Konrad Cramer was born in Wurtzburg, Germany, in 1888, and studied at the Karlsruhe Academy of Fine Arts from 1906 to 1908 with Ludwig Schmidt-Reutte and Ernest Schurth. After a year in the German army, he returned to Karlsruhe to set up a studio, making frequent trips to Munich, where he was exposed to the experimental artists of the Blaue Reiter group, including Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc.
Florence Ballin was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1884. She studied at the Woodstock, New York, summer school of the Art Students League beginning in 1906 under Birge Harrison along with fellow students John Carlson, Grace Mott Johnson, and Andrew Dasburg. She served as secretary for the League in 1906, and had a studio on 59th Street in Manhattan, where she held her first exhibition in 1909. In 1911, she traveled to Europe and met Konrad Cramer in Munich and joined him on visits to exhibitions and studios of the vanguard artists. The two married, moved to the United States, and settled permanently in Woodstock, New York.
Konrad Cramer is often credited as being an important link between German and American modernism in art, and his experimentations with abstraction and expressionism during his first years in Woodstock would seem to bear this out. In 1912 and 1913, he painted a series he called "Improvisations" (after Kandinsky) which was shown in a group exhibition at the MacDowell Club in 1913 along with Andrew Dasburg, Oliver Chaffee, and Paul Rohland. Cramer was photographed by Alfred Stieglitz and wrote an essay about the 291 Gallery for Stieglitz's magazine,
The Cramers had two daughters, in 1914 and 1917, and Konrad Cramer became an American citizen in 1917. For income, he began designing textiles for department stores using stencils and batiks around 1918. In his painting, he turned from abstract experiments to the traditional subjects of landscape, still life, and figure in a more representational style that blended modern and regional influences. Florence Ballin Cramer opened a gallery on 57th Street in 1919, encouraged by the sculptor Elie Nadelman. The mission of the Florence Gallery, as it was called, was to exhibit and sell the work of living artists. Although it only survived the season, it was the first gallery to show work by Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Alexander Brook, Ernest Fiene, and Stefan Hirsch, and generated important sales for several young artists in her circle.
Konrad Cramer returned to Europe in 1920 on a Rockefeller grant to study educational methods for craftsmen in Germany and France, and on his return he taught at the Woodstock School of Painting and Allied Arts. Cramer also studied lithography with Bolton Brown in Woodstock around this time, and both Cramers took up printmaking and began publishing prints in local arts magazines. The Cramers were deeply immersed in Woodstock life, participating in the annual Maverick festivals, the Woodstock Artists Association, the Historical Society, and other organizations, hosting meetings and serving as officers of many committees and organizations that presented and supported artwork in their community. They enjoyed a rich social life there among fellow artists at frequent parties and festivals, where Konrad provided entertainment with his fiddle and both Cramers memorialized events in countless photographs.
Konrad Cramer exhibited at the Whitney Studio Club in 1924, and taught at the Children's University School (now the Dalton School), where he painted a mural in 1929. The 1930s were busy years in both Cramers' professional lives. Konrad's exhibitions included the Carnegie International (1929 and 1933), and a two-man show at the Dudensing Gallery (1930), where Cramer and Adolph Gottlieb had been selected the most deserving unknown American painters of the year. He was also included in the exhibit
In 1934, the Cramers traveled to Mexico, where they produced many paintings and drawings. Konrad Cramer joined the Federal Art Project briefly in 1935, administering the regional program in Woodstock with Judson Smith. It was around this time that he began to learn photography. He became a sort of community photographer, taking photographs of friends' artwork and commissioned portraits, as well as informal photographs of friends. Cramer experimented with photographic techniques such as solarization and collage, using prisms, panes of glass, or composite printing. He first exhibited photographs in 1936 at the Albany Institute, and established the Woodstock School of Miniature Photography (the "miniature" referring to the then-new format of 35mm film) in 1937. He also taught courses in photography at Bard College in the 1940s, and his photographs and articles about photography were published in national magazines.
