Adolf Dehn papers, 1912-1987

This series includes address books, a biographical sketch, insurance policies, interview transcript, exhibition price lists, and leases. A folder of travel documents consists of correspondence, a set of fingerprints, and official government documents, obtained for a trip to Venezuela on assignment from Standard Oil to create art documenting the oil industry and contribution to the war efforts. Additionally there is a folder labeled government documents that contains a registration card and two affidavits signed by Dehn; one in connection with his 1926 marriage to Mura Dehn (neé Tsiperovich) and the other is in support of a U.S. non-immigrant visa for Willis Bock. Notably, exhibition price lists includes a list of lithographs that Dehn made with the master printer Desjobert in Paris, between July 1 and October 23, 1961.

Folders in this series are arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.

Series is comprised of Adolf Dehn's personal and professional correspondence, consisting of letters, postcards, greeting cards, and telegrams from family, close friends, artists, dealers, collectors and museum directors. Additionally there is a separate group of Virginia Dehn's correspondence. More detailed description is provided at the subseries level.

The Correspondence series is arranged into 3 subseries:

Found in this series are manuscripts, typescripts, and author's proofs of works written by Dehn and others. The bulk of this series consists of professional writings by Dehn including a drafts of articles on watercolor paintings and techniques for the Encyclopedia Britannica; the typescript and author's proof's for his book Watercolor, Gouache, and Casein Painting (1955); and profiles of artists Alois Lang and Boardman Robinson. Writings by others include a draft for Adolf Dehn Drawings, which was published by the University of Missouri Press, as well as poetry attributed to Eileen Hall Lake.

Files in this series are arranged alphabetically by title; supplied titles and author attributions were derived from creator's file titles. The Writing series is arranged into two subseries:

Found in this series are invoices and receipts, the bulk of which are from Associated American Artists, which document works on consignment, artist account information, as well as receipts for framing and photography services, There is also a file of travel related receipts and another of receipts for medical treatment. Federal and state income tax returns for the years 1940-1942 are also included in this series.

Documents are arranged by in chronological order by type.

Items in this series include exhibition announcements, catalogs, brochures, clippings, article reprints, programs, and other publications. There are also examples of Dehn's commercial work, including Christmas cards, calendars featuring Dehn's watercolor scenes, and a sample of wallpaper, as well as reproductions of his fine art work.

Exhibitions announcements and catalogs are for one-man exhibitions and group shows that featured his art, with scattered announcements and catalogs for other artists work, including his wife Virginia Dehn. Catalogs and announcements from Associated American Artists document limited edition prints, Christmas cards, and other object by their artist members that were available for sale. Included was a catalog of Dehn prints and portfolios to mark his twenty fifth year as a celebrated printmaker; this catalog is a source of valuable information about Dehn's print oeuvre as it includes image, titles, creation dates, plate dimensions and prices. There is also announcements and brochures from The Adolf Dehn Print Club, a print society established by the artist in 1934 to promote and distribute his work.

Clippings are primarily about Dehn and his work, but there are also scattered articles on other artists, art criticism and general news items. Publications include two issues of Improvisations, a journal published in conjunction with the Artists Equity Associations annual Spring Fantasia, in which the artists contributed illustrations for sympathetic advertisers and a book of poetry by Mura Dehn, the artists first wife.

Other printed materials found in this series include publishers catalogs that contained books illustrated by Dehn, art school brochures and newsletters from programs at which Dehn taught or attended, event programs, and an annotated insurance company calendar. Additional printed materials can be found in Dehn's scrapbooks.

Items have been grouped together by document type; within files documents are in rough chronological order.

This series consists of three scrapbooks. One scrapbook contains clippings of editorial cartoons by Dehn's mentor and friend, the artist Boardman Robinson; the other two scrapbooks contain clippings, editorial cartoons, and exhibition announcements related to Dehn. Additionally there are several files of loose items that have become separated from the scrapbooks that contained them. There is a file of loose items that has been labeled "Extra Items from Scrapbook," a title provided by an earlier processor for a discrete group of documents that consist of a handwritten biographical note, photographs, and clippings. It is not known which scrapbook originally contained these items.

One of the Dehn scrapbooks (Scrapbook I) is comprised of large loose sheets on which clippings, editorial cartoons, telegrams, programs, and exhibition announcements have been affixed. Included among the files of loose items are two early ink drawings of Gibson Girls by Dehn, posters, examples of his Christmas cards, as well as additional clippings and exhibition announcements.

The other scrapbook (Scrapbook II) contains similar items, the bulk of which have remained affixed to the pages. Although unbound, the pages are stored within the front and back covers. Dehn's faded monogram is visible on the front cover. This scrapbook begins with a high school graduation announcement from 1914 and contains clippings and exhibition announcements that span from that early date to 1942. It also includes a loose 1929 announcement from the Weyhe Gallery, which contains a brief note to his mother and sister reporting early sales of his work form the exhibition.

Additional clippings, exhibition announcements, as well as examples of Dehn's editorial cartoons, magazine covers, and Christmas card designs can be found in the Printed Materials series.

The large sheets of Scrapbook I, as well as oversize loose items, have been arranged in rough chronological order. The clippings and other detached items from Scrapbook I have been arranged by format and date into several standard sized files. Due to the presence of adhesive residue, these files are heavily interleaved.

This series contains sketches and artwork by Dehn and others. Items include 4 sketches attributed to Adolf Dehn; graphite and ink sketches attributed to Eileen Hall Lake, which were originally stored with her poetry journal that can be found in the subseries Writings by Others; and an etching by S.W. Hayter.

Artwork files are arranged in alphabetical order by the artist's last name.

Photographs in this series include a vintage gelatin silver print portrait of Adolf Dehn by André Kertész;, vintage photographs of Dehn with family members; Dehn with friends, including Lawrence Barnett, Federico Castellon, Albert Christ-Janer; with his former wife Mura; two sets of photobooth photographs taken on separate occasions with Eileen Hall Lake and Willis Bock; and a series of photographs of Adolf and Virginia taken at Atelier Desjobert. Many of these vintage photographs are annotated on the verso. There is also a panoramic view of Camp Wadsworth, Spartenburg, South Carolina, where Dehn was detained as a conscientious objector of World War I. Also found are several photographic reproductions of Dehn's drawings, lithographs, and watercolors.