William Christopher papers
name: label: Artist
content: Christopher, William R, 1924-1973
label: Names
content: Selma to Montgomery Rights March (1965 : Selma, Ala.)
label: Names
content: Archer, Osceola
label: Names
content: Crapo, Henry H.
label: Names
content: French, Margaret
label: Names
content: Howard, Charles, 1899-1978
label: Names
content: King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1929-1968)
label: Names
content: Perlin, Bernard, 1918-
label: Names
content: Tooker, George, 1920-2011
label: Names
content: Von Mohrenschildt, Dimitri Sergius, 1902-2002
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters
label: Topic
content: Civil rights demonstrations -- Alabama -- Selma
label: Topic
content: Civil rights -- United States
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: William Christopher donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1972.
creator: label: Artist
content: Christopher, William R, 1924-1973
setName: label: See more items in
content: William Christopher papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The William Christopher papers measure 8.2 linear feet and date from circa 1920s to circa 1973. Materials include biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, five diaries, subject/project files, printed materials, photographs, numerous sketches and eleven sketchbooks, and five short film reels containing amateur footage of New York City.  The subject/project files include correspondence, printed materials, and two additional diaries about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: William Christopher was a painter, art instructor, and Civil Rights activist living and working in New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. He was born in Columbus, Georgia on March 4, 1924, and served in the U. S. Navy from 1941 to 1943. 

Aided by grants and scholarships, Christopher studied in France at the Sorbonne, Academie Julian, and the Ecoles d'Art Americaines between 1946-1948.  While there, he also studied with Ossip Zadkine.   He returned to New York and studied with Amedee Ozenfant and Hans Hofmann between 1948 and 1950. 

Christopher's painting was greatly influenced by his time spent in Paris and New York, and his later involvement with the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the march in Selma in 1965. His first U. S. solo exhibition was in 1952 at the Roko Gallery in New York, and he exhibited widely in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. at the Nexus Gallery, the Boston Arts Festival, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Joan Peterson Gallery, Galeria Juana Mordo, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.  In 1964, Christopher was invited to present his paintings to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the presentation of Dr. King's papers to Boston University.  This is where Christopher met King.  

Christopher moved to Hartland, Vermont in 1960, with his partner painter George Tooker.  He remained there for the rest of his life.  Christopher died in 1973.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1920s-circa 1973
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.chriwill
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 10 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1940s-circa 1973 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1947-circa 1973 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1947-1970 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 4: Diaries, circa 1940s-circa 1960s (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1943-1972 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 4, 9)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, circa 1950-circa 1972 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1950s-circa 1972 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 9, OV12)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1920s-circa 1970s (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 6, 8, MGP 4)

Series 9: Artwork and Sketchbooks, circa 1940s-circa 1970s (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 6-8, OV10-11, 13-18)

Series 10: Unidentified Project, Motion Picture Films, 1961 (0.5 linear feet; FC 19-23)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Multiple accessions were merged and archivally processed and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2015 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented accelerated processing when possible to increase information about access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Motion pictures (visual works)
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The William Christopher papers measure 8.2 linear feet and date from circa 1920s to circa 1973. Materials include biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, five diaries, subject/project files, printed materials, photographs, numerous sketches and eleven sketchbooks, and five reels of motion picture films, consisting of amateur footage of New York City.  The subject/project files include correspondence, printed materials, and two additional diaries about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. 

Biographical materials include address books, annotated memorabilia, awards and certificates, curriculum vitae and resume materials, and identification materials. Correspondence is with friends and fellow artists, including actress Osceola Archer and Henry Crapo, galleries, and others. Writings and notes include eleven notebooks, miscellaneous undated notes and papers, annotated drafts and writings by William Christopher, and writings by others. There are five diaries written by William Christopher from the 1940s to the 1960s. 

Subject files document miscellaneous projects in which Christopher was involved and/or interested, and include  several about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. containing correspondence, printed material, and two diaries written by Christopher during his attendance of the Civil Rights march from Selma to Montgomery. 

Scattered personal business papers concern artwork sold and loaned and personal finances. Printed materials include clippings, exhibition catalogs and materials, magazines and programs, and posters. Photographs are of  William Christopher, Henry Crapo, Margaret French, Charles Howard, Bernard Perlin, George Tooker, male models and figures, furniture, landscapes, buildings, and artwork. 

Christopher's papers include over one hundred sketches and watercolors, eleven sketchbooks, an artwork by Dimitri Von Mohrenshildt, and one sketch by George Tooker.  Also found among the papers are five film reels made by Christopher for an unfinished project, containing footage of New York City cityscapes and street scenes.