For the remainder of his life, Cramer continued to teach, write, and produce photographs, occasionally returning to painting, drawing, and printmaking, creating gouaches, wax resist drawings, and stencils of landscapes and figures, with an increasing interest in abstract styles and automatic techniques. Three of his early paintings were included in the 1946 Whitney Museum exhibition
Florence Ballin Cramer held her last exhibitions at the Woodstock Town House gallery (1953) and at Long Island University (1957). She died in 1962. Konrad Cramer died the following year. Both were memorialized in an exhibition at the Woodstock Artists Association Gallery in 1968.
The papers of painter, printmaker, and photographer Konrad Cramer and his wife, painter and printmaker Florence Ballin Cramer, measure 8.5 linear feet and date from 1897 to 1968. Papers document both artists' personal and professional lives and are especially rich in documentation of the art community of Woodstock, New York, from 1906, when Florence first attended art classes there, and where the couple resided until their deaths in the 1960s. Records include biographical materials, correspondence, a Christmas card album, business records, diaries, writings, personal financial records, printed materials, photographs, and artwork.
Correspondence is between the Cramers and other artists, curators, gallery staff, editors, writers, and personal friends and family. Many drafts and carbons of outgoing letters are also present. The Christmas card album brings together original cards made by their artist friends in the 1920s and early 1930s. Diaries are of both artists, mostly from 1949 onward, with notes and excerpts from earlier diaries present. Writings include technical and biographical essays by Konrad Cramer, and autobiographical and historical essays by Florence Ballin Cramer; notebooks and notes relate to art, travel, photography, and other subjects. Personal Business Records include price lists, receipts, and gallery correspondence with dealers and exhibitors; correspondence, accounting records, and writings related to Florence Ballin Cramer's Florence Gallery in New York City (1919-1920); records related to Woodstock arts and civic organizations in which the Cramers were involved; and personal financial records.
Printed Materials include publicity materials related to the Cramers' various endeavors and the activities of Woodstock arts and civic organizations, as well as dozens of books, little magazines, and journals by and about members of the Woodstock artist's colony. Photographs depict the Cramers and their friends, including early Art Students League Classes and the annual Maverick festival in the 1920s. Also found are a small number of photo-collages and experiments with color photography, and a series of early twentieth century photographs in the pictorialist style. Artwork includes early sketchbooks of both artists; loose sketches, drawings, and designs; textile designs by Konrad Cramer; and prints and printing blocks.
The collection is arranged into 8 series:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 1027, D170, and D171) including photographs, diaries, and sketches. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
A portion of the papers in this collection were loaned to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1964 by Aileen Cramer and Margot Cramer Taylor, daughters of Florence and Konrad Cramer. While selected diaries, sketches, and photographs were returned to the donors, some, but not all, of the original loan was subsequently donated with additional materials, in 1975.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 was digitized in 2013 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website. Blank pages, blank versos of photographs, photographs of artwork, duplicates, and routine financial documents have not been scanned. With the exception of rare publications, only the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from published materials.
Materials lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels 1027, D170, and D171 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.
Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer papers, 1897-1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
A portion of the papers in this collection were loaned to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1964 on reels D170-171 and 1027. Most of the loaned materials were donated in 1975, along with additional materials that were microfilmed on reels 1203-1204 and reels 2751-2757. A small portion of material, consisting mostly of duplicates and photographs of works of art, was never microfilmed. Previously microfilmed and unmicrofilmed portions were merged, arranged, and described as a whole by Megan McShea in 2006 and the collection was digitized in 2013 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the papers as described in this finding aid does not reflect the order of the papers on microfilm due to reprocessing.
Biographical materials include appointment books and an address book belonging to Florence Ballin Cramer; a birth certificate for Konrad Cramer; picture postcards showing views of Konrad Cramer's neighborhood in Karlsruhe, Germany; the calling card of the man who introduced Konrad and Florence; the Cramers' wedding announcement; a biographical essay about Konrad Cramer; an informal will written by Florence Ballin Cramer; and other personal certificates and documents.
