Archives of American Art
Maxine Seelbinder Merlino papers
Merlino, Maxine Ollie Seelbinder, 1912-
AAA.merlmaxi
Archival Resource Key
1.1 Linear feet
1928-2003
The papers of illustrator, muralist, theatrical set designer, and professor Maxine Seelbinder Merlino papers measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1928-2003. The collection includes correspondence; newspaper clippings and reviews of artist's work; sketches for stage and set designs and mural decorations; federal commission contracts; exhibition brochures; theater playbills and announcements; photographs; original art work, including drawings and sketches; original lithographs; and material on the dedication of the Merlino Gallery at California State University, Long Beach.
English
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Biographical Note
Maxine Ollie Seelbinder Merlino was born in Portland, Oregon in 1912. She trained at the Portland Art Museum School before venturing to New York City where she took classes at the Art Students' League with, among others, Will Barnet, Anton Refregier, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, and Harry Sternberg. Maxine Merlino worked in New York from 1936 to 1943 as a free-lance illustrator, muralist, and theatrical set designer.
In 1940 and 1942, Merlino won mural commissions for the United States Department of Interior Section of Fine Arts program. She designed and executed murals for the S.S. Garfield, and painted a mural that graced the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C., one of seven murals in the building celebrating the contributions of African Americans.
Relocating to Long Beach, California in 1943, she worked as a scientific illustrator for the Army Air Force during the Second World War and subsequently as a stage, set and costume designer for theater and film producer Preston Sturges. From the early 1950s until her retirement in 1976, she was affiliated with California State University, Long Beach where she served as a Professor of Art and Theater Design and then as Dean of the Art Department. In recognition of Dr. Merlino's contributions to the department, the university dedicated an art gallery in her name, in February 2003.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of illustrator, muralist, theatrical set designer, and professor, Maxine Seelbinder Merlino papers measures 1.1 linear feet and date from 1928-2003. The collection includes correspondence; newspaper clippings and reviews of artist's work; sketches for stage and set designs and mural decorations; federal commission contracts; exhibition brochures; theater playbills and announcements; photographs; original art work, including watercolor sketches; original lithographs; and material on the dedication of the Merlino Gallery at California State University, Long Beach.
Documenting Merlino's work on New Deal federal government programs are letters sent to her in the early 1940s from the Public Buildings Administration and the Section of Fine Arts of the Federal Works Agency in Washington, D.C. as well as three photographs of a mural executed by Merlino for the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C. that depicts Benjamin Banneker, a pioneering African-American surveyor, inventor, and astronomer.
Representing Merlino's early New York period are brochures of group exhibitions and her one-woman show in a theater gallery. Among the original works of art are two original lithographs: Franco's Destruction, which was reproduced in a 1938 issue of New Masses, and Hearst's Empire, which appeared in the April 1938 edition of The Fight magazine.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as five series:
Missing Title
- Series 1: Biographical, 1929-2003 (Box 1; 5 folders)
- Series 2: Letters, 1936-2001 (Box 1; 6 folders)
- Series 3: Projects, 1927-2002 (Box 1-2; 26 folders)
- Series 4: Printed Material, 1939-1969 (Box 1-2; 13 folders)
- Series 5: Works of Art, 1932-1957 (Box 1, 3, OV 4; 21 folders)
Provenance
Dr. Merlino donated her papers in 2003.
Restrictions on Access
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Terms of Use
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 Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Maxine Seelbinder Merlino papers, 1928-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Processing Information
The papers were processed in December, 2004 by Pamela Conway.
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California
Drawings
Women artists
Set designers -- California
Federal aid to the arts
Art -- Study and teaching
Photographs
Works of art
Women illustrators
Women muralists
Women designers
Women educators
California State University, Long Beach -- Faculty
Biographical
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
1929-2003
(Box 1; 5 folders)
Résumés
Archival Resource Key
1949-1962
1
1
Newspaper clipping
Archival Resource Key
1929-2003
1
2-3
Certificates and Awards
Archival Resource Key
1932-1999
1
4
Photographs
Archival Resource Key
2002-2003
1
5
Letters
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
1936-2001
(Box 1; 6 folders)
Art Student's League
Archival Resource Key
1936-1940
1
6
The Fight magazine
Archival Resource Key
1937
1
7
Harry Sternberg
Archival Resource Key
1939
1
8
National Art Society, New York World's Fair
Archival Resource Key
1939
1
9
Federal Works Agency
Archival Resource Key
1941-1942
1
10
California State University, Long Beach
Archival Resource Key
1952-2001
1
11
Projects
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
1937-2002
(Box 1-2, 26 folders)
S.S. Garfield, U.S. Maritime Commission ( see also Box 2)
Archival Resource Key
1940-1941
1
12-14
Playbills, Westchester Drama Association
Archival Resource Key
1942
1
15
Photographs, Westchester Drama Association
Archival Resource Key
1942
1
16
Recorder of Deeds Building mural, Washington, D.C.
Archival Resource Key
1943-2002
1
17-22
Photocopies of mural submissions
Archival Resource Key
1939-1941
1
23
Snapshots of various mural designs
Archival Resource Key
1943-1944
1
24
Photographs, mural designs for Colonial Restaurant
Archival Resource Key
1943-1944
1
25
Photocopies, Drawing Depot technical illustrations
Archival Resource Key
1944-1945
1
26
Photographs, US Air Corps murals for Officer's Club
Archival Resource Key
1945
1
27
Preston Sturges, The Players Theatre and Restaurant (see also Box 2)
Archival Resource Key
undated, 1951-1998
1
28-30
Photographs, Set designs
Archival Resource Key
1951-1953
1
31
Mural designs, Seafood restaurant in Seal Beach (photocopies)
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
32
Oversized Project Files
Archival Resource Key
1937-2002
2
1-5
Printed Material
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
1939-1969
(Box 1-2, 13 folders)
Exhibition catalogs, 1930s-
Archival Resource Key
1941
1
33
Exhibition catalog and letters, Art Institute of Chicago
Archival Resource Key
1939
1
34
Magazine, The Art Digest
Archival Resource Key
1939
1
35
Newspaper clippings
Archival Resource Key
1936-1969
1
36-38
Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts
Archival Resource Key
1957-1958
1
39-40
Oversized Magazine articles featuring Merlino illustrations
Archival Resource Key
1930s-1969
2
6-9
Works of Art
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
1932-1957
(Box 1, 3, OV 4; 21 folders)
Drawings
Archival Resource Key
undated-1932
1
41
Sketches, The 49er
Archival Resource Key
1952
1
42
Prints, The New Yorker
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
43
Oversized Illustrations with Magazines
Archival Resource Key
1937-1957
3
1-8
Oversized Lithographs
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
9-16
Oversized Gouache and 2 Charcoal Drawings
Archival Resource Key
1936-1943
3
17
Oversized Lithograph, Munitions Magnet
Archival Resource Key
c. 1938
4