Naúl Ojeda papers
name: label: Creator
content: Ojeda, Naúl, 1939-2002
label: Names
content: Bader, Franz, 1903-1994
label: Names
content: Berrutti, Azucena
label: Names
content: Caicedo Garzón, Armando
label: Names
content: Haber, Alicia
label: Names
content: Vila, Ernesto
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Occupation
content: Printmakers -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Naúl Ojeda papers were donated in 2016 by Philomena "Pennie" Ojeda.
creator: label: Creator
content: Ojeda, Naúl, 1939-2002
setName: label: See more items in
content: Naúl Ojeda papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Uruguayan born Washington, D.C. painter and printmaker Naúl Ojeda measure 5.9 linear feet and date from circa 1960-2004, and circa 2013. The papers document Ojeda's personal and professional life through biographical materials, correspondence, exhibition and gallery files, professional files, financial material, printed and broadcast materials, scrapbooks, artwork and sketchbooks, and a small amount of photographic material.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Naúl Ojeda (1939-2002) was a painter and printmaker in Washington, D.C. 

Ojeda was born in Uruguay and studied fine arts at the University of Uruguay. The political climate of Uruguay in the 1970s led Ojeda to leave the country. He traveled to France, Chile, and Mexico before settling in Washington, D.C. While in Chile, Ojeda covered the presidency of Salvador Allende as a photojournalist. He selected fifty of the photographs of that period for his exhibition Homage to the People of Chile at the Galeria Inti Centro de Arte in Washington, D.C.

Ojeda was best known for his woodblock prints and linocuts, which he printed by hand in small editions, usually of no more than twenty-five prints. He also  had some success with decorated furniture, both pieces he designed and painted, and pieces he decorated. Although his images appear whimsical, they often express themes of separation from his homeland and family. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States as well as in Europe and South America including Immigrant Artists/American Experience (1985-1987) and an exhibition in 1995 honoring Franz Bader, the owner of the Franz Bader Gallery in Washington, D.C. Bader and Ojeda bonded over their shared immigrant experiences. Bader represented Ojeda for nearly 20 years and frequently held exhibitions of Ojeda's work at his gallery. 

Ojeda's work is represented in private collections as well as the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Art Museum of the Americas, in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ojeda also produced illustrations for The Washington Post Book World, Washington Review, Curbstone Press, and the Institute for Policy Studies among others.


During his career Ojeda received several awards, including the 2001 Distinguished Immigrant Award from the American Immigration Law Foundation. He was also the recipient of several grants from the D.C. Commission of the Arts and Humanities, including grants to illustrate the poems of Pablo Neruda and Federico Garcia Lorca.  

Ojeda died in 2002 in Washington, D.C.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1960-2004
label: Date
content: circa 2013
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.ojednaul
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The bulk of Ojeda's papers initially combined Ojeda's records of his professional activities, including records of exhibitions and gallery transactions, and financial records in a single alphabetical file. To facilitate access this arrangement has been refined further into three smaller series (Series 3-5).

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1963-1997 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1960s-2002 (Box 1, OV 9; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition and Gallery Files, 1966-2004 (Boxes 1-2, 6; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 4: Professional Files, 1979-2002 (Boxes 2-3, 6; 0.65 linear feet)

Series 5: Financial Records, circa 1970-2004, circa 2013 (Box 3; 0.25 linear feet)

 Series 6: Printed and Broadcast Materials, 1962-2003 (Boxes 3-4, 6-7, OV 10; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1961-1981 (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1960-circa 2000 (Boxes 4, 8, OVs 9, 11-14; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 9: Sketchbooks, circa 1967-2001 (Boxes 4-5, 8; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Material, 1968-circa 2000 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2018. The collection was further processed and prepared for digitization in 2020 by Stephanie Ashley.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2020 and is available on the Archives of American Art website. Materials which have not been digitized include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, duplicates, and some financial and immigration records containing personally identifiable information. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have only had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages digitized.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Uruguayan born Washington, D.C. painter and printmaker Naúl Ojeda measure 5.9 linear feet and date from circa 1960-2004, and circa 2013. The papers document Ojeda's personal and professional life through biographical materials, correspondence, exhibition and gallery files, professional files, financial material, printed and broadcast materials, scrapbooks, artwork and sketchbooks, and a small amount of photographic material.


Biographical material includes immigration records, resumes, and a few certifications and credentials.  Correspondence is personal and professional, with correspondents including Ojeda's family, and friends, and some general professional correspondents, including Alicia Haber, Moira Bowers, Ernesto Vila, Eduardo Galeano, Enrique Gomez, Armando Caicedo  Garzón, Walter Jesus Gonzalez, Azucena Berrutti, and others. 


Exhibition and gallery files document Ojeda's relationship with galleries, museums, and civic and cultural organizations, and include records of specific exhibitions as well as general documentation related to sales and commissions of his artwork. They include records of the exhibition In Honor of Franz Bader (1995), with a related video recording. Professional files document other activities including Ojeda's involvement with community organizations, art contests that he entered, work he was commissioned to do for businesses and organizations, and permissions for use of his work for a variety of publications, events, and media outlets. Financial records include a small but detailed number of records of sales with sales books, price lists and receipts.


Printed and broadcast materials provide a fairly comprehensive overview of Ojeda's career from the 1960s on, with announcements and catalogs for multiple exhibitions, news clippings from foreign and domestic newspapers, and posters, flyers, and other publications with illustrations by Ojeda. Three broadcast video recordings about his work and exhibitions can also be found here. This material is supplemented by two scrapbooks documenting Ojeda's exhibitions and news items about his career, from the 1960s to early 1980s.

The collection contains a substantial amount of artwork, including drawings, sketches, poster mockups, prints including woodcut proofs, and sixteen sketchbooks for various projects.

A small amount of photographic material includes three photos of a 1968 exhibition in Uruguay, photocopies of photos of a family group, and negatives including images of Ojeda in the studio.