Materials are arranged by document type.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Certificates and Documents
Address Book, Florence Ballin Cramer
Appointment Books, Florence Ballin (Cramer)
This series consists of Florence Ballin Cramer and Konrad Cramer's correspondence, including outgoing drafts and carbons of letters written by the Cramers. Correspondents include artists, curators, gallery staff, editors, writers, and personal friends and family. Prior to 1911, correspondence is entirely that of Florence Ballin, and the letters of 1911 are dominated by a large volume of letters between Florence Ballin and Konrad Cramer during the months of their courtship, many of which are in German. Also found are letters to Florence's brother Irving Ballin, and letters to and from the Cramer's children, Margot and Aileen. An increasing number of outgoing drafts of letters written by Konrad Cramer are found beginning in the 1950s.
Artists represented here include John Carlson, Birge Harrison, Peggy Bacon, Alexander Brook, Andrew Dasburg, Alfred Stieglitz, Julius Bloch, Grace Mott Johnson, George Franklin, Hermine Kleinert, Holger Cahill, Grace Evans, Emil Ganso, George Grosz, Carl Eric Lindin, Fred Dana Marsh, Henry Lee McFee, Elie Nadelman, Homer Saint-Gaudens, Lee Simonson, Gene Speicher, Carl Sprinchorn, Alfred Stieglitz, and Dorothy Varian. Artwork found in the correspondence includes a hand-painted card from Peggy Bacon and Alexander Brook (1923), a Rube Goldberg cartoon (1937), and an illustrated letter from Konrad to Florence Cramer (1957).
The correspondence files include fragments of letters, especially drafts of outgoing letters, and enclosures such as receipts, photographs, and clippings. These include early photographs of Konrad Cramer in the 1911 letters, and a photograph of Eugene Speicher from 1929. Notes made retrospectively by Florence Ballin Cramer are sometimes found with letters or on accompanying envelopes.
Correspondence is arranged alphabetically, with unknown and illegible drafts of letters filed at the end of the series. Additional correspondence can be found in Personal Business Records, and drafts of outgoing letters are found in Notebooks in the Writings series. See also the Christmas Card Album for additional notes and cards.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
A, Miscellaneous
Albany Institute of History and Art
American Federation of Arts
Art Students League
Includes letters from Edwin Blashfield, George Bridgman, Kenyon Cox, Elliott Daingerfield, and Frank du Mond
B, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from George Barrere and Marion Bullard
Bacon, Peggy
Ballin Family
Ballin, Irving
Bartlett, Mabel
Brook, Alexander
C, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Holger Cahill, Margaret Carlson, and Belle Cramer
Carlson, John F.
Carnegie Institute (Saint-Gaudens, Homer)
College Art Association
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Cramer, A.
Cramer, Aileen
Cramer, Aileen
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Florence Ballin
Cramer, Konrad
Oversized materials housed in Box 9, Folder 1
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Oversized materials housed in Box 9, Folder 1
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Konrad
Cramer, Margot
Cramer, Margot
D, Miscellaneous
Dalton School
Dasburg, Andrew
Davenport, John L.
de Liagre, Alfred and Frieda
E, Miscellaneous
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Eidlitz, Dorothy
Evans, Grace
F, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Anton Otto Fischer and George Franklin
Fortress, Karl
G, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Rube Goldberg and George Grosz
Ganso, Emil and Fanny
Guggenheim, Jules
Guinzburg, Lin
Gurewitch, Arno
H, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Birge Harrison, Bertram and Gusta Hartman, and Alice Henderson
Hener, Ruth
Hervey, Wilna and Nan Mason
I-J, Miscellaneous
Johnson, Grace Mott
K, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Ilonka Karasz, Therese Kessel, Georgina Klitgaard, and Katherine and Sara Kuniyoshi
Kleinert, Hermine E.
Kleinert, Hermine E.
