The papers were donated in 2001 by Carolyn Tobias, the widow of Abraham Joel Tobias.
This collection was fully processed and a finding aid prepared by Carla de Luise in 2006.
Abraham Joel Tobias papers, 1913-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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Abraham Joel Tobias (1913-1996) was a painter, muralist, and educator in New York City. He was a pioneer in the use of shaped canvases.
A native of Rochester, New York, Tobias came to New York City to study at the Cooper Union School of Art, 1930-1931, and at the Art Students League, 1930-1933. He worked for the Federal Arts Project,1938-1940, where he continued his training as a muralist, working with artist and technicians.
During World War II, Tobias served in the armed forces. He was an art director with the Intelligence Division, Army Air Force, and in 1945 was employed as a graphic designer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Tobias was artist-in-residence and served as instructor in painting and drawing at Adelphia College, Garden City, Long Island, 1947-1957. He also was was a visiting lecturer at various schools including Howard University, Brooklyn Museum Art School, Pratt Institute Art School, as well as at colleges in Illinois and Kansas.
Tobias completed over ten mural commissions for governmental agencies and educational institutions, including: United States Post Office, Clarendon, Arkansas; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; James Madison High School, Brooklyn, New York; Beth Israel Hospital, New York City; Domestic Relations Court Building, Brooklyn, New York; and Adelphi College, Garden City, New York. In 1962, Tobias began
Tobias experimented with diverse materials such as terrazzo and mosaic for mural application. He also broke new ground with the use of ethyl silicate paint as a permanent medium for outdoor murals. In 1958, he patented striated plastic, a pliable material used to achieve an effect similar to stained glass.
He participated in many solo and group exhibitions. In 1935, Tobias presented his shaped canvas painting in the "Sculptural Painting" exhibition at Delphic Studios in New York City. In 1987, Tobias was recognized for his earlier pioneering work with a retrospective exhibition, "Abraham Joel Tobias: Sculptural Paintings" at The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University. Other exhibitions included: "Plastics U.S.A.," the United States Information Service's exhibition in Moscow (1961); "New York City WPA Art," Parsons School of Design, New York City (1977); "For a Permanent Public Art," Tweed Gallery, New York City (1989); and "The Technological Muse," Katonah Museum of Art, New York (1991).
Tobias's professional memberships included the Architectural League of New York, National Society of Mural Painters, and New York Artists Equity Association. He served on the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Federation of New York from 1988-1996. He won the Architectural League Award in 1952. The Art Commission of the City of New York recognized Tobias, posthumously, for distinguished service to public art.
Abraham Joel Tobias married Carolyn Pratt in 1949; the couple had one daughter. Abraham Joel Tobias died in Rego Park, New York, in 1996 at the age of 82.
The Abraham Joel Tobias papers date from 1913 to 2000 and measure 2.8 linear feet. Through project and exhibition files, printed material, correspondence, and photographs, the collection provides an overview of Tobias's career as a painter and muralist in New York City.
General correspondence regards mural proposals, exhibitions, professional activities, and museums' acquisitions of artwork by Tobias. A file of correspondence with the Fine Arts Federation of New York concerns efforts to recognize murals by Irving Block, James Brooks, Philip Evergood, Abraham Lishinsky, José Clemente Orozco, and Max Spivak as landmarks; it also includes minutes of meetings, 1988-1995, that reflect Tobias's service as a board member. Other correspondence is with friends and artists including Edward Caswell, George Gaber, Filia Holtzman, Vincent La Gambina, and Alton S. Tobey.
Project files document murals such as:
Printed material consists of announcements, invitations, solo and group exhibition catalogs, and clippings relating to Tobias's artistic career. Also found are pamphlets he designed for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Photographs are of Tobias's artwork and the artist with friends and family. There is a video recording of an interview with Tobias conducted by Brendan Gill in 1995.
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Among the biographical materials are curriculum vitae, military records, awards and certificates, obituaries and condolence letters, a scrapbook documenting Tobias's early artistic career and personal financial records.
photocopy
General correspondence contains letters, drafts, and carbon copies of letters sent by Tobias regarding proposed mural commissions with responses from various trade unions and public institutions. There is scattered correspondence with museums such as the Brooklyn Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Jewish Museum, North Carolina Museum of Art, and Seattle Art Museum. Correspondence with the National Museum of American Art concerns the acquisition of Tobias's shaped canvas,
This series is organized chronologically. Project and exhibition files (Series 3) contain additional correspondence.
Project and exhibition files contain varying combinations of the following: correspondence, photographs, publicity material, legal documents, and proposals. Printed material includes announcements catalogs, and clippings. Some material is in Russian.
The project file for
This series is organized chronologically by mural commission, followed by project proposals, and exhibition files.
Oversized material housed in Box 4 and OV 5
Oversized material housed in Box 4
Oversized materials housed in Box 4
oversized material housed in OV 5
from Box 1, folders 24-27
from Box 2, folder 1
from Box 2, folders 2-7
from Box 1, folders 24-27
from Box 2, folder 17
All writings are by Tobias. Essays include "The Coexistence of Science and Art," "Thoughts on Mural Painting," and "The Statue of Liberty and Public Art."
Exhibition catalogs include:
The congress of Industrial Organizations pamphlets were designed by Tobias.
oversized material housed in Box 4
from Box 3, folder 4
This series contains photocopies of Tobias's sketches, including a self-potrait.
photocopies
The majority of this series consists of photographs of sketches, murals, and shaped canvases by Tobias. Also found are views of the artist with friends and family.
some photocopies
Among the topics discussed in an interview of Tobias conducted by Brendan Gill are his shaped canvases and murals created for the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Sponsored by the New York City Art Commission Archives, the interview was conducted at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn on December 19, 1995.