Norman Lewis papers
name: label: Creator
content: Lewis, Norman, 1909-1979
label: Names
content: Spiral (Group of artists)
label: Names
content: United States. Work Projects Administration (N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Brand, Millen, 1906-1980
label: Names
content: Yeargans, Jim
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: African American painters
label: Topic
content: Scrapbooks
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were lent for microfilming 1969-1971 by Norman Lewis and returned after filming.
creator: label: Creator
content: Lewis, Norman, 1909-1979
setName: label: See more items in
content: Norman Lewis papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of African American painter Norman Lewis date from 1919 to 1971. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, a scrapbook, sketchbooks, photographs, and printed material including exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, and clippings.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Norman Lewis (1909-1979) was an African American painter in New York, New York. He began his career painting mostly figurative work, but is now associated with abstract expressionism as his work became more abstract in the late 1940s. Lewis was a founding member of Spiral, one of the groups of artists and writers who protested the controversial Harlem on My Mind exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1968.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5 Microfilm reels
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1919-1971
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.lewinorm
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Microfilm reels
label: Type
content: Diaries
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the pre-existing microfilm arrangement, the collection is arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was microfilmed on Reels 52-53, 91-92, and N69-47 and was returned to Norman Lewis after filming. The microfilm was described in a finding aid by Jayna Josefson in 2025 and the microfilm was digitized in 2025 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collections Information System (CIS) IRM Pool Fund.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection has been microfilm onto reels 52-53, 91-92, and N69-47. The microfilm has been digitized and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals returned to Norman Lewis after microfilming.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of African American painter Norman Lewis date from 1919 to 1971. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence inclding with Millen Brand and Jim Yeargans, a scrapbook, sketchbooks, photographs, and printed material including exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, and clippings.