Reuben Tam papers
name: label: Creator
content: Tam, Reuben
label: Names
content: Alan Gallery (Charles Alan)
label: Names
content: Brooklyn Museum of Art
label: Names
content: Coe Kerr Gallery
label: Names
content: Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
label: Names
content: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
label: Names
content: Andrews, Dorothy, 1918-2008
label: Names
content: Kienbusch, William, 1914-1980
label: Names
content: Nesjar, Carl, 1920-2015
label: Names
content: Solomon, Hyde, 1911-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Maine
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Hawaii
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Educators -- Hawaii
label: Topic
content: Educators -- Maine
label: Topic
content: Educators -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Asian American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Scrapbooks were lent for microfilming in 1970 by Reuben Tam and were subsequently donated in 2009 along with additional papers by Geraldine King Tam, Reuben Tam's widow. 34 additional sketchbooks were donated in 2020 by the Geraldine King Tam Trust, via Cindy King, trustee and niece of Geraldine King Tam.
creator: label: Creator
content: Tam, Reuben
setName: label: See more items in
content: Reuben Tam papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of landscape painter and educator Reuben Tam measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1931 to 2006. The papers document his career as a painter in New York, Maine, and Hawaii through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, art organizations, schools, and galleries; diaries, poetry, and other writings; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, other printed material; photographs; artwork, including numerous sketchbooks from his time in Maine, New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska and Canada; and eight scrapbooks.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Reuben Tam (1916-1991) was a landscape painter and educator in New York, Maine, and Hawaii. Tam was born in Kapaa, Hawaii, in 1916. He received a degree in education in 1937 from the University of Hawaii and was briefly a public school teacher before attending graduate courses at the California School of Fine Arts. In 1941 he moved to New York and took courses in art history and philosophy at the New School for Social Research and Columbia University. Tam became affiliated with the Downtown Gallery in 1945 and was a prolific exhibitor in national and regional shows, winning critical praise as an abstract landscape painter. In 1948 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and first exhibited in the National Academy's annual exhibition in 1947.

 Tam was an instructor at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School from 1946 to 1974. While there he taught advanced studies in painting and was chairman of the graduate painting department. He also served as a visiting professor at Oregon State University, Haystack, and Queens College, CUNY.

 Beginning in 1948, Tam and his wife, Geraldine, spent summers at their home and studio on Monhegan Island, Maine. Tam's work was deeply influenced by coastal landscapes both in Maine and in his native Hawaii. In 1981 he and his wife moved back to Kapaa, Hawaii, where he continued to paint and exhibit his new works until his death in 1991.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 9.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1931-2006
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.tamreub
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Poems
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Watercolors
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1934-1993 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1931-2006 (Box 1-4; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries, 1932-1974 (Box 4-5; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, 1939-1987 (Box 5; 7 folders)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1935-1997 (Box 5-6, 9; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1930-1990 (Box 6-7, 9; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 7: Sketchbooks and Drawings, circa 1936-1975 (Boxes 7, 9-10, OV 11, Boxes 12-13, OV 14; 2.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1938-1978 (Box 7-8; 0.9 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and described in a finding aid by Erin Kinhart in 2011. The collection was fully processed and prepared for digitization by Rihoko Ueno in 2017. The digitization of the Reuben Tam papers received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. An addition of 1.5 linear feet was processed and the finding aid updated by Rihoko Ueno in 2024.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2017 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been digitized include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Poems
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of landscape painter and educator Reuben Tam measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1931 to 2006. The papers document his career as a painter in New York, Maine, and Hawaii through biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, art organizations, schools, and galleries; diaries, poetry, and other writings; exhibition catalogs, news clippings, other printed material; photographs; artwork, including numerous sketchbooks from his time in Maine, New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Alaska and Canada; and eight scrapbooks.

 Biographical material includes school documents, records of his tenure as an instructor at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School, artwork consignment and sales records, and slides and accompanying audio cassette recording of the "Reuben Tam Show" about his work as an artist on Monhegan Island, Maine. 

 Correspondence is with family, fellow artists, including William Kienbusch and Hyde Solomon, as well as art organizations, schools, and museums, such as Brooklyn Museum of Art School, Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Maine Coast Artists group, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Also found is correspondence with the three galleries which represented his work: Downtown Gallery, Alan Gallery, and Coe Kerr Gallery.

 The collection includes five bound diaries as well as diary entries written by Reuben Tam on loose sheets of paper, primarily documenting the 1940s. Other writings include drafts of poetry, one notebook, miscellaneous notes, and essays by others.

 Printed material consists of school publications, exhibition catalogs and announcements for solo and group shows, brochures, flyers, magazines, bulletins, and news clippings. Eight scrapbooks found in this collection also include newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, as well as event invitations, membership cards, and letters, documenting 40 years of Reuben Tam's career.

 Photographs are of Reuben Tam, Tam with friends and family, and artwork. One photograph album contains photographs from Tam's visits to Maine from 1946 to 1948, and includes photographs of fellow artists Hyde Solomon, Carl Nesjar, Dorothy Andrews, and William Kienbusch. 
 
 Sketchbooks and drawings in the collection includes prints, drawings, and watercolors in addition to many sketchbooks documenting the coastal landscape of Monhegan Island, Maine; Provincetown, Massachusetts; Maui and (possibly) Kauai, Hawaii; Mystic, Connecticut; Ontario, Canada; and places in Oregon and Alaska. Most of the New York sketchbooks contain abstract drawings, possibly preliminary sketches for paintings, rather than landscapes.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Reuben Tam papers, 1958-1966, are also located at Syracuse University.