Komroff, Manuel
Krom, Alice
L, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Lawrence Langner and Carl Eric Lindin
Lester, Henry and Ruth
Lester, Janina
M, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Grace Mayer, Austin "Meck" and Marianne mecklem
Marsh, Fred Dana
Marshall, Lenore
Mayers, Ballin
Mayers, Martha
McFee, Aileen
McFee, Henry Lee
Mearns, Hughes
Metropolitan Museum of Art
N, Miscellaneous
Nadelman, Elie and Viola
Neuman, Janet
Neuman, Robert
Niggli, G. Morgan and Josephina
Nusbaum, Dorette
O, Miscellaneous
Oberndorf, C.P.
Ottenberg, Reuben
P, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Hobson Pittman
Pachner, Bill
Q-R, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Jo Rollo
Ransohoff, Daniel J.
Ransohoff, Daniel J.
Ransohoff, Daniel J.
Resnick, Nat
Rohland, Caroline and Paul
Rosett, Blanche
S, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Carlota Saint-Gaudens, Barbara Shermund, Adrian and Sophie Siegel, Jean Paul Slusser, Frank Leon Smith, Judson Smith, Carl Sprinchorn, and Alfred Stieglitz
Schultz, Andi
Segal, William C.
Siegel, Adrian and Sophie
Simonson, Lee
Speicher, Eugene and Elsie
Summers, Dudley
T-U, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Howard Trafton
Uhlenhutt, Edward
Uhlenhutt, Edward
V, Miscellaneous
Includes letters from Dorothy Varian, Carl Walters, and Hervey White
van Delden, Gisela
W, Miscellaneous
Whitney Museum
Wilson, Dave and Marty
Woodstock Artists Association
X-Z, Miscellaneous
Unsigned or Illegible Names
The Cramers' Christmas card album is a large scrapbook containing handmade cards, wrapping papers, and a collection of postcards and clippings depicting animals. Most of the Christmas cards were received between 1921 and 1931, and many bear original works of art. Artists represented in the album include Peggy Bacon, Austin Mecklem, Frank Chase, Nan Mason, Hermine Kleinert, Harry Gottlieb, Felix Payant, E. Weyhe, Cecil Chichester, Henry Lee McFee, Arthur Young, Rudolph Wetterau, Sam Wylie, Wanda Gág, Will Shuster, Judson Smith, Elsa Milius, Louise Hellstrom, Jok Billings, Henry Billings, Emil Ganso, Marisha Karasz, Lee Simonson, Jo Cantine, Carl Lindin, Orville Peets, Paul and Caroline Rohland, C. Bertram Hartman, and Peter Juley. Photographs include a portrait of Aileen and Henry Lee McFee and several photographs of friends' homes.
Loose items found in the album which do not appear to have been pasted in originally have been removed to a separate folder. Items which were pasted in and have since become unglued have been kept in the album between the pages of what appears to be their original location. Additional hand-made cards are scattered throughout the Correspondence series.
The series has been scanned in its entirety.
Christmas Card Album
Items Found In Christmas Card Album
Diaries include twelve volumes kept by Konrad Cramer from 1945 to 1962, and two volumes and some loose pages by Florence Ballin Cramer, as well as notes and excerpts from diaries that are not part of the collection. Konrad Cramer's diary entries are sporadic, recording his farming activities, weather conditions, and personal activities. The volume for 1949 also contains notes from Florence Ballin Cramer's lengthy hospital stay and his contacts in New York during that time.
Florence Ballin Cramer's diaries date from her school days and travels to Europe, when she met Konrad Cramer, and contain many sketches. A later volume documents her hospital stay, and also contains sketches. Also found are detailed notes and excerpts from diaries not found in the collection, possibly loaned for microfilming and returned to the Cramers. In addition, loose items removed from several diaries, including those found within the collection and those removed from the collection, are filed here and include photographs of Florence, unidentified friends, a costume ball, and the area around Woodstock; early exhibition documentation; clippings; a sketch; and writings by Florence and Irving Ballin.
Materials are arranged chronologically by author.
The series has been scanned in its entirety.
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Florence Ballin Cramer
Florence Ballin Cramer
Florence Ballin Cramer, Items from 1908-1910 Diary
Florence Ballin Cramer, Items and Excerpts from 1911 Diary
Florence Ballin Cramer, Items and Excerpts Removed from Diary
Florence Ballin Cramer, Excerpts
Florence Ballin Cramer, Notes
This series includes the notes and writings of Florence Ballin Cramer and Konrad Cramer, along with scattered notes and writings by others. Types of material include essays, notebooks, poems, a movie scenario, and notes. Some of the notebooks include drafts of outgoing correspondence.
