Archives of American Art
Bernard A. Pfriem papers
Pfriem, Bernard, 1914-1996
AAA.pfribern
Archival Resource Key
8.4 Linear feet
1932-1995
The papers of painter and educator Bernard A. Pfriem measure 8.4 linear feet and date from 1932-1995. The material documents Pfriem's career through biographical material, general and business correspondence, writings, subject files, printed matter, photographic material, sound, film, and video recordings, and artwork. A large portion of the papers concern Pfriem's tenure as founder and director of the Lacoste School of the Arts in Provence, France.
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual material in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Scope and Contents
The papers of painter and educator Bernard A. Pfriem measure 8.4 linear feet and date from 1932-1995. The material documents Pfriem's career through biographical material, general and business correspondence, writings, subject files, printed matter, photographic material, sound, film, and video recordings, and artwork. A large portion of the papers concern Pfriem's tenure as founder and director of the Lacoste School of the Arts in Provence, France.
Biographical material includes address cards, Pfriem's high school diploma, identification cards, resumes, and correspondence with colleagues, friends, family, and former students.
Writings consist of Pfriem's notes, lesson plans, speeches, and essays as well as writings about Pfriem by others. Subject files contain correspondence, photographs, financial information, legal documents, and printed material that shed light on Pfriem's involvement with various galleries, museums and institutions, and other art organizations.
Papers concerning Pfriem's tenure as founder and director of the Lacoste School of the Arts in Lacoste, in Provence, France, form a large part of the collection. These records include administrative files, photographs taken at the school between 1970 and the 1990s, and material related to "The Stones of Lacoste," a thirty-minute documentary film produced and written by Pfriem about the art school and its historic location.
Printed material includes news clippings about Pfriem and reviews of his work, books, and exhibition catalogs, posters, and announcements.
Photographs, negatives, slides, and transparencies, include snapshots taken of Pfriem while working in Mexico, and in the military during World War II. Photographic material also depicts his exhibitions, his travels in Ethiopia and Greece, and his artwork.
Artwork includes several small drawings and sketches by Pfriem, a collage made by a former student, and one unsigned silk screen print.
Biographical / Historical
Painter and educator Bernard A. Pfriem taught at the Cooper Union School of Art and Sarah Lawrence College in the 1960s before helping to found the Lacoste School of the Arts in Provence, in southeastern France.
Pfriem was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1916. He was awarded a four-year scholarship at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1936, and received funding to work in Mexico after graduating in 1940. In Mexico, Pfriem assisted Jose Clemente Orozco with frescoes, collaborated with Julio Castellanos, and exhibited his own paintings and drawings. Pfriem joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942. After his service, he settled in New York City and taught drawing at the Museum of Modern Art. Pfriem moved to France in the early 1950s where he established studios in Paris and Lacoste, was awarded the William and Noma Copley Foundation Grant for Painting in 1959, and worked as chief designer for the United States government, organizing exhibitions and pavilions around the world.
After returning from France in the early 1960s Pfriem focused his career on education. He taught drawing at the Cooper Union School of Art (1963-1973), resumed teaching at the Museum of Modern Art (1963-1965), and was an instructor at Silvermine College of Art (1965-1969) and Sarah Lawrence College (1969-1975). In 1970 Pfriem, along with Sarah Lawrence College, established the Lacoste School of the Arts in southeastern France. The Cleveland Institute of Art, Pfriem's alma matter, became the primary affiliate of the school in 1980.
Pfriem's artwork can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Art Institute of Chicago, Atlanta Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum, among others. Pfriem has had solo exhibitions at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Alexandre Iolas Gallery, and Richard Feigen Gallery, and has participated in many group exhibitions including Recent Acquisitions (1961) at the Museum of Modern Art, American Drawings (1965) sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, and exhibitions at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many others.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated in 1997 by Pfriem's nephew, Bernard C. Pfriem.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1932-1995 (Box 1, 9, OV 11; 0.6 linear feet)
- Series 2: Writings, 1940s-1970s (Box 1; 7 folders)
- Series 3: Subject Files, 1942-1993 (Box 1-2, .5 linear feet)
- Series 4: Lacoste School of the Arts, 1960s-1995 (Box 2-5, 9, OV 11, FC 13-14; 4 linear feet)
- Series 5: Printed Material, 1939-1993 (Box 5-6, 9, OV 11; 1.3 linear feet)
- Series 6: Photographs, circa 1936-1990s (Box 6-8, 10; 1.8 linear feet
- Series 7: Artwork, circa 1940s-1990s (Box 8, OV 12; 4 folders)
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2020.
