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The collection was donated in 2012 by Nathan Simon, Morton Traylor's friend.
Morton Traylor papers, 1936-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Erin Kinhart in 2014. The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase information about and access to more of our collections. Minimal processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with the original folder titles, but not arranged further. All materials have been rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
The papers of painter and teacher Morton Traylor measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1936 to 2003. The papers document his career as an artist and administrator of the Virginia Art Institute through biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material, photographs, and scrapbooks. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs, slides, and albums of artwork by Traylor. Three scrapbooks document his education and early career through clippings, photographs, exhibition materials, and letters.
Morton Traylor (1918-1996) was a painter and teacher in Los Angeles, California, and Charlottesville, Virginia. Traylor founded and taught at the Virginia Art Institute.
Morton Traylor was born in Petersburg, Virginia, and studied art at Los Angeles City College, Chouinard Art Institute, and Jepson Art Institute. He also attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1947. From 1942 to 1946 he served in the U.S. Navy as a Radio and Radar man, spending time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1950 he worked as the personal assistant to artist Rico Lebrun, and during the 1950s worked in commercial art at several companies in California. After moving to Virginia with his wife in 1960, he taught at the Holden School of Fine and Applied Arts, and in 1966 opened the Virginia Art Institute in Charlottesville. The school closed in 1975. Traylor regularly exhibited his work throughout his career and won several awards. In 1985 Traylor and his wife moved to Days Creek, Oregon, where he continued to paint and exhibit his work until his death in 1996.
Biographical material about Morton Traylor includes resumes, summaries, chronologies, and employment details. Also found are two resumes for his wife Maxine and various memberhsip and identification cards for both. Military records include an honorary certificate signed by President Bill Clinton.
Correspondence includes one file of letters from G. Randall Henniker, friend and executor of Traylor's artworks, and one file of letters from friend and fellow artist Hartwell Priest. Other correspondence found here is primarily professional in nature and concerns exhibitions, commissions, sales of artwork, and other projects. Researchers should note that letters can also be found among personal business records in Series 4 and within scrapbooks in Series 7.
Writings include artist's statements and other writings by Traylor, primarily on the subjects of art, creativity, and technique. Some of his writings include multiple drafts, and some are identified as "Art Notes" or "Studio Notes." Also found are writings, mostly poems, by Maxine Traylor, and one notebook kept by an unidentified author, possibly Maxine.
Personal business records include price lists for Traylor's artwork, records of works donated to a charity auction, and purchase orders and other financial records for Traylor's sign-making business. The bulk of the records found here document Traylor's directorship of the Virginia Art Institute. Included are notes, correspondence, press clippings, enrollment forms, student records, instructor resumes, and a few financial and administrative records.
The small amount of printed material found here includes exhibition catalogs and checklists,
Found here are personal photographs, primarily color snapshots, of Morton and Maxine Traylor. Photographs depict the couple at their home and studio and during travel. Also found are a set of photographs identified as "Photos by Erma." The bulk of the photographs in this series are color snapshots and slides of Traylor's artwork. Additionally there are photographs and slides of signs painted by Traylor. Three photograph albums include many photographs of artwork. One early album includes a few photographs of Traylor in his Los Angeles studio, painting in Rio during World War II, and at an exhibition.
Found here are four scrapbooks. One scrapbook documents the Traylor's honeymoon trip on the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth to France. Other scrapbooks document Traylor's education and early career as an artist through photographs, letters, student records, award certificates, exhibition records, exhibition announcements and catalogs, news clippings, and published reproductions of his artwork.