Konrad Cramer's essays mostly concern technical aspects of painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography, with a few essays on broad concepts such as modernism and design. Also found are numerous drafts of informal essays about people known to Cramer, including people from the Woodstock community such as Hervey White, founder of the Maverick artist's colony. Florence Ballin Cramer's essays include a lengthy autobiographical essay about her earliest visits to Woodstock as a student of the Art Student's League summer classes, essays on American crafts and Mexican artists, and other subjects.
Konrad Cramer's earliest notebook contains recipes gathered from his peers for paints and varnishes. Other notebooks contain essays, technical notes, drafts of outgoing letters, and some notes from meetings of Woodstock organizations. Volumes given titles by Cramer are listed by title, and titled essays within volumes are noted in the folder contents list. Florence Ballin Cramer's notebooks include two volumes from her adolescence containing notes and drawings.
Notes include travel notes and an annotated map from a 1938 trip West and notes written by Florence Ballin Cramer and Konrad Cramer including technical photo notes, recipes, quotes from published sources, contact information, and other miscellany. Collection notes, probably written by Florence Ballin Cramer, describe materials in the Cramer papers that have become separated from the items they describe. Miscellaneous notes include a student's poem, a list of books about Greenwich Village, and a brief note from a friend.
Materials are arranged by document type and author. Additional notes and writings are found in Biographical Materials and Personal Business Records. Picture books by the Cramers are found in Artwork.
The series has been scanned in its entirety.
"Artist and His Craft"
Includes sections by unidentified authors
"Artist in the Darkroom"
"Good Painter's Handbook"
"How to Display the Modern Photograph"
"Memo for the Art Room" (Dalton School)
"Modern Tendencies in Art"
"Origin of Design"
"Painter's Handbook"
"Tools for Drawing"
"What and How of Photography"
"Why and How of the Art Department"
People and Woodstock History
Amalie Cramer; Harold Reynolds; Hervey White and the Maverick Story; Rosie Magee; J. Albert of Munich and Albertypes; Sidney Berkowitz; and Carl Olaf Eric Lindin. Oversized material housed in OV 11.
Miscellaneous Essays and Notes about Art
Miscellaneous Essays, Non-Art Subjects
"Artists in Mexico"
"Craftwork In America"
Autobiographical Sketch about Woodstock
Miscellaneous Non-Art Subjects
Unknown Author, "Kindergarten - What It Is"
See also Artwork, sketchbook with notes on printmaking
Developing 35mm Film by Inspection
Contains essay and drafts of outgoing letters and notes regarding the Kleinert Wing of the Woodstock Foundation
"Handbook of Drawing, Volume 1"
Also contains drafts of outgoing letters
Handbook of Drawing, Volume 2
Handbook of Drawing, Volume 2
Practical Handbook of Drawing
Contains essay with editor's comments
"Notes on Lectures for Painting Materials"
"Notes on Stieglitz"
Also contains meeting notes of the Woodstock Foundation, and an essay about Thanksgiving at Rivington Hospital
Letter Drafts
Contains drafts of outgoing letters and technical notes
Letter Drafts and Essay Fragments
Contains fragment of essay "Restoring Oil Paintings" and drafts of outgoing letters
Recipes from Various Artists
Contains recipes for paint, varnish, and other media; and technical notes
Miscellaneous
Contains essays related to photography and notes on Mozart's letters
Juvenile
Juvenile
Forecast of Futures of Woodstock Children
Recipes in German
General
Poems for Children
Irving Ballin
Movie Scenario by Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer
Notes by Manuel Komroff
Notes from Oral Histories of the Cramers and Hermine Kleinert by Sam Eskin
Travel Notes and Map
Miscellaneous Notes by Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer
Miscellaneous Notes
This series contains records of Florence Ballin Cramer's and Konrad Cramer's respective artistic careers, other business and civic pursuits, and personal finances.
