Claude Buck papers
name: label: Creator
content: Buck, Claude, 1890-1974
label: Creator
content: Jane Freeman Gallery (La Mesa, Calif.)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- Santa Cruz
label: Topic
content: Symbolism
label: Topic
content: Luminism (Art)
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Claude Buck papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Leslie Buck, Claude's widow, in 1982, Juel Buck Krisvoy-Schiller, Claude's daughter, in 1983, and by Diana V. Link, Claude's niece, in 1982 and 1992. Five works of art were transferred to the National Museum of American Art, including a self-portrait.
creator: label: Creator
content: Buck, Claude, 1890-1974
label: Creator
content: Jane Freeman Gallery (La Mesa, Calif.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Claude Buck papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Claude Buck papers measure 3.3 linear feet and date from circa 1890-1983. They detail Buck's time as a painter in New York and California. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material and scrapbooks, and photographic material and artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Claude Buck (1890-1974) was a painter who worked primarily in Chicago and Santa Cruz. He is associated with the symbolist and luministic styles and was born Charles Claude Buck in New York City. At age four Claude began to develop his interest in art after his father, a commercial artist, introduced him to drawing. Buck entered the National Academy of Design at age fourteen taking classes with Emil Carlsen, Frances Jones, and George DeForest Brush. He studied there until he was twenty-two years old, receiving eight prizes in that time. 

In 1919 Buck moved to Chicago where he taught at the School of Art Institute and became a leading member of the avant-garde symbolist artists' group known as the Introspectives which he helped to found. Influenced by Edgar Allen Poe and William Blake, Buck often depicted allegorical and literary themes in his artwork. To support himself and his family Buck completed commissions for hyper-realistic portraits. In 1918 Buck married Estrid Terkelsen, a concert singer and pianist, with whom he had twins Robert Byron Buck and Juel Buck Krisvoy-Schiller. In 1930 Buck took on young art student Leslie Binner who he married in 1934 after divorcing Estrid, his wife of 16 years. 

In 1949, Claude and Leslie moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains before settling in Santa Barbara in 1959 to be closer to Buck's children and to improve his health. While in Santa Barbara he was a member of the Carmel Art Association and served as president of the Santa Cruz Art League in 1953.

Buck was a member of the Santa Barbara Art Association, and his artwork can be found in the collections of the Santa Cruz Public Library, the Santa Cruz City Museum, the Spencer Museum in Lawrence, Kansas, the Brigham Young University Museum, and the Museum of Elgin in Illinois where he also had a studio in Midlothian. Buck died in Santa Barbara on August 4, 1974.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1890-1983
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.buckclau
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection consists of eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1926-1983 (.2 Linear feet: Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1907-1982 (.8 Linear feet: Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1920-1972 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1919-1972 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1912-1972 (.4 Linear feet: Boxes 2 and 5)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1908-1972 (.9 Linear feet: Boxes 2, 4, 5, and 6)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1890-1979 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1920-1972 (.4 Linear feet: Box 3)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared, by Allessandra Liberati in 2023.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 2982-2987 and 4588 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Claude Buck papers measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1890-1983. Biographical material includes resumes, interview materials, and documents related to Buck's family. Correspondence includes family letters, correspondence regarding business with various organizations including the United States Treasury and Emil Carlsen, and correspondence with other notable figures in Buck's career. Writings include manuscripts, notes, and transcribed dictations by Buck. Personal business records consist of documents related to Buck's portrait commissions and artwork donations and sales, as well as that regarding the Boston Better Business Bureau's investigation into the Harold F. Gilbert Company. Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, material pertaining to Estrid Buck's career as a pianist and singer, and news clippings. Scrapbooks, one of which is in braille, include news clippings and personal photographs of Buck and his family. Photographic material includes pictures of Buck's artwork and personal life. Artwork includes sketches, sketchbooks, and an oil painting.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also hold a manuscript titled "The artist Claude Buck: a biography of two loves...his love for art...his love for Estrid compiled and written by their daughter, Juel, Juel B. K. Schiller" donated by Juel Krisvoy in 1989 to the National Museum of American Art who transferred it to the Archives of American Art.