American painter Ludwig Sander was born on July 18, 1906 in Staten Island, New York. After independent studies with Boardman Robinson and Alexander Archipenko, he attended the Art Students' League from 1928 to 1930. From 1931 to 1932, Sander studied art in Paris and with Hans Hofmann in Munich. While in Europe, he befriended many other artists including Balcomb Greene, Reuben Nakian, and Vaclav Vytlacil.
After Army service from 1942 to 1945, Sander returned to school, earning a B.A. in Art History from New York University in 1952. He taught at various schools including the Art Students' League, the School of Visual Art, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a charter member of The Club, a postwar group of New York artists famous for its polemic discussions.
From 1959, Sander regularly exhibited his art work and had solo exhibitions at prominent galleries including the Leo Castelli Gallery, Kootz Gallery, and the Knoedler Gallery. His work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Ludwig Sander died July 3, 1975 in New York City.
The papers of American New York School painter Ludwig Sander measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1975. Found within the collection are biographical materials primarily consisting of army records; correspondence with family and colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities; diaries containing brief annotations of daily activities; personal business records including studio leases, teaching contracts, and miscellaneous receipts; notes and writings including address books and art history typescripts; art work consisting primarily of sketchbooks and illustrations for magazines; photographs of Sander, his colleagues, his travels, and exhibition openings; and miscellaneous printed material. The collection Sander's career and interactions with some of the most important artists of 20th century modern art.
Chronological correspondence primarily consists of letters from Sanders to his mother during his army service, and letters from his colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities. Correspondents include Clement Greenberg, Philip Guston, Yvonne Hagen, Gottfried Honegger, Sam Kootz, and Vaclav Vytlacil. There are single letters from Georgi Daskaloff, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra, George Plimpton, and Maximilian Schell, and an invitation to a croquet party from Willem and Elaine De Kooning, Sander, Nancy Ward, and Franz Kline.
Ludwig Sander loaned printed material for microfilming in 1970. The Ludwig Sander papers were donated by the artist's widow, Kate Sander, in 1975.
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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
Portions of the collection and materials lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels 32, and 5901-5902 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Ludwig Sander papers, 1910-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection was processed by Jean Fitzgerald in April 2004.
Also available at the Archives of American Art are materials lent for microfilming (reel 32) consisting of printed material including catalogs and announcements, a biography, and reviews and articles by and about Sander, including excerpts from Sander's column in Saturday Review. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Biographical material primarily consists of army records documenting Sander's service during World War II. School records reflect his studies in Europe and at New York University, and include a student identity card signed by Hans Hofmann. Also included are curriculum vitae and passports.
Biographical materials are on reel 5900.
Chronological correspondence primarily consists of letters from Sanders to his mother during his army service, and letters from his colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities. Correspondents include Clement Greenberg, Philip Guston, Yvonne Hagen, Gottfried Honegger, Sam Kootz, and Vaclav Vytlacil. There are single letters from Georgi Daskaloff, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra, George Plimpton, and Maximilian Schell, and an invitation to a croquet party from Willem and Elaine De Kooning, Sander, Nancy Ward, and Franz Kline.
Correspondence is on reel 5900.
Eighteen diaries contain very brief annotations describing daily activities. There are two diaries each for years 1961, 1962, and 1964. Four of the diaries also contain listings of addresses.
Diaries are on reels 5900-5901.
Personal Business Records consist of leases for lofts in New York and contracts for teaching and for recorded interviews. There are also miscellaneous receipts, primarily for art supplies and travel expenses.
Personal business records are on reel 5901.
Notes consist of address books and lists. Writings include typescripts about Vermeer and an artist's statement by Sander and typescripts about Sander by others.
Notes and writings are on reel 5901.
Art work consists primarily of sketchbooks, at least two of which are from his European travels. The majority of the illustrations were made for
Artwork is on reels 5901-5902.
Photographs of Sander include one with his mother and several with his Army company. Photographs of exhibition openings include James Brooks, Clement Greenberg, Conrad Marca-Relli, Esteban Vicente, and Hugo Weber. Photographs of Sander with colleagues include Leo Castelli, Elaine De Kooning, Willem De Kooning, and Harold Rosenberg. This subseries sometimes includes related photographs of their surroundings from the same roll of film. There are also miscellaneous travel photographs.
Photographs are on reel 5902.
Printed materials are on reel 5902.