John McLaughlin papers
name: label: Creator
content: McLaughlin, John, 1898-
label: Names
content: Tamarind Lithography Workshop
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art dealers -- California
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Painting, Abstract -- California -- Exhibitions
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The John McLaughlin papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in multiple installments.  John McLaughlin donated material in 1973 and his widow Florence McLaughlin donated material in 1976.  Additional papers were donated by the artist's nephew John McLaughlin in 1998 and 1999. A painting was donated 2015 by the Stephne' Hesen estate.
creator: label: Creator
content: McLaughlin, John, 1898-
setName: label: See more items in
content: John McLaughlin papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Southern California art dealer and abstract painter John McLaughlin measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1922 to 1979, bulk 1936 to 1976. The collection documents John McLaughlin's personal life and career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, Tamarind Lithography fellowship files, scattered personal business records, printed materials, preliminary sketches and designs, and photographic material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: John Dwyer McLaughlin (1898-1976) was best known as one of the leading Los Angeles "hard-edge" geometric abstractionist painters and one of the artists featured in the seminal 1959 exhibition "Four Abstract Classicists" curated by Jules Langsner.  McLaughlin was also a dealer of Japanese art prints. 

McLaughlin was born and educated in Massachusetts.  He served in the United States Navy during World War I from 1917-1921 and married Florence Emerson in 1928.  McLaughlin began painting around 1932 with no formal training.  In 1935, the couple moved to Japan and lived there for several years before moving back to Boston, where they opened The Tokaido, Inc., a Japanese art print gallery. From this time up to the start of World War II, McLaughlin worked primarily as a print dealer.  During World War II, he served as a language intelligence officer in the Marines, thanks to his knowledge of Japanese. 

After the war, McLaughlin and his wife settled in Dana Point, California, where he began painting in earnest, gaining some early local success.  His painting, Hope Deferred was awarded first prize for oil painting in the 1948 San Diego Art Guild Annual.  He became associated with the Felix Landau Gallery in Los Angeles and was one of four painters included in the historic 1959 Four Abstract Classicists, exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art organized by critic Jules Langsner which also featured the work of Frederick Hammersley, Lorser Feitelson, and Karl Benjamin.  The phrase "hard-edge painting" was first used in association with this exhibition as a description of a unique California style of geometric abstractionist painting. 

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s McLaughlin exhibited widely and became a mentor for many younger Los Angeles area reductive painters. He was admired for his integrity and independent position regarding the art market.  John McLaughlin died in Dana Point, California in 1976 at the age of 77.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1922-1979
label: Date
content: bulk 1936-1976
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.mclajohn
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1941-circa 1975 (8 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-1976 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1936-1976 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Tamarind Lithography Fellowship Files, 1958-1970 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1937-1975 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1932-1979 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, 5)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1948-circa 1976 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)

Series 8: Photographic Material, 1922-1979 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Portions of the collection were microfilmed on reels 1410-1413 soon after they were donated to the archives. Papers were processed by Rihoko Ueno in 2014 with funding from the Frederick Hammersley Foundation. The 2015 addition was processed in 2019 by Ryan Evans and the collection was prepared for digitization by Rihoko Ueno and digitized in 2022 with funding from the Frederick Hammersley Foundation and The Walton Family Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection was digitized in 2022 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Southern California art dealer and abstract painter John McLaughlin measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1922 to 1979, bulk 1936 to 1976. The collection documents John McLaughlin's personal life and career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, Tamarind Lithography fellowship files, scattered personal business records, printed materials, preliminary sketches and designs, and photographic material.

Biographical material includes McLaughlin's military service records, art awards, and resumes.

Correspondence is with friends, artists, museums, and galleries.  Notable correspondents include Eugene Anderson, Karl Benjamin, Frederick Hammersley, Jules Langsner, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and others.

Writings include artist statements, lectures, and notes. Researchers will find McLaughlin's ideas about his work and aesthetics are also referenced in much of the correspondence. There are also writings about McLaughlin by others.

The Tamarind Lithography fellowship files consists of the letter of appointment, printed material, and profiles for fellow artists at the workshop.

Personal business records include assorted legal and financial papers, such as contracts with galleries, art loan agreements, consignment records, and art shipment expenses.  There are business papers about McLaughlin's Japanese print gallery, The Tokaido, Inc.  

Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs for McLaughlin's shows at the Andre Emmerich Gallery, Felix Landau Gallery, a retrospective at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1968, and the  seminal 1959 Four Abstract Classicists exhibition in Los Angeles, among others. Also included are exhibition announcements, news clippings, and press releases. 

Artwork includes annotated sketches, collages and designs for paintings, and one painting. 

Photographs, negatives, and slides are of McLaughlin, artwork, and exhibition installations. There is one album of photographs from a 1963 retrospective exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of John D. McLaughlin conducted July 23, 1974, by Paul J. Karlstrom.