Hayden Herrera papers
name: label: Creator
content: Herrera, Hayden
label: Names
content: Frank, Mary, 1933-
label: Names
content: Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948
label: Names
content: Kahlo, Frida
label: Names
content: Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957
label: Names
content: Snyder, Joan, 1940-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Authors -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Abstract expressionism
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2020 and 2024 by Hayden Herrera.
creator: label: Creator
content: Herrera, Hayden
setName: label: See more items in
content: Hayden Herrera papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of art historian and author Hayden Herrera measure 15.1 linear feet and date from 1926-2006. Included are notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and sound recordings related to Herrera's writing projects, including her biographies on Arshile Gorky and Frida Kahlo.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Hayden Herrera is an art historian and author in New York, N.Y. Herrera attended Barnard College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1965. While working on her PhD at the City University of New York (CUNY) she travelled to Mexico City where she was first exposed to Frida Kahlo's work. This trip inspired Herrera's thesis topic, which she published as her first book, "Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo." The book was adapted into a studio film, "Frida," starring Salma Hayek. Two years later Herrera published her biography of Arshile Gorky and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 15.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1922-2006
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.herrhayd
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Materials are arranged as six series:

Series 1: Interviews, 1939-2006 (6.3 linear feet; Box 1-9, 19-22)

Series 2: Research Files Related to Arshile Gorky, 1926-2005 (0.70 linear feet; Box 3, 9)

Series 3:Research Files Related to Frida Kahlo, 1922-1993 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 9-13, 18)

Series 4: General Research Files, 1946-1997 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 13-16)

Series 5: Writings,  1974-1992 (0.8 linear feet; Box 16)

Series 6: Professional Activity Files, 1981-1982 (0.2 linear feet; Box 17)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jennifer E. Neal and Lewis Tio in 2021. Additional finding aid description of the sound recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2023. 2024 addition processed by Ricky Gomez in 2024.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of art historian and author Hayden Herrera measure 15.1 linear feet and date from 1926-2006. Included are notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and sound recordings related to Herrera's writing projects, including her biographies on Arshile Gorky and Frida Kahlo.
 

Materials include detailed, handwritten notes and typed transcripts from interviews she conducted between 1970 and 2004, and sound recordings of notable figures in the art world and friends and family of Arshile Gorky that Herrera interviewed between 1977 and 2006. Among the sound recordings are interviews with Lucio Amelio, Mary Bauermeister, Wolfgang Becker, Bruno Bischofberger, Margaret Cogswell, Mary Frank, Christian Geelhaar, Olle Granath, Nigel Greenwood, Wolfgang Hahn, Werner Hofmann, Fred Jahn, Paul Jenkins, Jacob Kainen, R. B. Kitaj, Donald Judd, Peter Nestler, Lars Nittve, Peter Ludwig, Hans Mayer, Jorn Merkert, Franz Meyer, Dorothy Miller, Bryan Robertson, Werner Schmalenbach, Joan Snyder, Ileanna Sonnabend, David Sylvester, Evelyn Weiss, and Rudolph Zwirner. 2024 addition includes sound recording interviews with artists and transcripts with artists and friends of Frida Kahlo.

Research files related to Arshile Gorky consist of photocopies of archival materials from various repositories including correspondence, interview transcripts, and photographic material; Herrera's interview transcripts and notes; correspondence; clippings; and photographs of Gorky, his friends and family, and his work. The bulk of the collection dates from 1984 to 1997.

Research files related to Frida Kahlo include general articles with notes on Kahlo in general, articles relating  to Kahlo's accident and death and articles related to how Kahlo has been represented in popular culture since her death. Also included are xeroxes of letters from Kahlo, photographs of Kahlo, photographs of Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and photographs and slides of her artwork. The series also contains the manuscript and other writings on Kahlo by Herrera, notes, reviews of Herrera's manuscript, and some invoices and permissions regarding the production of the manuscript.

General research files consist of articles, exhibition announcements, and catalogs in regards to Mary Frank. Also included are files of printed materials and notes on various subjects such as Mexican art, German art and museums, Matisse, and American Art after World War II.

Writings consist of some articles written by Herrera, the manuscript for THE AMERICAN ABSTRACT ART GROUP by Susan Larsen, notes and notecards, and chapters from untitled manuscripts by Herrera.

Professional material consists of three folders of course materials related to Latin American Art.