Archives of American Art
Ruth Nickerson papers
Nickerson, Ruth
AAA.nickruth
Archival Resource Key
2.6 Linear feet
1924-2009
bulk 1930s-1997
The papers of sculptor and WPA artist Ruth Nickerson measure 3 linear feet and date from circa 1924-1997 and 2005, 2009. Included are personal resumes and professional summaries, as well as sculpture awards and honors; letters from artists and art administrators, correspondence with foundries and art organizations, the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture, and the Section of Fine Arts. Letters from Ruth Nickerson to her mother Kate Mary Nickerson and copies of outgoing letters from Nickerson to other are also includeds; writings, including typescripts of manuscripts and unpublished talks; files regarding Guggenheim Fellowships; Nickerson's cast stone formulas; photographs of works in progress; artwork consisting of watercolor studies for American Oriental Rug Weaving (sculpture panel) for the US Post Office, Leaksville, North Carolina, 1941, and handmade Christmas cards; and printed material including exhibition catalogs and newspaper clippings. Also included is an unpublished memoir The Stone Carver in the House, by Nickerson's daughter Elizabeth R. Knudsen, 2005.
English
.
Biographical / Historical
Ruth Nickerson (1905-1997) was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) artist, direct stone sculptor, art educator and teacher in White Plains, New York. Nickerson was married to Edmund Greacen, Jr., son of painter Edmund Greacan. She studied art at the Detroit School of Applied Art, the National Academy school and at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in New York. She also studied direct carving techniques with Ahron Ben-Shmuel.
Nickerson's major works include a large bust of Abraham Lincoln (1962) which she donated to the Queens Library in New York City, The Dispatch Rider (1937) and American Oriental Rug Weaving (1941) as part of the Federal Public Works of Art Project, a New Deal WPA initiative which employed artists to create work for display in non-federal public buildings. In addition to being selected for the Federal Arts Project, Nickerson was also chosen as a Guggenheim Fellow in 1946 and won numerous awards throughout her career including the Saltus Gold Medal. She also served as member and juror for many professional organizations such as the National Sculpture Society and the National Academy of Design. She taught courses at various institutions including the Grand Central School of Art and the National Academy of Design.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 7 series:
- Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1925-1995 (0.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
- Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1929-1996 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1)
- Series 3: Writings, circa 1925-1996 (0.2 Linear feet: Box 1)
- Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1931-1996 (0.6 Linear feet: Box 1-2)
- Series 5: Project Files, circa 1927-1996, 2009 (0.7 Linear feet: Box 2)
- Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1924-1998, 2005 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 3-4)
- Series 7: Artwork, circa 1930-1971 (0.1 Linear feet: Box 4)
Scope and Contents
The papers of sculptor and WPA artist Ruth Nickerson measure 3 linear feet and date from circa 1924-1997 and 2005, 2009. Included are biographical material consisting of personal resumes and professional summaries, as well as sculpture awards and honors. Correspondence is with other artists, clients interested in commissioning art, foundries, professional and art organizations, the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture, and the Section of Fine Arts, and copies of outgoing letters from Nickerson to others. Also included are holiday cards and letters from Ruth Nickerson to her mother Kate Mary Nickerson. Also found are writings, including typescripts of manuscripts and unpublished talks, lists pertaining to exhibition planning, art foundations and sculpture inventories and extensive notes surrounding publicity for the 1995 National Sculpture Society show; Professional and Project files document a Guggenheim Fellowship and her participation in the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA); Other materials include cast stone formula notes; photographs of sculptures in progress and completed; and letters regarding professional organization memberships and committee roles, and as an arts educator. Artwork consists of watercolor studies for American Oriental Rug Weaving (sculpture panel) for the US Post Office, Leaksville, North Carolina, 1941, and miscellaneous sketches of people including one of painter Leon Kroll. Printed materials consist primarily of news clippings, exhibition invitations and publications, and a collection of other artist's exhibition catalogs, including two catalogs from The Grand Central School of Art. Also included is an unpublished memoir The Stone Carver in the House, by Nickerson's daughter Elizabeth R. Knudsen, 2005.
Conditions Governing 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.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 2019 and 2021 by Elizabeth R. Knudsen, Ruth Nickerson's daughter.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Edmund Greacen papers, 1987-1972, bulk 1905-1949 and the Public Works of Art Project selected administrative and business records, 1933-1936.
Preferred Citation
Ruth Nickerson papers, circa 1924-1997, 2005, 2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sabine Lipten in 2022.
Women sculptors
Sculptors -- New York (State)
Women artists
Educators -- New York (State)
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Public Works of Art Project
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
.1 Linear feet
Box 1
circa 1925-1995
Scope and Contents
Biographical material include personal resumes and professional summaries, as well as sculpture awards and honors and competition documents from Beaux Arts Institute of Design.
