Prentiss Taylor
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Prentiss Taylor (December 13, 1907 – October 7, 1991) was an American illustrator, lithographer, and painter. Born in
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, Taylor began his art studies at the
Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...
, followed by painting classes under
Charles Hawthorne Charles Webster Hawthorne (January 8, 1872 – November 29, 1930) was an American portrait and genre painter and a noted teacher who founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899. He was born in Lodi, Illinois, and his parents returned to Main ...
in
Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...
, and training at the
Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 1931, Taylor began studying
lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
at the League. He became a member of one of the most important printmaking societies in America at that time, the
Society of American Graphic Artists The Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) is a not for profit national fine arts organization serving professional artists in the field of printmaking. SAGA provides its members with exhibition, reviews and networking opportunities in the Ne ...
. Taylor interacted and collaborated with many writers and musicians in his time in New York in the late 1920s and early 30s. This was in the emergence of the
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
. Among his close friends and colleagues were
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
and Carl Van Vechten. Taylor's work is in the collection of numerous institutions such as: the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
National Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
;
The Phillips Collection The Phillips Collection is an art museum founded by Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Phillips was the grandson of James H. Laughlin, ...
;
Gibbes Museum of Art The Gibbes Museum of Art, formerly known as the Gibbes Art Gallery, is an art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the museum moved into a new Beaux Arts building at 135 Meeting Street, in t ...
;
Museum of New Mexico The Museum of New Mexico is a collection of museums, historic sites, and archaeological services governed by the State of New Mexico. It currently consists of six divisions : the Palace of the Governors state history museum, the New Mexico Museum of ...
; the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
;
Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
Fisk University Galleries and
Greenville County Museum of Art The Greenville County Museum of Art (GCMA) is an art museum located in Greenville, South Carolina. Its collections focus mainly on American art, and its holdings include works by Andrew Wyeth, Josef Albers, Jasper Johns (raised in South Carolina), ...
.


Biography


Early life

He was born on December 13, 1907, to John Eastlack Taylor and Beatrice Hottel. In high school, Prentiss graduated from McKinley "Tech" High School, where he had studied art under Mary P. Shipman, Alexis Manny and Charles Lamb. He graduated from
Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' ( en, Let the light shine out from all), al ...
in 1925.


College years

In the 1920s, Taylor studied painting with Charles W. Hawthorne in
Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...
, but turned to lithography in the late 1920s to early 1930s during his enrollment at the Art Students League in New York City. He received further training in that medium at the George C. Miller workshop in New York. During this period, he also designed costumes for the American-Oriental Revue, as well as designed scenery for plays at the
Arts Club of Washington The Arts Club of Washington is a private club to promote the Arts in Washington, D.C. Founded by Bertha Noyes in May 1916, its first president was Henry Kirke Bush-Brown; Mathilde Mueden Leisenring was among its original members, as were Sus ...
.


Adulthood

Prentiss established the Washington Wheat Press as a means for publishing, and within the paper were various poems and illustrations by the artist as well as poems and prose by Josiah Titzell,
Rachel Field Rachel Lyman Field (September 19, 1894 – March 15, 1942) was an American novelist, poet, and children's fiction writer. She is best known for the Newbery Award–winning ''Hitty, Her First Hundred Years''. Field also won a National Book Award, ...
and Laura Benet. After Taylor discovered lithographing in 1931, he worked primarily in the
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
medium for the rest of his life, experimenting with various techniques and compositions and ultimately achieving a status as one this country's great lithographers. During this time he became a member of the
Society of American Graphic Artists The Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) is a not for profit national fine arts organization serving professional artists in the field of printmaking. SAGA provides its members with exhibition, reviews and networking opportunities in the Ne ...
. Taylor depicted mostly realistic and narrative scenes of subjects and themes that reflected his personal interests in music, architecture, religion and social justice.Prentiss Taylor, The Lithographs of Prentiss Taylor: A Catalogue Raisonné


Death

In 1990, Taylor had his last exhibition while still alive at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in their
Lauinger Library The Joseph Mark Lauinger Library is the main library of Georgetown University and the center of the seven-library Georgetown University Library, Georgetown library system that includes 3.5 million volumes. It holds 1.7 million volumes on six floo ...
called "The Art of Prentiss Taylor", which included lithographs, watercolor paintings and book jacket designs. In 1991, Taylor's health began deteriorating. In April (age 83), he was put in a nursing home and was hospitalized in September for pneumonia and a heart infection. Taylor died on October 7, 1991.


