Philip Evergood papers
name: label: Creator
content: Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973
label: Names
content: Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
label: Names
content: Kleinholz, Frank, 1901-
label: Names
content: Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974
label: Names
content: Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953
label: Names
content: Miró, Joan, 1893-
label: Names
content: Smith, Charles Edward, 1904-1970
topic: label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Artists -- Political activity
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Philip Evergood donated his papers to the Archives in 1971. Additional materials were donated in 1974 by Evergood's wife, Julia Cross Evergood. In 1977, two typescripts of essays were donated by Abram Lerner. A small addition was donated in 2018 by Kendall Taylor, who originally received the material from Julia Cross Evergood.
creator: label: Creator
content: Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973
setName: label: See more items in
content: Philip Evergood papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter Philip Evergood measure 11.61 linear feet and date from 1890 to 1971. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, speeches, and sound recordings of radio appearances; subject files; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; artwork, including oil paintings, sketches, and childhood drawings; and photographs of Evergood, his family and friends, and his work.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter and printmaker Philip Evergood (1901-1973) lived and worked in New York City and Bridgewater, Connecticut and was known as an expressionist and social realist who incorporated elements of the fantastic into his works. A native New Yorker, Evergood's father, Miles Blashki, was a Polish-Australian artist, and his mother, Flora Jane Perry, was English. At his mother's insistence, Evergood attended boarding schools in England and graduated from Eton in 1919. He left Cambridge University to pursue  art studies at London's Slade School of Fine Arts and returned to America in 1923 to study with George Luks at the Art Students League. 

In 1927, Evergood held his first one man show at New York's Dudensing Gallery and continued to travel back and forth between France, Spain, and America throughout the 1920s. In 1931, he married dancer and actress Julia Cross and found work as a muralist and painter for the WPA Federal Arts Project in the early 1930s. From 1937-1938, he served as president of the New York Artists Union and, along with other social realist painters, joined Herman Baron's stable at the ACA (American Contemporary Art) Gallery, where he exhibited several one man shows during the late 1930s and 1940s.  

During the 1940s and 1950s, Evergood was a popular lecturer and taught at art schools, including the Skowhegan School, and began producing large scale lithographs and etchings along with his paintings. While working as a picture framer for additional income, he met the art collector Joseph Hirshhorn who would purchase 10 artworks at their first meeting and become a life long patron. He continued to exhibit his work at the ACA Gallery and the annual contemporary shows of major museums, such as the Carnegie Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago. Evergood exhibited in over 35 exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 1960, and died in a house fire in Bridgewater in 1973.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 11.61 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1890-1971
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.everphil
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Watercolors
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Oil paintings
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1930-1971 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 24, OV 13)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-1970 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, 24)

Series 3: Writings, 1905-1970 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 24)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1919-1971 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1902-1970 (0.5 linear feet; Box 6)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1914-1970 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 7-9, 11, 24)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1924-1954 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 11-12)

Series 8: Artwork, 1905-1970 (1.5 linear feet; Box 9, OV 14-20, 24, OV 25, RD 23)

Series 9: Photographic Materials, 1890-1970 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, 24, OV 21-22, 26-27)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Materials received a preliminary level of arrangement after donation and portions of the collection were microfilmed onto reels 429-430, 1345-1355, 439, 2162, 2223, 1885, and 2804. The collection was processed to an intermediate level and a finding aid prepared by Judy Ng in 2015, with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase information about and access to more of our collections.

Intermediate processing included arrangement to the series and folder levels with greater attention to the artwork and photographic materials series. For other series, items within folders were generally verified with folder titles, but not arranged further.  The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders.  

The 2018 addition was processed by Ryan Evans in 2019.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of this collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 429-430, 1345-1355, 439, 2162, 2223, 1885, and 2804 at the Archives of American Art offices, and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm. 

Some of the sound recordings in this collection have been copied for research access and digital copies are available in the Archives of American Art offices.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Oil paintings
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter Philip Evergood measure 11.61 linear feet and date from 1890 to 1971. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, speeches, and sound recordings of radio appearances; subject files; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; artwork, including oil paintings, sketches, and childhood drawings; and photographs of Evergood, his family and friends, and his work.

Biographical materials include curriculum vitae, forms, memberships, and the contact information of friends and acquaintances. Correspondence is with business associates and artists, including Charles Edward Smith, Rockwell Kent, Frank Kleinholz, Leon Kroll, Joan Miro, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Writings consist primarily of Evergood's artist statements, essays, lectures and speeches, as well as notes, transcripts, and recordings of broadcast radio shows. Subject files focus on art institutions and organizations, funding opportunities, and political topics of personal interest.

Personal business records include artist lists, contracts with galleries, and banking and estate records. Printed materials include clippings, four clippings scrapbooks, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals with articles featuring Evergood. There are loose sketches and mixed media, including oils and watercolors, of Evergood's artwork. Photographs are of Evergood, his friends and family, and photographs and negatives of his artwork.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art are Letters from Philip Evergood; Gael Hammer letters relating to Miles and Philip Evergood; an oral history interview with Philip Evergood by Forrest Selvig, December 3, 1968; and Philip Evergood interview with John I.H. Baur, June 1959.