure 1.1 linear feet and 0.003 GB. Found within the papers are letters, writings, a sketch of John F. Kennedy, notes, a sound recording, a few documents regarding Willem de Kooning, transcripts of interviews of de Kooning, transcripts of recorded conversations between de Kooning and others, and transcripts of lectures by de Kooning and others.  There are a few photographs of de Kooning and of de Kooning with others, including John F. Kennedy, artist James Bohary, and Ad Reinhardt, and of artwork.  Most of the transcripts and few photographs are digitized.  Also found are printed materials and two scrapbooks containing a variety of documents about de Kooning's protest against the death penalty and efforts to save the life of convicted criminal Caryl Chessman.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Among the holding of the Archives is an oral history interview conducted in 1981 by Phyllis Tuchman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.  Also found is a collection of Elaine and Willem de Kooning financial records.