Beaux Arts Institute of Design Sculpture Competitions
Archival Resource Key
1931-1932
1
1
Biographical Summaries and Resumes
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1935, 1970s-1980s
1
2
Sculpture Awards and Honors
Archival Resource Key
circa 1925-1995
1
3
Correspondence
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
.4 Linear feet
Box 1
circa 1929-1996
Scope and Contents
Correspondence is arranged alphabetically and spans the entirety of Ruth Nickerson's career. It includes correspondence with other artists, clients interested in commissioning art, foundries, professional and art organizations, the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture, and the Section of Fine Arts, and copies of outgoing letters from Nickerson to others. Also included are holiday cards and letters from Ruth Nickerson to her mother Kate Mary Nickerson.
A
Archival Resource Key
circa 1932-1990
1
4
Brooklyn Public Library
Archival Resource Key
circa 1936-1983
1
5
B
Archival Resource Key
circa 1929-1985
1
6
C
Archival Resource Key
circa 1933-1989
1
7
Homer Day
Archival Resource Key
circa 1933
1
8
Alice Dickerman
Archival Resource Key
circa 1964-1977
1
9
D
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1977
1
10
E
Archival Resource Key
circa 1943-1976
1
11
F
Archival Resource Key
circa 1936-1995
1
12
Letter to Edmund Greacen Jr. from Keith Shaw Williams
Archival Resource Key
1935
1
13
The Gorham Company
Archival Resource Key
1933
1
14
G
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1993
1
15
H
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1989
1
16
I
Archival Resource Key
1977,1995
1
17
J
Archival Resource Key
circa 1962-1982
1
18
K
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1967
1
19
L
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1970
1
20
M
Archival Resource Key
circa 1932-1996
1
21
Jay McKiee Regarding Some Shape of Beauty Sculpture
Archival Resource Key
1995-1996
1
22
The New York Times
Archival Resource Key
circa 1955-1965
1
23
Letters to Kate Mary Nickerson
Archival Resource Key
circa 1933
1
24
N
Archival Resource Key
circa
1
25
O
Archival Resource Key
1933
1
26
P
Archival Resource Key
circa 1932-1996
1
27
R
Archival Resource Key
circa 1931-1982
1
28
Lu Stubbs
Archival Resource Key
1991-1995
1
29
S
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1995
1
30
St. Mary's In The Field
Archival Resource Key
1976
1
31
Ruth Talcott
Archival Resource Key
circa 1963-1979
1
32
T
Archival Resource Key
circa 1932-1993
1
33
V
Archival Resource Key
1964-1970
1
34
Adolf Alexander Weinman
Archival Resource Key
circa 1944-1951
1
35
Robert Weinman
Archival Resource Key
circa 1963-1988
1
36
W
Archival Resource Key
circa 1939-1996
1
37
Y
Archival Resource Key
circa 1980-1989
1
38
Z
Archival Resource Key
1935, circa 1971
1
39
Miscellaneous, Last Name Unsigned
Archival Resource Key
circa 1944-1987
1
40
Writings
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
.2 Linear feet
Box 1
circa 1925-1996
Scope and Contents
Within the writings series are annotated articles and essays on Nickerson, as well as typescripts of manuscripts and unpublished talks, lists pertaining to exhibition planning, art foundations and sculpture inventories and extensive notes surrounding publicity for the 1995 National Sculpture Society show.
Articles and Essays on Ruth Nickerson
Archival Resource Key
circa 1943-1981, 1996
1
41
Exhibition Planning Lists
Archival Resource Key
circa 1950s-1960s
1
42
Inventory Lists
Archival Resource Key
circa 1975-1989
1
43
Lecture and Demonstration Notes
Archival Resource Key
circa 1951-1978
1
44
Philanthropic Foundation Lists
Archival Resource Key
circa 1925-1996
1
45
Publicity Effort Notes for National Sculpture Society Show
Archival Resource Key
circa 1993-1995
1
46
Statements on Sculpture
Archival Resource Key
circa 1969-1986
1
47
Professional Files
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
.6 Linear feet
Box 1-2
circa 1931-1996
Scope and Contents
Professional files document Nickerson's memberships in professional organizations, roles serving on exhibition juries and committees, and time spent teaching at numerous institutions including the National Academy of Design and the Grand Central School of Art, which was founded by her father in law Edmund Greacen. Files include receipts for project related expenses, financial records, correspondence, cast stone formulas, photographs and membership cards. Of note is a file on Nickerson's time as a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow and blueprints for her studio expansion.
