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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Ger 206

George Grosz papers

Overview

Correspondence, compositions, speeches, autobiographies and other papers of the German artist George Grosz.

Dates

  • Creation: 1893-1981
  • Creation: Majority of material found in 1919-1959

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English and German.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Extent

18 linear feet (47 boxes)

Chiefly correspondence (in German and English) of the Groszes, with noted German and American artists and authors, family and friends, art galleries, etc. Major correspondents include the artist Otto Schmalhausen (424 letters) and poet Ulrich Becher (141 letters). Schmalhausen's letters, 1932-1958, describe Germany before and after the war, and contain several sketches, as do Grosz's letters, ca.1913-1957, to him. Also a considerable amount of correspondence with other political refugees from Germany, as well as friends and relatives who remained in Germany during the war years. Other materials, such as correspondence, students' class notes, and Grosz's lecture notes, reflect his teaching at the Art Students League. Compositions include notes and drafts of essays and articles on art, and of poems; speeches and texts of radio broadcasts; and autobiographies. Grosz's exhibitions are documented both in correspondence and printed material, such as exhibition catalogues, brochures, posters, and clippings. Biographical materials include Grosz family official documents, business papers, photographs of family and friends, and postcard collection.

Biographical / Historical

Grosz was a German-born artist who moved to the United States in 1933.

Arrangement

Organized into the following series:

  1. I. Letters to George Grosz
  2. II. Letters from George Grosz
  3. III. Letters to Eva (Peter) Grosz
  4. IV. Letters from Eva (Peter) Grosz
  5. V. Other letters
  6. VI. Compositions by George Grosz
  7. A. Compositions, 1924-1959 and [n.d.]
  8. B. Diaries, notebooks, address books
  9. VII. Biographical material
  10. A. Grosz family official documents
  11. B. Business papers, memorabilia, postcard collection
  12. C. Photographs
  13. VIII. Compositions by others
  14. IX. Clippings and printed material

Please note that several item numbers were inadvertently skipped in this finding aid. Numbering will not always be sequential.

Physical Location

b

Immediate Source of Acquisition

*82M-37. Gift of Martin O. Grosz and Peter M. Grosz; received: 1982.

Title
Grosz, George, 1893-1959. George Grosz papers: Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou00452

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

Contact:
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Harvard University
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