Austin Merrill Mecklem and Marianne Greer Appel papers
name: label: Creator
content: Mecklem, Austin Merrill, 1894-1951
label: Names
content: Albright Art School (Buffalo, N.Y.) -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Federal Works Agency
label: Names
content: United States. Works Progress Administration
label: Names
content: Appel, Marianne, 1913-1988
label: Names
content: Henson, Jim
label: Names
content: Mecklem, Austin Merrill, 1894-1951
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Puppeteers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Illustrated books, Children's
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated in 2010 by Sarah Greer Mecklem and Merrill Mecklem Piera, Austin Mecklem's and Marianne Appel's daughters, and in 2019 by Sarah Greer Mecklem.
creator: label: Creator
content: Mecklem, Austin Merrill, 1894-1951
setName: label: See more items in
content: Austin Merrill Mecklem and Marianne Greer Appel papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Austin Merrill Mecklem and Marianne Greer Appel papers measure 5.0 linear feet and 0.035 GB and date from 1910-2006, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1928-1977. Correspondence, writings, drawings, printed and digital material, miscellaneous items and photographs document Mecklem as an artist, muralist and art instructor and Appel as an artist, puppet designer and author and illustrator of children's books. A significant part of Appel's papers consists of drafts of two illustrated children's books.

There is an unprocessed addition of 3.6 linear feet donated in 2019 relating to Marianne Greer Appel including biographical material, correspondence, writings, rare published and printed material, photographs, and preliminary works of art.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Artists Austin Merrill Mecklem "Meck" (1894-1951) and Marianne Greer Appel (1913-1988) married in 1937 and lived and worked in Woodstock, New York as part of the Woodstock artists' colony, Maverick. Mecklem died in 1951 at age 56. In 1953, Appel and her two daughters moved to New York City where she pursued a career as a puppet designer and author and illustrator of children's books. She worked for puppeteer, Bill Baird, and later, Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. Appel married Carl Harms, actor and puppeteer, in 1960.

Both Mecklem and Appel were associated with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Mecklem received notable commissions from the WPA, including the painting of murals for the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D. C., the Wrangell, Alaska Custom House and Post Office, and the Post Office in Portland, Connecticut. Mecklem also taught art at the Museum School in Portland, Oregon, the Art Students League in New York, the Albright Art School in Buffalo, New York, and the Woodstock School of Painting. Mecklem's work has been exhibited in a number of one-man shows and at major museums such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Austin Mecklem was born in Califax, Washington and studied at Washington State University, the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, the Art Students League in New York and in Paris and Holland. His first marriage to Hannah Small, also of the Woodstock artist's colony, ended in divorce. In 1906 Appel began her studies at the Woodstock School, where she met Mecklem. Appel's work has been exhibited at museums such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.035 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1910-2009
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.meckaust
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Manuscripts
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Watercolors
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 4 Series. Materials are generally arranged by record type and chronolgically thereafter.

Series 1: Austin Merrill Mecklem papers, 1910-2006 (Boxes 1-2; OV3; 0.9 linear feet, ER01; 0.035 GB)

Series 2: Marianne Greer Appel papers, 1928-2006 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Family Photographs, 1928-1950 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 4: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1928-2006 (Boxes 4-7; OV 8-10); 3.6 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed by Harriet E. Shapiro in 2011. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Manuscripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The Austin Merrill Mecklem and Marianne Greer Appel papers measure 5.0 linear feet and 0.035 GB and date from 1910-2006, with the bulk of materials dating from 1928-1977. Correspondence, writings, drawings, printed and digital material, miscellaneous items and photographs document Mecklem as an artist, muralist and art instructor and Appel as an artist, puppet designer and author and illustrator of children's books. A significant portion of Appel's papers consist of drafts of two illustrated children's books.

Austin Mecklem's papers include biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence and letters, and printed material from the WPA. Printed material includes newspaper clippings, exhibition catalogs, announcements and press releases, and an article from Fortune Magazine concerning the Coulee Dam, a subject of interest to Mecklem.  Digital material consists of "Catalogue Raisonee as of February 2009".


Of particular note are Mecklem's lecture and teaching notes on the "Fundamentals of Art" prepared for his class at the Albright Art School. Also, there are photographs of Mecklem's paintings and murals, including his design for a mural for the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D. C. Original artwork by Mecklem includes the blueprint for the Portland, Connecticut Post Office mural, drawings on tissue paper, a watercolor landscape, and a cartoon entitled "Life at the High."

Appel's papers consist of drafts of children's books, "The Story of Juliet" (1945) and "Perlydew" (after 1953), correspondence, writings, sketches and clippings from the period after Mecklem's death. Correspondence includes personal letters and letters from the Federal Works Agency Public Buildings Administration regarding the Agency's purchase of Appel's artwork. Also found are sketch books and an original watercolor signed by Appel.

Also found are photographs of friends and family as well as photographs of Appel's paintings and puppets she designed. Some photographs of puppets carry notes by Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. Appel's book drafts include manuscripts, both typed and hand-written, with layouts and illustrations in tempera or gouache.

This collection contains scattered notes by the donors which identify or explain materials.

There is an unprocessed addition of 3.6 linear feet donated in 2019 relating to Marianne Greer Appel including biographical material, correspondence, writings, rare published and printed material, photographs, and preliminary works of art.