Oscar Van Young and Loli Vann papers
name: label: Creator
content: Van Young, Oscar, 1906-1993
label: Creator
content: Vann, Loli, 1913-1999
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Educators -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women educators
label: Topic
content: Women painters
label: Topic
content: Scrapbooks
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Lilian Van Young (Loli Vann) in 1994.
creator: label: Creator
content: Van Young, Oscar, 1906-1993
label: Creator
content: Vann, Loli, 1913-1999
setName: label: See more items in
content: Oscar Van Young and Loli Vann papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painters Oscar Van Young and Loli Vann measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1924-1994. The collection sheds light on the careers of both artists through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, museum and gallery files, printed materials, and photographic materials.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter and lithographer Oscar Van Young (1906-1993) and painter Loli Vann (1913-1999), were active in Chicago and Los Angeles. They were married from 1935 until Van Young's death in 1993.


Van Young was born in Austria but his family moved to Russia in 1918 where he received a scholarship to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Odessa. He moved to the U.S. in 1923, living with relatives in Chicago and working for a linen shop before becoming an apprentice in an engraving house and an artist lithographer. He lost his job in 1930 and began painting full time. Around 1932, Young met Sam Ostrowsky who soon became his private painting instructor. It was at Ostrowsky's studio that Young met Loli Vann and the two were married in 1935. The couple frequently exhibited their artwork in joint exhibitions and moved to Los Angeles in the early 1940s.

Over the next several decades, Young had one-man shows at many California museums and elsewhere in the United States, and was represented in multiple group exhibitions. He attended Los Angeles State College from 1954 to 1959, earning his bachelor's and master's degree, and subsequently taught art at Pasadena City College (1959-1973), California State University at Los Angeles (1960-1963), and elsewhere. His work can be found in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum, Israel Art Museum, Chaffey College, Smithsonian Institution, and private collections around the world. 

Loli Vann studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and with Sam Ostrowsky. She exhibited her paintings at Los Angeles Museum, Los Angeles Art Association, Pasadena Art Institute, Chaffey Community Art Association, La Jolla Art Center, Cowie Galleries, Carnegie Institute, Corcoran Gallery of Art, and Glendale Public Library. Vann worked as an executive secretary for the Los Angeles Division of Labor Law Enforcement form circa 1950 to 1975 before retiring to focus on painting full time.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1924-1994
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.vanyoun
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as five series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1924, 1946-1988 (Box 1,4; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence Files, 1943-1993 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1936-1991 (Box 1-2, 4; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 4: Gallery and Museum Files, 1949-1994 (Box 2-3; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1940s-1993 (Box 3, 5, OV 6-7; 0.8 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2022.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painters Oscar Van Young and Loli Vann measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1924-1994. The collection sheds light on the careers of both artists through biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, museum and gallery files, printed materials, and photographic materials.

Biographical materials include resumes, certificates and awards, writings that include O. V. Young's master's thesis and artist statements, and photographic materials depicting the artists, artwork, events, and family gatherings. 

Correspondence includes letters from friends, correspondence with artist and author Louise Dunn Yochim about her book, Harvest of Freedom: Jewish Artists in America 1930-1980s (1989), communication with collectors, and correspondence between Loli Vann and O. V. Young during his painting trip to St. Thomas in 1953. 

Personal business records include inventories and lists of collectors, correspondence with Bugatti publishing, exhibition files, and index cards that list exhibited works by O. V. Young and Loli Vann throughout their careers. O. V. Young's teaching files include documentation of courses he taught and his credentials. Museum and gallery files document consignments and prices, and include correspondence with curators, and printed materials such as brochures, clippings, and catalogs. Printed materials consist of articles related to O. V. Young and Loli Vann's art career, Enciclopedia Internazionale Degli Artisti (1971) vols. 2 and 3 featuring O. V. Young and Loli Vann, exhibition catalogs and announcements, miscellaneous clippings of interest, and two scrapbooks.