Raphael Soyer papers
name: label: Creator
content: Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987
label: Names
content: Ahlas, Lambro
label: Names
content: Baranik, Rudolf
label: Names
content: Biddle, George, 1885-1973
label: Names
content: Bratby, John, 1928-
label: Names
content: Burliuk, David, 1882-1967
label: Names
content: De Francia, Peter
label: Names
content: Goodrich, Lloyd, 1897-1987
label: Names
content: Hirsch, Joseph, 1910-1981
label: Names
content: Hirshhorn, Joseph H.
label: Names
content: Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967
label: Names
content: Lasker, Joe
label: Names
content: Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970
label: Names
content: Singer, Isaac Bashevis, 1904-
topic: label: Topic
content: Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Social realism
label: Topic
content: Realism
label: Topic
content: Painting, American
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Raphael Soyer donated portions of the collection between 1961 and 1980. He also loaned materials for microfilming in 1968. His widow, Rebecca, and his grandson, Joseph Leiber, on behalf of the entire Soyer family, donated additional materials in 1991 and 1993.
creator: label: Creator
content: Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987
setName: label: See more items in
content: Raphael Soyer papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of realist painter Raphael Soyer date from 1933 to 1989 and measure 3.9 linear feet. They document Soyer's career as a painter, printmaker, and writer. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, including several transcripts of interviews with Soyer; extensive personal and professional correspondence; writings and notes by Soyer and others; scattered legal and financial records; exhibition materials, clippings and other printed material; and photographs of Soyer in his studio, with artists and friends, and at art events. Also found are one sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Raphael Soyer (1899-1987) and his twin brother Moses (1899-1974) were born on December 25, 1899, in the Russian town Borisoglebsk. Their father Abraham was a scholar and Hebrew teacher who encouraged all of his children to sketch and paint. After the family was deported from Russia, they settled in the Bronx, New York, in 1912. Raphael and Moses briefly attended school, but at 16 they began working various jobs to help support their family. They also began taking free art classes at Cooper Union and later Raphael attended the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League where he studied with Guy Pene du Bois. He began to show his paintings in 1926 and in 1929 gallery owner Charles Daniel gave him his first one man show. Soyer became one of the leading realist painters and printmakers, often depicting Depression-era transients, Manhattan streetscapes, shoppers, and women at work. He also painted and sketched numerous self-portraits and portraits of fellow artists and cultural figures, many of whom were also his friends, including Allen Ginsberg, Chaim Gross, Edward Hopper, and Arshile Gorky.

 Beginning in the 1930s Soyer showed his work frequently at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Associated American Artists Galleries, National Collection of Fine Arts, and other national and international exhibitions. During the 1940s and 1950s he was a leading advocate of realism and spoke out against the abstract style that was dominating the New York art scene. In 1953 he co-founded Reality magazine.

Soyer joined the Forum Gallery in New York in the early 1960s and became good friends with his dealer Bella Fishko. Also during the 1960s he published three books, A Painter's Pilgrimage (1962), Homage to Thomas Eakins (1966), and Self-Revealment: a Memoir (1969), and had his first retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 1967. 

Throughout his career Soyer also occasionally taught at art schools including the Art Students League and the New School. He also collaborated with his friend, writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, by illustrating several of Singer's books. Soyer and his wife Rebecca, whom he married in 1931, lived the rest of their lives in New York City, but often traveled to Europe. They had one daughter, Mary. Soyer's final book, Diary of an Artist, was published in 1977 and in 1979 he received the Gold Medal from the National Arts Club. He continued painting realist subjects until his death in 1987.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1933-1989
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.soyeraph
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Writings
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1986 (Box 1, OV 6; 12 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1988 (Box 1-2; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 3: Writings & Notes, circa 1946-1987 (Box 2-3; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Legal & Financial Records, 1959-1988 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1933-1989 (Box 3-4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1953-1987 (Box 5, OV 6; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, 1968, undated (Box 5; 2 folders)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was typically microfilmed in the order in which was received on reels N68-1, 867-868, 1927-1928, and 4888-4890. Items on reel N68-1 were first lent for microfilming in 1968 and some of this material was subsequently donated. The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation provided funding for the later microfilming. The entire collection was merged, fully processed, arranged, and described by Erin Corley in 2007, and digitized in 2009 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The papers of Raphael Soyer in the Archives of American Art were digitized in 2009, and total 6074 images.

Materials which have not been scanned include photographs of works of art, select draft writings by Soyer, writings by others on unrelated topics, and certain routine financial documents and printed material. Exhibition catalogs have had their covers and relevant pages scanned.

Material lent for microfilming is available on 35mm microfilm reel N68-1 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Writings
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of realist painter Raphael Soyer date from 1933 to 1989 and measure 3.9 linear feet. They document Soyer's career as a painter, printmaker, and writer. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, including several transcripts of interviews with Soyer; extensive personal and professional correspondence; writings and notes by Soyer and others; scattered legal and financial records; exhibition materials, clippings and other printed material; and photographs of Soyer in his studio, with artists and friends, and at art events. Also found are one sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery. 

 Biographical materials include award certificates, including a 1975 certificate from the National Academy of Design, lists of artwork by Soyer, and several transcripts of interviews with Raphael Soyer in which he discusses topics such as his career as an artist, artists in New York City, and the inspiration for his artwork. 

Personal and professional correspondence is with numerous artists, writers, art historians, curators, gallery owners, arts organizations, museums, and universities. Correspondents include Lambro Ahlas, Rudolf Baranik, George Biddle, John Bratby, David Burliuk, Peter De Francia, Lloyd Goodrich, Joseph Hirsch, Joseph Hirshhorn, Edward Hopper, Joe Lasker, Henry Varnum Poor, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and many others. Additional correspondence is addressed to Reality magazine, for which Soyer was an editor.

Writings and notes by Soyer include several drafts and notes for his four published books A Painter's Pilgrimage (1962), Homage to Thomas Eakins (1966), Self-Revealment: a Memoir (1969), and Diary of an Artist (1977). Also by Soyer are draft essays, lectures, and articles - many about social realism. Writings by others include essays and articles by artists and art scholars sent to Soyer for review.

Scattered legal and financial records include bank statements, receipts, leases, and documents related to the publishing of his books. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, and other published items.

Photographs depict Soyer in his studio, with other artists and friends such as Chaim Gross, Edward Hopper, and Jose De Creeft, and at art events, and include a few photographs of his artwork. Also found are one pencil sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Also found at the Archives of American Art are several collections related to Raphael Soyer: Esther Reier letter from Raphael Soyer, 1978 May 29; Raphael Soyer's Artist Statement from 1947; a Raphael Soyer lecture from 1960; the papers of his twin brother, Moses Soyer; Brooklyn Museum interviews of artists, circa 1965-1968 (includes an interview of Soyer); and the Karl E. Fortess taped interviews with artists, 1963-1985, which also includes an interview with Raphael Soyer. The Archives of American Art's Oral History collection has an interview of Raphael Soyer dated May 13-June 1, 1981 conducted by Milton Brown. 

Additional Raphael Soyer papers, 1949-1954, are available at Cornell University.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Material
content: The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (N68-1) including a small amount of correspondence and three sketchbooks. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.