Hassel Smith papers
name: label: Creator
content: Smith, Hassel, 1915-2007
label: Names
content: Gimpel Fils
label: Names
content: New Arts (Art gallery)
label: Names
content: San Francisco Art Institute -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Anglim, Paule
label: Names
content: Bischoff, Elmer, 1916-1991
label: Names
content: Butterfield, Jan
label: Names
content: Emmerich, André
label: Names
content: Fitz Gibbon, John
label: Names
content: Gimpel, Charles
label: Names
content: Still, Clyfford, 1904-
label: Names
content: Still, Patricia
label: Names
content: Swenson, Kathryn, 1926-1986
label: Names
content: Thiebaud, Wayne
label: Names
content: Wollard, Robert
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art teachers -- California -- Berkeley
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Educators -- California -- Berkeley
label: Topic
content: Artists' studios -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Abstract expressionism
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Art -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
label: Topic
content: Art, American
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Hassel Smith donated most of his papers in several increments between 1980 and 1998. His son Joseph donated audio recordings in 1980, and Hassel Smith's widow Donna donated additional materials in 2004.
creator: label: Creator
content: Smith, Hassel, 1915-2007
setName: label: See more items in
content: Hassel Smith papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Southern California painter and instructor Hassel Smith measure 4 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 2004 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1930-1995. Found within the papers are correspondence, a transcript of an interview conducted by Jan Butterfield in the 1980s, personal business files, teaching files, writings by Smith and others, sketches, printed materials, and photographs of Smith, his family and friends, and his artwork. There are audio recordings of a lecture series organized by Smith and of reviews of Smith's work. Correspondents include Paule Anglim, Elmer Bischoff, Andre Emmerich, Clyfford Still, Wayne Thiebaud, and many others.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Hassel Smith (1915-2007) was a California Bay area abstract expressionist painter, painting instructor at the California School of Fine Arts, and a lecturer at the University of California. His students included Roy De Forest, Sonia Gechtoff, and Frank Lobdell. Smith was also associated with the famed Los Angeles Ferus Gallery. 

Hassel Smith was born on April 27, 1915, in Sturgis, Michigan, settling later with his family in San Mateo, California. He attended Northwestern University with the intention of becoming a chemist, but switched his majors to English and Art History and graduated in 1936. Returning to California, Smith enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA), and studied with the painter Maurice Sterne. 

In 1937, he left school and shared housing with his adopted brother Lewis in the Haight-Ashbury district, where he maintained a studio on Steiner Street. At the same time, as a social worker for the California Relief State Administration, he worked with men on "skid row" in San Francisco. Declared 4F by the draft board, Smith served various government agencies during World War II, including the Farm Security Administration and the U.S. Forest Service. During this period, he met and married June Meyers. He later described his government service and social work as having a strong influence on his art and politics.

In 1941, Smith was awarded the Abraham Rosenberg Fellowship from the University of California, Berkeley, which allowed him to travel and paint outdoors at Angel's Camp in the Mother Lode of the Sierra foothills, along with Richard Hackett. 

At the end of the war, Smith began teaching at the CSFA, joining faculty members Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, and Clyfford Still. Smith taught there until 1952. His students included Roy De Forest, Sonia Gechtoff, and Frank Lobdell. Smith continued to paint and exhibit work throughout the 1950s, and in 1958 became affiliated with the Ferus Gallery founded by Walter Hopps and Ed Kienholz. His wife June passed away in 1958. One year later, Smith remarried Donna Rafferty Harrington, and they had their son Bruce in 1960. 

After an exhibition at the New Arts Gallery in Houston, London-based dealer Charles Gimpel invited Smith to exhibit his work in England. As a result of this, Smith moved to England in 1962, and spent a year living in Mousehole, a fishing village in Cornwall. He moved back to California and between 1963 to 1966 was a visiting lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1966, Smith accepted a position as Senior Lecturer at the West England College of Art in Bristol, England where he stayed until 1978. He finished his teaching career as a Principal Lecturer at the Cardiff College of Arts in Wales from 1978 to 1979.