Artwork and exhibition records of Konrad Cramer include correspondence with the Dudensing Gallery, the Whitney Museum, John Graham and Sons, the Woodstock Artists Association and other exhibitors and dealers. Also found are receipts and price lists, some of which are illustrated with rough sketches. Florence Ballin Cramer's artwork and exhibit records include price lists, receipts, a guest book, and mailing lists, most of which refer to her 1953 exhibition at the Woodstock Town House gallery. Documents from her exhibitions at the Marie Harriman Gallery and Long Island University are also found. Additional materials related to exhibitions can be found in Printed Materials.
Records of Florence Ballin Cramer's 57th Street gallery, the Florence Gallery, include photographs of Florence in the gallery, her contract with H. Kevorkian for the use of the space, clippings, catalogs, price lists, and letters from artists and subscribers to the gallery, including Andrew Dasburg, Gene Speicher, Stefan Hirsch, Elie Nadelman, Christine Chaplin, Paul Rohland, Caroline Speare, John Everts Bates, and Forbes Watson. Also found are drafts of letters and other writings by Florence promoting the gallery and its mission, and a small card file recording sales, income and expenses, and contact information.
Records of Florence Cramer's shop in Woodstock consist mostly of accounting and inventory records. Correspondence related to this venture can be found in the correspondence series, especially for the years 1925 to 1927.
Records of Woodstock craft organizations include legal contracts, by-laws, letters, notes, press releases, and other records related to the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen and the Crafts' Foundation of Woodstock. Included are drafts of letters and speeches related to the opening of the Kleinert Wing of the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen's building in 1958. See Correspondence, Writings, and Printed Materials for additional materials related to these groups.
Konrad Cramer's employment contracts with the Children's University School (now the Dalton School) and an advertising firm are also found. For materials related to his various teaching endeavors, see Writings and Printed Materials.
Materials are arranged by document type.
The bulk of this series has been scanned. Routine financial records have not been scanned.
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Konrad Cramer
Florence Ballin Cramer
Oversized material housed in OV 10
Art Students League By-Law Amendments
Florence Gallery Records
Florence Gallery Records
Florence Gallery Records
Florence Gallery Records
Florence Ballin Cramer's Woodstock Shop Records
Florence Ballin Cramer's Woodstock Shop Records
Florence Ballin Cramer's Woodstock Shop Records
Records of Woodstock Craft Organizations
Oversized material housed in OV 10
Records of Woodstock Craft Organizations
Records of Other Woodstock Organizations
Woodstock Town House and Maverick Summer Concerts
Konrad Cramer Patent on Camera Accessory
Konrad Cramer's Employment Contracts
Account Books
Contains sketches
Account Books
Property Improvements
This series includes clippings, exhibition catalogs, press releases, printed ephemera related to Woodstock organizations and events, and over a dozen periodicals and books by and about Woodstock artists and writers. Other materials include letterhead, business cards, brochures, posters, maps, postcards, and other publicity pieces.
Exhibition announcements, catalogs, and invitations are for Florence Ballin Cramer's and Konrad Cramer's group and solo shows as well as shows of other artists. Clippings are mostly from New York City and Woodstock-area papers and include notices and reviews of exhibitions, art news and features, articles about friends and neighbors, and other miscellany. Some clippings have been pasted to other types of documents, such as contracts or correspondence related to one of the Cramers' exhibitions, and appear to have been cut from a scrapbook. A number of newspapers saved in their entirety feature coverage of significant local events in Woodstock.
Brochures and letterhead are found for Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer's various professional endeavors, including the Konrad Cramer's School for Miniature Photography as well as his auto mechanic service, Florence Ballin Cramer's antique shop, and other entities, many of which appear to be made with a manual letter-press and decorated with relief prints. Prints by other artists are filed separately and include a large engraved map of Woodstock created by Marg and Rudolph Wetterau. Additional prints are found in the Artwork series.