Career


Colleagues and connections

During his time in New York, Taylor developed a bond with poet Langston Hughes and writer Carl Van Vechten. Hughes and Taylor joined together towards the end of 1931 to create the Golden Stair Press, issuing broadsides and books with illustrations by Taylor and texts by Hughes reflecting the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. Among their joint publications are ''The Negro Mother and Other Dramatic Recitations'' and the ''Scottsboro Limited''. In 1931, in Depression-plagued
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, nine black youths were falsely accused of rape by two white women. The court trials became known as the Scottsboro case, and the black youths as "the Scottsboro boys." By the end of that year Langston Hughes had written a play about the injustice, and the following year he added four poems to his play to make a booklet. He asked his friend, the white artist Prentiss Taylor, to illustrate the poems. The four lithographs in this exhibition are the product of that collaboration. At age twenty, Taylor met Charleston novelist
Josephine Pinckney Josephine Lyons Scott Pinckney (January 25, 1895 – October 4, 1957) was a novelist and poet in the literary revival of the American South after World War I. Her first best-selling novel was the social comedy, ''Three O'clock Dinner'' (1945). ...
at the MacDowell artists' colony in
Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and ...
. Their new friendship prompted Taylor to visit
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, in 1933, because Pinckney asked friends to loan Taylor the Pink House. (book-southern life) Prentiss stated "I arrived on the Clyde-Mallory Line Steamer about the end of May 1933…I was lent the Pink House on Chalmers Street and I was able to stay until Labor Day. I spent most of my time sketching, up one side of the street and down the other." Taylor returned to the city in 1934 under the
Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Admin ...
(PWAP), a predecessor to the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
's
Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...
. James Sears
Edwin and John: A Personal History of the American South
/ref> Taylor took a few photos of
Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...
at parties in New York City, notably "The Crow Dance" in 1935. Most of Hurston's other photos were taken by Carl Van Vechten. Carl Van Vechten took several portraits of Prentiss and some of which are in the Prentiss Taylor Papers archives. Van Vechten is more closely tied with Langston Hughes, but Prentiss is colleagues by association. In Taylor's diaries during the time of him working as an art therapist, he had several meetings with
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
, and his wife and son. Pound was surprised to find an intellectual in Taylor, with whom he could discuss literature and art. Taylor was a pioneer in
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
through art within Harlem Renaissance figures and various clients. Prentiss was seen often with Jimmy Daniels, one of the most popular cafe singers and masters of ceremonies of the Harlem Renaissance, in New York, Carl Van Vechten and Langston Hughes—all of which are supposedly homosexual. Prentiss also appears in the 'Lesbian and Gay Presence' in the
Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...
. Composer
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
, a private man much like Prentiss, was disinclined to write about his personal life. Copland and Taylor met in the summer of 1928, and the two struck up a correspondence in November of that year. Copland's initial letters express a warm expression of good friendship. In Spring of 1929, however, friendship evolved into romance. Copland declares "It's always a dangerous business to write the kind of letter I sent you." in March 1929, " Now that I know how you took it, I don't regret having sent it." A variety of Copland's letters to Taylor are available online, as a testament of the beauty of love in written word. No letters from Taylor are in archives because Copland lived overseas in France most of the time and eventually they fell out of touch. One of the last letters from Copland states that he wishes Prentiss was there to be his "sole diversion."


Painting

Taylor studied painting with Charles W. Hawthorne in Provincetown until Taylor discovered lithography, then he occasionally did wash painting with ink, several watercolor paintings in his westward travels and oil painting occasionally, but more lithographs were produced total.


Lithography and illustration

Taylor spent a great of time in the Charleston, SC area and produced a group of prints that captured the feel of the time. His work in the
American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
depicts a grandness of scenery coupled with his usual almost realistic mystery. Taylor began his study of lithography in 1931 at the Art Students League in New York City. "With the first magic feeling of the crayon working in the fine grain of stone, I knew I was at home in lithography," the artist was to later write. Taylor's first lithograph was "Negro Head", composed in 1931. His last composition was "Church at Trampass," composed in 1983. In his 52 years as a lithographer, Taylor created at least 137 lithographs – many of which follow the parameters of realism. Taylor also traveled extensively, particularly in the American Southwest and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, whose landscapes and culture heavily flavor and influence his perspective and style of lithography.