Preferred Citation
Bernard A. Pfriem papers, 1932-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Sound recordings
Moving images
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York
Educators -- France
Painters -- France
Lacoste School of the Arts
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
0.6 Linear feet
Box 1, 9, OV 11
1932-1995
Scope and Contents
Series includes address cards, Pfriem's high school diploma from West High School in Cleveland, Ohio, identification cards, resumes, and general correspondence with colleagues, friends, family, and former students. Also included are sound recordings containing music, a French lesson, and an overview of his work.
Address Cards
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
1-4
Correspondence, General
Archival Resource Key
1951-1995, undated
1
5-9
Correspondence, General
Archival Resource Key
circa 1950s-1960s
11
Correspondence, General
Archival Resource Key
undated
9
1
High School Diploma
Archival Resource Key
1932
9
2
Identification Cards
Archival Resource Key
1944-1994
1
10
Resumes
Archival Resource Key
1961-1991, undated
1
11
Bernard Pfriem, "His Work"
Archival Resource Key
1 Sound cassette
1976
1
12
Fete Music
Archival Resource Key
2 Sound cassettes
1974
1
13
Daniel French Lesson; Disca Lesson; Fete Music
Archival Resource Key
1 Sound cassette
undated
1
14
Writing Files
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
7 Folders
Box 1
1940s-1970s
Scope and Contents
Writings by Pfreim include a eulogy, notes and writings on art techniques and movements, lesson plans, speeches, and two papers on art, journalism, and propaganda in Latin America during World War II. Writings by others include statements about and reviews of Pfriem's artwork and career; and a draft of Patrick Waldberg's Pfriem (1961).
Eulogy
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
15
Lesson Plans, Notes, and Drafts
Archival Resource Key
1970, undated
1
16
Speeches and Lectures
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
17
Untitled Draft
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
18
"War Propoganda in Latin America"
Archival Resource Key
1940s
1
19
"Bernard Pfriem," Patrick Waldberg
Archival Resource Key
circa 1960
1
20
Statements on Pfriem's Work
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
21
Subject Files
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
0.5 Linear feet
Box 1-2
1942-1993
Scope and Contents
Folders may contain correspondence, photographs, financial information, legal documents, and printed material shedding light on Pfriem's involvement with various museums and institutions, galleries, and other art organizations. Other miscellaneous subjects include letters of recommendation, letters written during Pfreim's time in the military, files related to his studios and residences, papers from the Conference of Inter-American Affairs (1943), and information pertaining to the authentication of Marcel Duchamp's Bottlerack possessed by Pfriem.
American Federation of Arts, Drawing Show
Archival Resource Key
1971-1972
1
22
Artwork for Advertisements
Archival Resource Key
1973, undated
1
23
Bayer, Herbert
Archival Resource Key
1965- 1970
1
25
Calder, Alexander
Archival Resource Key
1949
1
26
C and E Editions
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
27
The Century Club and The Chelsea Arts Club
Archival Resource Key
1979-1988
1
28
Cleveland Institute of Art
Archival Resource Key
1974-1983
1
29
Cleveland Museum of Art
Archival Resource Key
1953, 1945, 1982-1983
1
30
Conference of Inter-American Affairs
Archival Resource Key
1943
1
31
Duchamp, Marcel, Auction
Archival Resource Key
1965-1993, undated
1
32
Duchamp, Marcel, "Bottlerack"
Archival Resource Key
1974-1976
1
33
Duchamp, Marcel, "Bottlerack" Photographs
Archival Resource Key
circa 1975
9
3
Exhibitions, Iolas and Hugo Galleries
Archival Resource Key
1951-1989
1
34
Exhibition Guest List
Archival Resource Key
1984
2
1
Letters of Recommendation
Archival Resource Key
1942-1943, 1969
2
2
Loft Renovation
Archival Resource Key
1986
2
3
Matisse, Henry, Copy of Letter
Archival Resource Key
1948
2
4
Midtown Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1970-1972
2
5
Military
Archival Resource Key
1942-1943
2
6
Mizui, Yasuo, Fuji TV
Archival Resource Key
1 Videocassettes (Betacam)
1980
2
7
Museum of Modern Art
Archival Resource Key
circa 1963
2
8
Personal Business
Archival Resource Key
1970-1992
2
9
Richard Feigen Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1965-1968
2
10
Skowhegan School or Painting and Sculpture, Awards Dinner
Archival Resource Key
1990
2
11
Staempfli Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1973-1975
2
12
Studios
Archival Resource Key
1983-1984, undated
2
13
Typography
Archival Resource Key
1942-1950, undated
2
14
Lacoste School of the Arts in France
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
4 Linear feet
Box 2-5, 9, OV 11, FC 13-14
1960s-1995
Scope and Contents
This series forms almost half the collection and document's Pfreim's involvement with the founding and running of the Lacoste School of the Arts.