Woodstock organizations and events are documented here with brochures, posters, announcements, catalogs, programs, directories, and newsletters, many of which refer to Konrad or Florence Ballin Cramer's involvement in the organization. Woodstock publications include thirteen titles of books, little magazines, and journals featuring prints, drawings, stencils, and writings of the Cramers and other Woodstock-area artists and writers such as Hervey White, Paul Rohland, Peggy Bacon, Alexander Brook, John Carroll, Andrew Dasburg, John Evert Bates, Jean Paul Slusser, Grace Mott Johnson, Judson Smith, Rudolph and Marg Wetterau, Arnold Blanch, and many others. The largest run in the series is for the satirical arts paper
Materials are arranged by document type. Additional scattered printed materials are filed with Biographical Materials, Correspondence, Writings (Items found in diaries), and Personal Business Records. See series descriptions for more details.
The bulk of this series has been scanned. With the exception of rare publications, only the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from published materials.
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Exhibition Announcements, Catalogs, and Invitations
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Magazines, Journals, and Other Articles
Magazines, Journals, and Other Articles
Magazines, Journals, and Other Articles
Press Releases and Advertisements
Reproductions of Artwork
Business Cards
Cramers' Brochures and Letterhead
Woodstock Artists Association
Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen
Woodstock School of Miniature Photography
Woodstock School of Painting
Miscellaneous Woodstock Schools and Workshops
"The First Art Film Festival in America"
The Woodstock Festival
Programs for Cultural Events in Woodstock
Oversized material housed in OV 11
Woodstock Civic Organizations
Oversized material housed with Box 9, Folder 2-5
Oversized material housed with Box 9, Folder 6
Art Students League
Oversized material housed in OV 11
Camera Equipment
Clubs
United World Federalists and Circle of Confusion.
Mexico
Miscellaneous Brochures and Mailings
Blank Cards and Postcards
Relief Prints and Engravings Including Map of Woodstock
Oversized material housed in OV 11
This series includes snapshots, photo postcards, fine prints, and negatives depicting Florence Ballin Cramer, Konrad Cramer, their friends, schools, studios, Woodstock parties, the Maverick Festival, scenic views of Woodstock, and photographs of works of art.
A series of early photographs in the pictorialist style appear to have been made on printing-out paper and are filed under the heading "Early Woodstock Views and Figures." Their photographer is unknown, but the female figure depicted is most likely Florence Ballin. A few examples of photo experiments with color and collage, probably by Konrad Cramer, are also found. Photographs filed under the heading "Portraits of Friends" include formal portraits, snapshots, and a series of posed photographs Konrad Cramer took of friends with family members in their homes.
Many of the photographs in this series were probably taken by Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer, although many are uncredited. Wherever possible, photographs that appear to have been taken together have been filed together. Except for very early photographs, many of the individuals pictured have been identified on the photographs themselves, and names of those identified are noted in the folder listing.
Materials are arranged by subject. Additional photographs are found in Correspondence, Personal Business Records (Florence Gallery records), and Writings (items found in diaries). Writings and notes related to Konrad Cramer's work with photography are found in the Writings series, and manuals for cameras are filed with Printed Materials.
The bulk of this series has been scanned in its entirety. Reproductions of artwork have not been scanned.
