Roger Crossgrove (1921-2016 ) is a painter, photographer, and educator working at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut and who is best known for his monotype watercolors.
Roger Crossgrove was born in Farnam, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949. In 1950, he spent a year painting in Mexico and later returned to live for another year in 1965. In 1951, he received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois. He also participated in the Yaddo Fellowship in Saratoga Springs, New York for several years beginning in 1957.
From 1953 to 1967, Crossgrove taught at the Pratt Institute's Art School and the Department of Graphic Art and Illustration in Brooklyn, New York, teaching under Albert Christ-Janer for some of that period. He moved to Storrs, Connecticut to teach at the University of Connecticut's School of Fine Arts where he served as head of the Art Department for 20 years. After retiring in 2008, he was awarded Professor Emeritus status and, in 2008, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the university.
Although Crossgrove produced artwork in various mediums over the course of his career, his monotypes are some of his most prolific works. Numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and Mexico have featured Crossgrove's monotypes and other works of art.
The papers of Connecticut painter, educator, photographer, and watercolorist Roger Crossgrove measure 21.1 linear feet and date from 1888 to 2012 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950 to 2006. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, teaching files, subject files, exhibition files, printed materials, personal business records, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials.
Biographical materials consist of appointment notebooks and planners, awards, calendars, a marriage announcement, and graduate school coursework. Correspondence is with family, friends, colleagues, museums, and galleries. Correspondents include American Artists Group, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and artists Eric Carle, John Schoenherr, Joseph A. Smith, Antonia Torres, and Alfredo Zalce, among others.
Writings and notes include essays, a thesis by Crossgrove, a play manuscript, notebooks, and notes. There are also writings by Justino Fernandez about contemporary Mexican prints. Professional files contain correspondence, printed materials, and notes related to Crossgrove's involvement with various arts organizations, the Yaddo Fellowship, and other professional activities. Teaching files contain documents compiled during Crossgrove's tenure at the Pratt Institute and the University of Connecticut.
Subject files created by Crossgrove about topics of interest, Mexican art, and artists Milton Avery, Romare Bearden, and others contain clippings, exhibition catalogs, and museum publications. Exhibition files are both general and specific. There are files for
Personal business records document loans and sales of Crossgrove's artwork, purchases of artwork, personal ledgers, and expense lists. Printed materials include clippings, invitations, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, flyers, gallery and museum publications, periodicals, and posters.
Artwork consists of drawings, illustrations, and monotypes by Crossgrove, as well as photographs by Steve Balkin, and artwork by Louis Owens, Vincent Perez, and Warner Pfeiffer. Eighteen sketchbooks contain drawings and notes by Crossgrove. Photographs and negatives are of Crossgrove, artwork, family and friends, and travel.
The Roger Crossgrove papers were donated by Roger Crossgrove in 2013.
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2015 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care Pool Fund, using accelerated processing strategies implemented by the Archives to increase information about and access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
Roger Crossgrove papers, 1888-2012, bulk 1950-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the
The collection is arranged as 12 series.
Biographical materials include eighteen annotated calendars, five appointment notebooks, and nine daily planners. Also included are awards and medals from various arts organizations and competitions. Crossgrove's marriage announcement, membership cards, receipts and payments, and files related to his M.F.A. coursework at the University of Illinois are also found in this series.
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Correspondence is with friends, family, organizations, museums and galleries, colleagues, and artists. Correspondence is with American Artists Group, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, and Philadelphia Museum of Art, and for artists such as Eric Carle, Joseph A. Smith, John Schoenherr, Antonia Torres, and Alfredo Zalce, among others.
Writings by Crossgrove include a report on Tarascan, Mexico, a master of fine art thesis report, and a student paper titled "Some Observations on the Graphic Arts of Modern Mexico". There are notes and notebooks, a music writing book, and a manuscript draft written by Dr. Justino Fernández for a Mexican prints exhibition catalog. Some of the notebooks are also illustrated.
Professional files document Crossgrove's involvement in several arts organizations including the American Artists Group, American Watercolor Society, Artworks Gallery, Atrium Gallery, Brooklyn Society of Artists, Children's Book Council, Greater Mansfield Council for the Arts, Mystic Art Association, and the Windham Regional Arts Council. There are also files relating to the Yaddo Fellowship. Files typically contain administrative documents, correspondence, expense records, membership records, and printed materials.
Teaching files consist of correspondence, campus information, faculty memos and procedures, and student coursework compiled during Crossgrove's professorship at the Pratt Institute, where he taught under Albert Christ-Janer, and the University of Connecticut. Also included are letters regarding Crossgrove's independent study in Mexico and his sabbatical from the University of Connecticut, a collage in honor of Crossgrove's retirement, research questionnaire materials, and Crossgrove's statements on his career while at the University of Connecticut.
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Subject files were compiled by Crossgrove on artists and art related topics of interest, such as Mexico. Mexican art, city redevelopment projects, and artists Milton Avery, Romare Bearden, Edgar Degas, Tomie de Paola, and Rufino Tamayo. Files typically contain printed materials.
Oversized material housed in OV 24
Extensive exhibition files cover numerous exhibitions of Crossgrove's artwork, including
Business records include seven personal budget ledgers, records of artwork sales and purchases, and expense documentation for art supplies and professional memberships.
Oversized material housed in OV 24
This series consists of event invitations, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, flyers, gallery and museum publications, newspapers, periodicals, and posters.
Oversized material housed in OV 24
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Included in this series are drawings, illustrations, monotype prints, and sketches for a Unitarian church bulletin by Crossgrove; artwork by Crossgrove's children, Louis Owens, Warner Pfeiffer, and Vincent and Bette Perez; and various collages, doodles, and sketches.
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Oversized material housed in Box 23
Eighteen sketchbooks contain mainly figure drawings, still life drawings, and occasional notes written by Crossgrove and others.
Oversized material housed in Boxes 22-23.
Photographic materials includes photographs and negatives taken by and of Crossgrove, his artwork, and the artwork of others including Doreen Elizabeth, Helene Rechovsky, and Alfredo Zalce. Also included are travel photographs.