Hans Hofmann papers, circa 1904-2011

The correspondence of Hans Hofmann consists mainly of incoming letters about personal and professional matters. Correspondents include museums, galleries, art dealers, collectors, former students, art historians, critics, fans, friends, and relatives. Although the date of Hofmann's reply is often noted on letters received, outgoing letters are limited to a small number of drafts and carbon copies. Because Hofmann's wife, Miz, often handled his business affairs and was friendly with his former students, many letters are addressed to her. Letters in foreign languages-mostly German, but some in Italian and French-are noted.

Correspondents include Art of This Century Gallery (Peggy Guggenheim), Baltimore Museum of Art, Hofmann's dealer Samuel M. Kootz, the Museum of Modern Art, Mortimer Brandt Gallery (Betty Parsons), Betty Parsons Gallery, Howard Putzel of 67 Gallery, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Their letters document arrangements for Hofmann's major exhibitions and also concern the loan, sale, and donation of paintings.

With the exception of a file titled "War Compensation," correspondence is limited to the years of Hofmann's residence in the United States. "War Compensation" correspondence and related records, 1912-1923, concern Hofmann's claim against the German government for personal property-including works of art-removed from his Paris apartment in 1914 while he was in Corsica. Correspondence documents attempts to learn the fate of his paintings and the claims process. The correspondents are painter Rudolph Levy, who may have sold Hofmann's paintings and possessions during the time he sublet the apartment; sculptor Eugen Steinhof, Monsieur Haven and Hermann Hailer, who would assist with the claim; and the Bund des Auslandsdeutschen, Bavarian Section. Supporting documentation consists of leases for his Paris apartment and a floorplan, drawn by Hofmann, that indicates placement of furniture and includes an inventory of possessions, including works of art, with values for each item.

Small quantities of additional correspondence are filed with other series. School of Fine Arts Records (Series 2) include inquiries from prospective students; requests for transcripts and recommendations; Immigration and Naturalization Service approval of the school; correspondence about foreign students; and correspondence with the Veterans Administration. Financial Records (Series 4) contain correspondence with the American Express Company, the Social Security Administration, and several banks. Estate Records (Series 9) include correspondence regarding taxes, Hofmann's Provincetown house, and legal matters concerning settlement of his estate. Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann (Series 10) include personal and estate correspondence, as well as condolence letters.

Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and also includes a few subject files (e.g. "Autograph Requests," "Car Accident," and "War Compensation"). Unknown, unsigned, or illegible letters are filed at the end of the series.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

The Hans Hofmann Schule für Bildende Kunst operated in Munich from 1915-1933. The very sparse extant records consist of a small amount of printed matter and a financial document. The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts was established in New York in 1933, and his summer school in Provincetown, Massachusetts, opened in 1934. Both closed in 1958, because after 43 consecutive years of teaching, Hofmann wanted to be able to paint full-time. Records of the New York and Provincetown schools are more extensive, but far from complete.

A small cache of records concerning Hofmann's school in Munich is supplemented by photographs (Series 6) containing views of Hans Hofmann with students during the 1920s, including some taken during a summer session in Capri, circa 1925. Travel photographs from the same period may have been taken while teaching summer courses in Europe. An unidentified photograph of an exhibition installation in Germany may be school-related.

Records concerning Hofmann's schools in New York City and Provincetown, Mass., consist of administrative, financial, student, and miscellaneous records. Material postdating the schools' 1958 closings consist of letters of inquiry from prospective students and requests from former students for transcripts or recommendations. Additional letters from former students are with Correspondence (Series 1).

For the large part, student records were created and maintained by registrar James Gahagan and his staff. Student ledgers note date of first entry into day, evening courses, and tuition paid. A variety of other information is also included in the student ledgers: number of class hours and fees for supplies are entered in vol. 1; vols. 2 and 3 record advance payments for summer school; lists of monitors and scholarships are included in vols. 3 and 4; and a partial roster of summer school students appears in vol. 4. Requests for transcripts and recommendations are addressed to Hofmann who appears to have handled these matters directly.

Among the miscellaneous items are a gouache painting by student Trude Baumann, and class notes of Dorothy G. Hales/Dorothy H. Gary.

Records are arranged by country of the school and then by document type. The series is arranged as 2 subseries:

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

This series includes published and unpublished manuscripts, drafts, revisions, and notes by Hofmann and other authors, organized by type-books, articles and essays, etc. Hans Hofmann wrote extensively about his philosophy of painting, about himself as a teacher and an artist, and about modern art. Writings by other authors are mainly about Hofmann and modern art.

Books, arranged alphabetically by title, include manuscripts, drafts, and revisions. Considered Hofmann's most important text, Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in Gestaltung, circa 1904-1952[?], is an instructional primer begun in Paris circa 1904 and added to over many years. It remains unpublished. An English translation, Creation in Form and Color, was made by Glenn Wessels in 1931. Peggy Huck's translation, The Supersensitory Origin of Painting, was completed in 1931. After microfilming was completed, several versions of Das Malerbuch and the two English translations were received from the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust in 2006. Search for the Real and Other Essays, was issued in 1948 to accompany Hofmann's retrospective exhibition at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass., the first one-man show of an Abstract Expressionist organized by a museum.

Articles and essays consist of published and unpublished manuscripts arranged alphabetically by title, with untitled items alphabetized by first line. Among them are the constituent essays of Search for the Real and Other Essays: "The Search for the Real in the Visual Arts," "Sculpture," "On the Aims of Art;" and "Plastic Creation."

Notes, outlines, and some complete texts of speeches are arranged chronologically. Miscellaneous writings are shorter, informative, mostly unpublished pieces written between 1944 and 1960. Untitled items are alphabetized by first line. Representative titles include: "I am Often Asked to Explain My Work," "A Reply to the Demand to Name some of My Students that have come Into Prominence," and "About the relation of students and teachers." Hofmann revised 5 manuscripts ("Untitled, in German") by literally cutting and pasting portions onto very long sheets which were then rolled tightly for storage. Over the years, the glue dried out and the scrolls came apart; fortunately, most sections were numbered sequentially, so their order could be reconstructed fairly well prior to scanning.

Among the notes and lists are notes on works of art concerning "Construction," "Magenta and Blue," the Chiamabote mural, and the New York School of Printing mosaic. Lists of paintings include works to be exhibited at Galerie Maeght (Paris), Mirski Gallery (Boston), and the Whitney Museum; works to be framed; and works to be shipped.

Writings by other authors are mostly unpublished articles, essays, and reviews arranged alphabetically by author. An untitled piece by C. Z., most likely Carl Zigrosser, was written in response to an article about the psychology of Picaasso's art by Carl Jung. Unsigned items include a review of Camille Pisarro: Letters to his Son Lucien, ed. John Rewald; and reviews of Hofmann exhibitions at the 67 Gallery (1945) and at Galerie Maeght (1949).

Writings are arranged by author and then by document type. The series is arranged as 2 subseries:

This series has been scanned in its entirety.