Art therapy

From 1943 to 1954 Taylor served as art therapist on the staff of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, and later with the staff of
Chestnut Lodge Chestnut Lodge (formerly known as Woodlawn Hotel) was a historic building in Rockville, Maryland, United States, well known as a psychiatric institution. It was a contributing property to the West Montgomery Avenue Historic District. History ...
in
Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
. In addition, the February 1950 issue of the
American Journal of Psychiatry ''The American Journal of Psychiatry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of psychiatry, and is the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The first volume was issued in 1844, at which time it was k ...
carried his important contribution to the literature, "Art as Psychotherapy."


Teaching

In 1935, Prentiss taught lithography at Studio House in Washington DC. (affiliated with Phillips Memorial Gallery) Prentiss returned to DC and taught oil painting at
American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
from 1955 until 1975.


Accomplishments


Harlem Renaissance influence

"I prepared a smaller booklet of some of my newer poems to sell for a quarter. Its title poem was "The Negro mother" Prentiss Taylor, a young artist in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
designed the booklet, endowed it with a dozen handsome black and white drawings and supervised the printing of it. Since Prentiss Taylor was white, and I, colored, I thought maybe such a book, evidence in itself of interracial collaboration and good will, might help democracy a little in the south where it seemed so hard for people to be friends across the color line. Few white people bought our book, but to Negroes, I sold three large prints. Poetry took me into the hearts and homes of colored people all over the south." -Langston Hughes Carl Van Vechten was a huge supporter of booklet "Scottsboro, Limited" and financially backed it, so Taylor and Hughes were able to print and sell the 4 page poem, 4 page lithograph booklet at fifty cents each, and signed copies at three dollars. Before printing, Hughes would write to Taylor that he was more excited for the publishing of this work than anything he's ever written.


Traveling

Taylor moved to Provincetown, MA in 1924 to study under Charles W. Hawthorne, when plans to go to New York City to study stage design under
Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer. Early life Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...
fell through. He moved back to D.C. in 1926 to finish high school, then in 1927 found early work at 19 in New York City designing costumes for a stage revue, while also designing book jackets and publishing prose. Prentiss did black/white and color illustrations for various poetical works in Peterborough, New Hampshire in 1928 at the MacDowell Colony. From 1930 to 1935 Taylor worked and studied in New York City in Greenwich Village, and traveled to Charleston, SC for 4 months in 1933 which led to a series of lithographs. In 1935, Taylor returned to live in Washington DC, and moved again shortly in 1936 across the Potomac in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and remained there until 1954. In 1936, he traveled to the
Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...
, which inspired watercolors, drawings and prints (nos. 50, 55, 56.) In 1940, he traveled to Mexico and worked on various prints, and went to Mexico once again in 1962. After those trips, Taylor found much work around the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
area. In 1958, he traveled west to
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
to produce prints. Between 1964 and 1969, Taylor visited Europe (Spain, Italy, France; later on the Low Countries and the British Isles; and Russia late in the decade.) Spain inspired several prints. In 1975, he visited Italy, Austria,
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
. In 1985, he visited France and Denmark. In 1988, he traveled for the last time—visiting the west coast of France, Spain and Portugal.


Awards and exhibits

In 1934, after fellowships at the MacDowell Colony and at
Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March  ...
, the MacBeth Gallery gave Taylor his first one-person exhibition in New York City. After returning to Washington, D.C., Taylor's work was included in exhibitions at the Corcoran Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution, the
Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...
and the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...
in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
. He was represented by the Franz Bader Gallery in Washington, D.C., and by the Bethesda Art Gallery in Maryland. In 1942, Taylor was elected President of the Society of Washington Printmakers, a position he held for thirty-four years. In 1948 he was elected an associate of the prestigious
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
. Retrospective Print Exhibition in 1971 displayed 40 years of Taylor's work (54 prints), years 1931 through 1971. The exhibits at the Corcoran and Smithsonian are the only known permanent exhibits, although there may be extended exhibits.


