William Christopher papers, circa 1920s-circa 1973

Biographical material includes five address books, annotated memorabilia, awards and certificates, curriculum vitae and resume materials, and identification materials, including passport, driver's licenses, operator's licenses, birth certificate, and membership cards.

Correspondence includes invitations from friends, fellow artists, and galleries; medical correspondence with doctors after a series of heart attacks; letters from Harold McNeil Robinson, an African American youth who William Christopher helped finance school; correspondence with actress Osceola Archer; and with Henry Crapo, friend and colleague. Additionally, general correspondence includes friends and galleries, such as Margaret Cross, Gaspare D. Cruchi, and many others.

Writings and notes include eleven notebooks, miscellaneous undated notes and papers, annotated poetry drafts and a story manuscript written by William Christopher. Also included are several writings by others, including an opera manuscript, "Mourning Becomes Electra," written by Marvin David Levy, and reviews and thesis by Henry H. Crapo.

Five diaries were kept by William Christopher from the 1940s to the 1960s. There are also two additional diaries in the subject files about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Subject files are found for miscellaneous projects and the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Christopher's files about King include correspondence, printed material, and two diaries Christopher wrote about his attendance of the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Additional files relate to the Vestris Prize for Choreography, for which Henry Crapo was the sponsor and trustee of the Wasemaquia Charitable Trust Company, and Christopher, George Tooker, and choreographer Stuart Hodes, were judges. Other files relate to a Guggenheim proposed project, Veteran's Adminstration, Galeria Juana Mordo, Vincent Smith, and sculpture by Judith Brown. Files may contain correspondence, printed matter, drafts of writings and ideas, photographs, and clippings.

Scattered personal business records include one account ledger, loan agreements, financial correspondence, invoices and bills paid, receipts, price lists, an apartment lease, and a cursory draft of William Christopher's will.

Printed material includes clippings, exhibition catalogs and materials, magazines and programs, and posters.

Photographs include original photographs, negatives, slides, and one glass plate negative. Images depict William Christopher and George Tooker; friends, including Charles Howard, Henry Crapo, Margaret French, and Bernard Perlin; male models and figures; furniture; landscapes and buildings; artwork; and several x-rays of William Christopher's head and chest.

This series is arranged by subject. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers, but listed where they fall intellectually within the collection.

Artwork and sketchbooks consists of over one hundred sketches and watercolors and eleven sketchbooks. Works by others include a piece by Dimitri Von Mohrenshildt and a sketch by George Tooker. eleven sketchbooks.

Motion picture films consists of five film reels made by William Christopher for an unidentified and unfinished project. Footage consists of city views, particularly bridges, cityscapes, and street scenes.