Smith spent most of the next two decades painting and exhibiting, which included exhibitions at the Oakland Museum and the San Jose Museum of Art. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the San Francisco Art Institute (formerly the California School of Fine Arts). Due to failing health, Smith was forced to stop painting in 1997. Smith died in 2007 in Warminster, England, at the age of 91.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1900-2004
label: Date
content: bulk 1930-1995
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.smithass
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Christmas cards
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1930-2004 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1930s-2003 (1.0 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)

Series 3: Personal Business Materials, 1953-2003 (0.25 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 4: Teaching Materials, 1960s-1980s (18 folders; Box 2)

Series 5: Writings, 1940s-1994 (0.25 linear feet; Box 2)

Series 6: Artwork, 1928-1995 (8 folders; Box 2)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1928-2003 (1.25 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)

Series 8: Photographic Materials, 1900s-2004 (0.5 linear feet; Box 4)

Series 9: Sound Recordings, 1965-1980 (10 items; Box 4)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Portions of the papers were microfilmed upon receipt on reels 2008-2009, 2062, and 3472 - these reels are no longer in circulation. Microfilmed portions were merged with later additions and processed and arranged by Michael Yates in 2007 with funding provided by the Getty Foundation. The collection was prepared for scanning by Judy Ng and fully scanned in 2011 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2011 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website. Blank pages, blank versos of photographs, photographs of artwork, duplicates, and medical, legal, and personal financial documents have not been scanned. In most cases, only the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from published materials.

The sound recordings in this collection were digitized for research access in 2011 and are available at the Archives of American Art offices. Researchers may view the original reels for the archival notations on them, but original reels are not available for playback due to fragility.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Christmas cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of Southern California painter and instructor Hassel Smith measure 4 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 2004 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1930-1995. Found within the papers are correspondence, a transcript of an interview conducted by Jan Butterfield in the 1980s, personal business files, teaching files, writings by Smith and others, sketches, printed materials, and photographs of Smith, his family and friends, and his artwork. There are audio recordings of a lecture series organized by Smith and of reviews of Smith's work. Correspondents include Paule Anglim, Elmer Bischoff, Andre Emmerich, Clyfford Still, Wayne Thiebaud, and many others. 

Biographical materials include biographical sketches, curriculum vitae, genealogical materials, ephemera, and personal appointment books from the mid to late 1970s. Also found here is a transcript of an in-depth interview of Smith conducted by Jan Butterfield in the 1980s. 

There is personal and professional correspondence with Paule Anglim, Elmer Bischoff, Andre Emmerich, Charles Gimpel of Gimpel Fils, Clyfford and Patricia Still, Kathryn Swanson of the New Arts Gallery, Wayne Thiebaud, family members, and many others. 

Personal business records include art sales records, exhibition checklists, conservation and condition reports, and personal finance records. Teaching materials include class schedules, student lists, and syllabi. Also found are notes on topics such as American art and literature, artistic traits and forms, illusion, and women artists.

Writings by Smith include artist statements, creative writings, his thoughts on the art market and art institutions, the San Francisco art community, and social criticism. Writings by others consist primarily of essays about Smith and his work. There are also writings by Smith's friend Robert Wollard. Artwork includes sketches, doodles, and Christmas cards done by Smith, and a handful of artwork by others.

Printed materials include clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and posters. Also found here are printed materials about other artists, schools where Smith enrolled or taught, Smith's general interests, and collages and flyers by Robert Wollard. There is a printed copy of the pictorial edition of the Communist Manifesto edited by Smith and other artists. 

Photographic materials are of Smith, family members, artwork, his studio, exhibition openings and other art events, and friends and colleagues. A family photograph dates from circa 1900 and negatives date from 1920. Most of the photographs date from the 1940s through the 1990s.

Sound recordings include 1 sound tape reel of the radio show, Art Review, with host John Fitz Gibbon reviewing Smith's artwork, and nine sound cassettes of student critiques overseen by Smith at the San Francisco Art Institute.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Material
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Hassel Smith conducted by Paul Karlstrom, September 5, 1978 and a video interview with Hassel Smith conducted by Paul Karlstrom, January 15, 1986.