Greta Kempton papers
name: label: Creator
content: Kempton, Greta, 1903-1991
label: Names
content: Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
topic: label: Occupation
content: Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Portrait painters -- Ohio
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Portrait painting
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Greta Kempton donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1976 and 1977.
creator: label: Creator
content: Kempton, Greta, 1903-1991
setName: label: See more items in
content: Greta Kempton papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of portrait painter Greta Kempton measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1942 to 1975. The papers document Kempton's career as an artist and include biographical material, correspondence, an exhibition file, printed material, photographs, and scattered writings.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Greta Kempton (1903-1991) was a portrait painter active in New York City and Ohio. She is noted for her portraits of Harry S. Truman and his family. 

Greta Kempton was born in Vienna, Austria in 1903. She came to the United States in the mid-1920s and studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. Focusing on portraits, Kempton's subjects included political figures in Washington, D.C., most notably Harry S. Truman, his wife Elizabeth (Bess) Truman, and members of President Truman's cabinet. 

Kempton and her husband, businessman Ambrose McNamara, retired to Medina, Ohio, where she continued to paint portraits for local and national figures. She died in New York City in 1991.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1942-1975
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.kempgret
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2020.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of portrait painter Greta Kempton measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1942 to 1975. The papers document Kempton's career as an artist and include biographical material, correspondence, an exhibition file, printed material, photographs, and scattered writings. 

Much of Kempton's correspondence is with members of prominent families whose portraits she painted. Photographs of Kempton are with members of the Truman and Johnson Administrations during the presentation of her portraits. Other photos are of her works of art. Writings by Kempton include recollections of her experience painting portraits of the Truman family.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Harry S. Truman Library also holds the Papers of Greta Kempton, 1930-91, bulk dates 1946-1991.