Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970

This series includes biographical sketches for Shahn maintained by Downtown Gallery and various award certificates received by Shahn over the course of his career. There is a 1924 passport for Shahn and his first wife, Tillie Goldstein, and various family legal records including the divorce papers of Ben and Tillie Shahn, copies of Jonathan Shahn's birth certificate and Ezra Shahn's doctorate certificate, and indenture papers for a branch of Bernarda Bryson Shahn's family. Also found in this series are resume details for Bernarda Bryson Shahn and two cards showing her membership in the Author's Guild.

Records are arranged alphabetically by folder title. This series has been scanned in entirety.

This series consists primarily of letters written to Shahn throughout his career from family, friends, artists, business associates, government contacts, universities and colleges, galleries and other art organizations and institutions. Overall, there are very few letters from Shahn to be found, and scattered letters and copies of letters written by him are generally noted in the Container Listing.

The series includes many letters from artist, writers and colleagues including Leonard Baskin, Mirella Bentivoglio, Alexander Calder, Clifford Odets, Walker Evans, W. H. (Ping) Ferry, Fred Friendly, Dorothea Lange, Leo Lionni, John Bartlow Martin, George and Marian Nakashima, Clifford Odets, Charles Olson, Rudy Pozzati, Diego Rivera, Edwin Rosskam, Jerome Robbins, Selden Rodman, James Thrall Soby, Raphael Soyer and William Carlos Williams. Also found are a number of letters, many of them illustrated, from Robert Osborn, one letter each from Montgomery Clift, Pablo Picasso and Pete Seeger, and two letters from Robert Rauschenberg.

Documentation of Shahn's career covers his employment with the FSA, the OWI, and the CIO-PAC, his speaking and teaching engagements for many universities and colleges such as Famous Artist Schools, Inc., Harvard University, Princeton University, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and his commercial work for a variety of companies and publications including CBS, Harper's, Pantheon Books, Time, and Container Corporation of America. Files for Downtown Gallery record Edith Halpert's representation of Shahn's work and ultimately the disagreements that led to the dissolution of the dealer-artist relationship in 1968. Documentation of the legal aspects of Shahn's career can be found in letters from his lawyer, Martin Bressler, and include a copy of the letter in which Shahn states his final dissolution of his professional relationship with Halpert, and records of Shahn's legal dealings with Spiral Press, and Arnold Fawcus of Trianon Press. Letters also supplement the Project Files with documentation of some of Shahn's private and public commissions.

This series also contains letters that Bernarda Bryson Shahn continued to receive after Shahn's death in 1969. These posthumous letters are primarily requests to view Shahn's papers, or inquiries about Shahn and his work.

The series provides scattered documentation of Bernarda Bryson Shahn's career including her illustration work for Atlantic Monthly, Charles Scribner's Sons, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., Grossman Publisher, Inc., and Macmillan Company.

Letters from Judith Shahn to her parents provide insight into her career as an artist and also into that of her husband, poet Alan Dugan.

Letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent. All correspondents with 5 or more letters associated with their name are housed in a named file. The remaining letters are filed as "Miscellaneous" at the end of the named files for the relevant letter of the alphabet. Named and miscellaneous files are followed by: posthumous letters; letters of correspondents for whom only first names are known; letters with illegible signatures; and unsigned letters respectively.

This series has been scanned in entirety.