Legacy


Papers

The collection measures 20.4 linear feet, dates from 1885 to 1991 (bulk dates 1908-1986) and documents the career of Prentiss Taylor. The collection consists primarily of subject and correspondence files, reflecting Prentiss' career as a lithographer and painter, his association with figures prominent in the Harlem Renaissance, his activities as president of the Society of Washington Printmakers and other art organizations, his work in art therapy treating mental illness, and his teaching position at American University. The subject files contain mostly correspondence, but many include photographs and printed material. Also included are biographical, financial, legal and printed material, several hundred photographs, notes and writings, sketchbooks, drawings and a few prints by Taylor, and scrapbooks dating from 1885-1956. Many pieces in collaborating with Langston Hughes are found in the Langston Hughes files, containing photocopies of letters between the two, cards, original photographs of Hughes taken by Taylor, and an autographed card printed with The Negro Speaks of Rivers. The contract between Taylor and Hughes (witnessed by Carl Van Vechten) that forms the Golden Stair Press—a duo organization through which many of Hughes' poems were printed with illustrations by Taylor. A rare edition of ''The Negro Mother'', Hughes and Taylor's first publication, is found here. The final copy of the 1932 ''Scottsboro Limited'' is in the Hughes files as well. Rare Harlem Renaissance publications illustrated by Taylor also found in these files are ''Golden Stair Broadsides'', ''Opportunity Journal of Negro Life'', ''The Rebel Poet'', and ''Eight Who Lie in the Death House''. Correspondence between Van Vechten and Taylor are found in the files, along with autographed copies of Van Vechten's booklets, and photographs of Harlem Renaissance figures (including Zora Neale Hurston,
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...
,
Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
,
Frieda Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, s ...
, etc.) Popular period photographs of
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
and
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
street scenes can be found here. The Prentiss Taylor papers offer researchers insight into the rich cultural documentation of the Harlem Renaissance and the development of twentieth-century printmaking as an American fine art. The Prentiss Taylor papers were donated in 1978 and 1984 by Taylor, and in 1992 and 2004 by his companion, Roderick S. Quiroz, for the estate of Prentiss Taylor. The material lent by Taylor for microfilming in 1978 on reel 1392 was not included as a later gift, and is not described in this finding aid. The collection contains photocopies of letters from Langston Hughes and Alice B. Toklas that Lawrence donated to Yale University Library. Prentiss Taylor papers are also located at the
Yale University Library The Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Originating in 1701 with the gift of several dozen books to a new "Collegiate School," the library's collection now contains approximately 14.9 milli ...
. The papers were processed in May 2005 by Jean Fitzgerald, and microfilmed in 2005 with funding provided by the Judith Rothschild Foundation. The collection was digitized from the microfilm in 2008 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation of American Art. Location of Originals: 95 letters from Rachel Field, 75 letters from Langston Hughes, 3 letters from Armin Landeck, 46 letters from Josephine Pinckney, 1 letter from
Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...
, 7 letters from Alice B. Toklas, 1 postcard from
Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thin ...
, and 25 letters from Carl Van Vechten are photocopies. Originals of the Hughes and Toklas letters are located at the Yale University Library. Location of the remaining original letters are unknown.


Series

The collection is arranged into ten series. The largest series housing Subject Files is arranged alphabetically, primarily by name of correspondent, maintaining Taylor's original arrangement. The remaining series are arranged in chronological order. Oversized material from various series has been housed in Box 21 (Sol) and OV 22 and is noted in the Series Description/Container Listing Section at the appropriate folder title with see also/see references. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-1985, undated (Box 1; 6 folders) Series 2: Miscellaneous Receipts, 1929-1986, undated (Box 1; 11 folders) Series 3: Insurance Records, 1960-1976 (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 4: Notes, 1921-1984, undated (Box 1; 18 folders) Series 5: Writings, 1924-1971, undated (Box 1-2; 51 folders) Series 6: Art Work, 1916-1975, undated (Box 2; 14 folders) Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1885-1956 (Box 2, 21; 10 folders) Series 8: Printed Material, 1914-1990, undated (Box 2-3, 21; 29 folders) Series 9: Photographs, 1908-1984, undated (Box 3, 21; 0.7 linear feet) Series 10: Subject Files, 1885-1991, undated (Box 3-21, OV 22; 18.0 linear feet)


Subjects and names

Subjects-Topical: *Art teachers—Washington (D.C.) *Art therapy *Harlem Renaissance *Lithography—20th century—Washington (D.C.) *Lithographers—Washington (D.C.) *Painters—Washington (D.C.) *Printmakers—Washington (D.C.) Types of Materials: Drawings, photographs, prints, sound recordings, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, writings, Names: * Field, Rachel, 1894-1942 * Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967 * Landeck, Armin, 1905- * Pinckney, Josephine, 1895-1957 * Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946 * Toklas, Alice B. * Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972 * Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964


References


External links


Prentiss Taylor papers at the Archives of American Art

The Lithographs of Prentiss Taylor: a Catalogue Raisonne
at
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Prentiss 1907 births 1991 deaths American lithographers American illustrators 20th-century American painters American male painters Harlem Renaissance LGBT artists from the United States LGBT people from New York (state) LGBT people from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American printmakers Painters from Washington, D.C. 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century American male artists 20th-century lithographers