Early Florence Ballin, Irving Ballin, and Friends
Also pictured are Homer and Carlota Saint-Gaudens and Henry Lee McFee, with note from McFee
Early Konrad Cramer and Friends
Konrad Cramer's Studio
Florence Ballin's Studio
Florence Ballin Cramer and Konrad Cramer
Florence Ballin Cramer's Exhibit Opening, Woodstock
Friends
Pictured are Carlota Saint-Gaudens, Louise Hellstrom, Henry Lee McFee, Arnold Blanch, Karl Fortess, Carl Walters, Sara Kuniyoshi, Marion Greenwood, Barbara Shermund, John Striebel, and John Carlson
Gene and Elsie Speicher
Includes duplicates and copy print
Gene and Elsie Speicher
Frank Chase and Dennis (son)
Neil Ives and Peggy Cole (daughter)
Henry Billings
Hervey White
Merril (Pixie) and Fritz Mueller
Judson and Mary Smith
Includes copy print
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
Includes copy negative
Art Classes, Group and Candid Shots
Includes copy negatives and prints; includes photographs of Art Students League classes, picturing Edith Morrell, Remington Schuyler, R. Nisbet, John Carlson, Florence Ballin, Grace Johnson, Mollie Bannister, Mary Reilly, Pop Goltz, Birge Harrison, Andrew Dasburg, among others
Maverick Festival
Includes copy print; includes photographs of Ernest Brace, Florence Ballin Cramer, Reeves Brace, Konrad Cramer, Helen Walters, Eugenie Gershoy, Harry Gottlieb, and Marjorie Barnes
Woodstock People
Pictured are Gene Speicher, John Carlson, Andrew Dasburg, Harry Hopkins, Came and Ella Lasher, Charles Rosen, Clarence Bolton, and unidentified others
Woodstock Parties
Pictured are Alexander Brook, Joe Pollett, Tom Penning, Helen Estes, Elsa Kimball, Sid Berkowitz, Dick Burlingame, Herman Cherry, Charles Rosen, John Striebel, Sigmund Menkes, Zombie Pachner, Sam Eskin, Florine Walkowitz, Kaj Klitgaard, Marianne Mecklin, Jay Allen, Odillon, Gene Speicher, Arnold Blanch, Edward L. Chase, Henry Mattson, Fanny Ganso, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Karl Fortess, and many others
Woodstock Views
Includes copy print
Early Woodstock Views and Figures
Figure may be Florence Ballin
Color and College Experiments by Konrad Cramer
Travel Snapshots
Photo Postcards
Miscellaneous Photographs
Installation Views
Konrad Cramer (1915-1957)
Florence Ballin Cramer (1929-1944)
Florence Ballin Cramer (1929-1944)
Other Artists
This series contains sketchbooks, loose sketches and drawings, original illustrations for children's picture books, textile designs, graphic designs, woodblock and linoleum block prints, printing blocks, examples of textile prints and batik, calligraphy, and an autograph book kept by Florence Ballin as a child containing artwork, poems, and music by its signers. Most of the artwork is by Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer. Artwork by others is filed separately. Artwork is in pencil, graphite, watercolor, gouache, and pastel.
Materials are arranged by document type. Additional sketches by Florence Ballin Cramer can be found in the Writings series. Examples of woodblock and linoleum prints and engravings by the Cramers and others in their circle can be found in Printed Materials. Other sketches are found in the account books in Personal Business Records. See series descriptions for more details.
The bulk of this series has been scanned in its entirety. Erotic drawings have not been scanned.
Untitled Sketchbook
Untitled Sketchbook
Untitled Sketchbook
Untitled Sketchbook
Untitled Sketchbook
Dismantled Design Sketchbook
Original collation
Dismantled Design Sketchbook
Dismantled Design Sketchbook
Sketchbook with Notes on Printmaking
Florence Ballin Cramer
Florence Ballin Cramer
Aileen Cramer (daughter)
Unsigned
General
Blackface Cartoons
Blackface Cartoons
Florence Ballin Cramer
Childhood Drawings of Aileen and Margot Cramer
Childhood Drawings of Aileen and Margot Cramer
Caricature of Mayor Goltz of Woodstock by Aimé Titus
Textile Designs
Oversized materials housed in Box 9 and OV 11
Textile Designs
Textile Designs
Textile Designs
Designs for
Oversized materials housed in OV 10
Wood and Linoleum Block Prints by the Cramers
Printing Blocks by the Cramers
See also Konrad Cramer's 1916, 1921 sketchbook for 2 original bookplate printing blocks
Printing Blocks by the Cramers
Woodblock Prints by Children
Textile Samples Designed by Konrad Cramer
Undyed Batik made by Konrad Cramer
Oversized material housed in OV 11
Calligraphy
Miscellaneous Designs, Sketches, and Prints
Oversized material housed in OV 10
Autograph Book of Florence Ballin Cramer
Contains paintings, drawings, poems, and music by signers