Miriam and Sigmund Laufer papers
name: label: Creator
content: Laufer, Miriam, 1918-1980
label: Creator
content: Laufer, Sigmund, 1920-2007
topic: label: Occupation
content: Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Women printmakers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2023 by Susan Bee and Abigail Laufer, the Laufer's daughters.
creator: label: Creator
content: Laufer, Miriam, 1918-1980
label: Creator
content: Laufer, Sigmund, 1920-2007
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Miriam Laufer (1918-1980) was a painter, printmaker, and commercial artist active in New York, NY. Born Miriam Ickowitz in Poland and educated in Israel, she moved to New York in 1947. Miriam Laufer was married to Sigmund Laufer (1920-2007) a printmaker and graphic designer active in New York, NY. Sigmund Laufer was born in Germany and educated in Israel, Laufer emigrated to New York in 1947.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6.4 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1918-2018
label: Date
content: bulk 1950-1980
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.laufmiri
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of artists Miriam and Sigmund Laufer date from 1918 through 2018, with the bulk dating from 1950 to 1980. The collection documents both artists' work as through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings, personal business records, gallery and exhibition files, scrapbooks and press clippings, photographic material, printed material, and artwork.

Biographical material includes birth certificates and announcements, citizenship documents, passports, educational records, resumes and biographical writings, as well as memorial materials. Correspondence reflects personal and professional relationships with colleagues and friends, galleries and museums, and family.

Writings include notebooks, academic papers, journals and diaries, as well as artist statements and personal remembrances. Also found are writings by others on the work of Miriam Laufer. Personal business records include financial records, artwork inventories, as well as files regarding posthumous exhibitions, sales, and other distributions of artworks, primarily by Miriam. 

Gallery and exhibition files document Miriam's many solo exhibitions at New York's Phoenix Gallery, as well as numerous other solo and group exhibitions. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, invitations and announcements, and other ephemera. Additional printed material is present in the form of press clippings and scrapbooks documenting the Laufers' careers as artists as well as their "day jobs" as commercial designers and calligraphers. Photographic materials document both artists' works, exhibitions, and the artists themselves. Photographic formats include black & white and color prints, slides, transparencies, and negatives.

The collection includes a large number of preliminary artworks, including several sketchbooks, many loose drawings and prints (primarily Artist Proofs), and handmade artist books.