Academic Artist Association Exhibition Jury
Archival Resource Key
1970
1
48
Application Materials for Art Programs
Archival Resource Key
circa 1960s
1
49
Cast Stone Formulas
Archival Resource Key
circa 1967-1971
1
50
Douglas Berman Sculpture Agent
Archival Resource Key
circa 1987-1990
1
51
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
Archival Resource Key
circa 1931-1950, 1964, 1990
1
52
Montclair Art Museum
Archival Resource Key
circa 1939-1969
1
53
National Academy of Design membership
Archival Resource Key
circa 1946-1990
1
54
National Sculpture Society Membership
Archival Resource Key
circa 1944-1990
1
55
National Sculpture Society Membership
Archival Resource Key
circa 1944-1990
2
1
National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors Membership
Archival Resource Key
circa 1935-1964
2
2
Receipts and Expenses
Archival Resource Key
circa 1933-1990
2
3
Teaching
Archival Resource Key
circa 1936-1986
2
4
Miscellaneous Art Association Members
Archival Resource Key
circa 1945-1986
2
5
Miscellaneous Art Exhibition Juries and Committees
Archival Resource Key
circa 1950-1996
2
6
Miscellaneous Financial Records
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1987
2
7
Project Files
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
.7 Linear feet
Box 2
circa 1927-1996, 2009
Scope and Contents
Project files contain correspondence, photographic material, applications, planning documents, news clippings and exhibition catalogs detailing exhibitions as well as individual sculptures Nickerson worked on. This includes extensive documentation of the sculptural creation of a bust of Abraham Lincoln which she donated to the Queen's Library in New York City in 1993.
Also found are files documenting her work participating in the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal initiative aimed at giving meaningful employment to artists.
Adelle M. Fine Art Office Park Comission
Archival Resource Key
1981
2
8
Axiom One Sculpture
Archival Resource Key
1967-1973, 1996
2
9
Begg Memorial Fountain Competition
Archival Resource Key
1933
2
10
Distinguished Mid-Atlantic Artists: Four Decades of Growth (May-Jun.1980), University of Delaware
Archival Resource Key
1980
2
11
Federal Public Works of Art Project Applications
Archival Resource Key
circa 1939-1969
2
12
Federal Public Works of Art Project Sculptures
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1941, 1979-1989, 2009
2
12
Detail of Justice Sculpture
Archival Resource Key
circa 1946-1949, 1989
2
14
Abraham Lincoln Bust Project
Archival Resource Key
Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
circa 1961-1972, 1980, 1992
2
15
Donation to Queens Library, NY
Archival Resource Key
circa 1992-1993
2
16
Donation Reception Photographs and Materials, Queens Library, NY
Archival Resource Key
circa
2
17
Progress Photographs and Other Sculpture Snapshots
Archival Resource Key
circa 1961-1962
2
18
White Plains NY Project
Archival Resource Key
circa 1961-1966
2
19
Miscellaneous Lincoln Bust Materials
Archival Resource Key
circa 1961-1972
2
20
Lot's Wife Sculpture to Scarsdale Church
Archival Resource Key
1995-1996
2
21
Lyme Academy of Fine Arts 20th Anniversary National Sculpture Exhibition (Dec.1995-Feb.1996)
Archival Resource Key
1995-1996
2
22
Manhattanville College Sculpture Show (Mar.-Apr.1963)
Archival Resource Key
circa 1963-1982
2
23
National Sculpture Society Gallery Exhibit Materials
Archival Resource Key
circa 1995
2
24-25
Photographs of Sculptures and Models
Archival Resource Key
circa 1927-1932
2
26
Two Sculptors, Two Media (Dec.1996-Jan.1997), Queens Library Gallery
Archival Resource Key
circa 1996
2
27
Sculpture by Ruth Nickerson (Apr.1934), International Art Center of Roerich Museum
Archival Resource Key
1934
2
28
Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibition (Apr.-May.1933)
Archival Resource Key
1933-1934
2
29
Printed Materials
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
.4 Linear feet
Box 3
circa 1924-1998
2005
Scope and Contents
Printed materials consist primarily of news clippings, exhibition invitations and publications, and a collection of other artist's exhibition catalogs, including two catalogs from The Grand Central School of Art which was founded by her father in law Edmund Greacen. Additionally, there is a copy of an unpublished memoir The Stone Carver in the House, by Nickerson's daughter Elizabeth R. Knudsen, 2005.
Exhibition Catalogs for Other Sculptors
Archival Resource Key
circa 1934-1962
3
1
Exhibition Catalogs for Other Sculptors
Archival Resource Key
circa 1968-1984
3
2
Exhibition Ephemera, Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
circa 1936-1994
3
3
Exhibition Ephemera, Ruth Nickerson
Archival Resource Key
circa 1942-1996
3
4
News Clippings and Articles on Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
circa 1964-1984, 1993-1994
3
5
News Clippings and Articles on Ruth Nickerson
Archival Resource Key
circa 1924-1986
3
6-7
News Clippings and Articles on Ruth Nickerson
Archival Resource Key
circa 1924-1986
4
1
The Stone Carver in the House By Elizabeth R. Knudsen (Unpublished Memoir)
Archival Resource Key
2005
4
2
Miscellaneous Printed Materials
Archival Resource Key
circa 1964-1977
4
3
Artwork
Series 7
Archival Resource Key
.1 Linear feet
Box 3
circa 1930-1971
Scope and Contents
Artwork consisting of watercolor studies for "American Oriental Rug Weaving" (sculpture panel) for the US Post Office, Leaksville, North Carolina, 1941, and miscellaneous sketches of people including one of painter Leon Kroll.
Color Sketches American Oriental Rug Weaving
Archival Resource Key
circa 1930s
4
4
Miscellaneous Sketches
Archival Resource Key
circa 1947-1971
4
5