Arrangement
The series is arranged as 3 subseries.
- 4.1: Administrative Files, 1962-1995
- 4.2: "The Stones of Lacoste," 1970s
- 4.3: Photographs, 1960s-1990s
Administrative Files
4.1
Archival Resource Key
1962-1995
Scope and Contents
Administrative files include mailing lists, course descriptions, meeting minutes, publicity material, reports and memos, articles, some documentation of student exhibitions, and correspondence with administrators, teachers, guest lecturers, architects, and partnering institutions.
Actes de Vente
Archival Resource Key
undated
2
15
Alumni Association
Archival Resource Key
1984-1986, undated
2
16
Arnold, Paul
Archival Resource Key
1979-1980
2
17
Bard College
Archival Resource Key
1984-1993
2
18
Joan Baren and the South Bronx Kids
Archival Resource Key
1984, 1986
2
19
Barnes, Betty
Archival Resource Key
1971, 1975
2
20
Board of Trustees
Archival Resource Key
1984-1995
2
21
Brihat, Denis
Archival Resource Key
1970
2
22
Brochure Requests
Archival Resource Key
1973, 1982, 1987
2
23
Case Statements
Archival Resource Key
1985-1986, undated
2
24
Center for Interim Programs
Archival Resource Key
1986-1992
2
25
Clayton, James
Archival Resource Key
1980-1982
2
26
Correspondence, General
Archival Resource Key
1979-1994
2
27-30
Correspondence, Housing
Archival Resource Key
1970-1971
2
31
Courses, Proposals and Descriptions
Archival Resource Key
circa 1969-1994
2
32
DeCarlo, Charles
Archival Resource Key
1971-1973
2
33
Djian, Maurice
Archival Resource Key
1970-1971
2
34
Donations, Benefits, Solicitations, and Grants
Archival Resource Key
1982-1990
2
35
Exhibitions of Student Work
Archival Resource Key
1971-1972
2
36
Expenses
Archival Resource Key
1963-1982
2
37
Falk, Katherine Hahn
Archival Resource Key
1985-1986
2
38-39
Forms and Application Procedures
Archival Resource Key
undated
2
40
Insurance
Archival Resource Key
1969-1972
2
41
Lectures on Color, Design, Drawing, and Painting
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
1
Mailing List
Archival Resource Key
1971
3
2
Orientation Speeches
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
3
Peronne, Jacques, Architect
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
4
Petty Cash
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1971
3
5
Pilkonis, Pamela
Archival Resource Key
circa 1984-1994
3
6
Poetry Books
Archival Resource Key
1977-1989
3
7
Program Course Enrollment
Archival Resource Key
1971-1972
3
8
Program Posters, Brochures, and Pamphlets
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1990s
3
9-11
Program Posters, Brochures, and Pamphlets
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1990s
11
Property
Archival Resource Key
1962-1984
3
12
Publicity, Articles
Archival Resource Key
1962-1987
3
13
Publicity
Archival Resource Key
1971-1986
3
14
Sarah Lawrence College
Archival Resource Key
1969-1985
3
15-17
Societe Generale
Archival Resource Key
1971, undated
3
18
Student Evaluations
Archival Resource Key
1981
3
19
Student Materials
Archival Resource Key
1971-1983
3
20
Teachers
Archival Resource Key
1972-1990
3
21
Telephone
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1971
3
22
Travel Information
Archival Resource Key
1971-1981
3
23
Visiting Lecturers
Archival Resource Key
1970, undated
3
24
Wiart, Michel
Archival Resource Key
1966
3
25
Writings, "Lacoste, Laboratory of Sadism" and "An Episode of the Revolution of Lacoste: The Pillage of the Chateau," Andre Bouer
Archival Resource Key
circa 1971
3
26
Writings, "Sarah Lawrence Makes it in Lacoste," Jane Freeman
Archival Resource Key
1971
3
27
"The Stones of Lacoste"
4.2
Archival Resource Key
1970s
Scope and Contents
Subseries consists of correspondence, scripts, sound recordings and motion picture film related to "The Stones of Lacoste," a thirty-minute documentary film written and directed by Pfriem about the art school and its historic location.
Papers
Archival Resource Key
1971-1972
3
28
Film Script
Archival Resource Key
circa 1971-1973
3
29
Film; Music and Hammering
Archival Resource Key
2 Sound cassettes
undated
3
30
Narration and Music II, Sasha Schneider; Music and Quarry Noises
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
31
"Stones of Lacoste"
Archival Resource Key
1 Film reel
Super 8mm
1973 November 30
FC 13
"Stones of Lacoste," Workprint
Archival Resource Key
1 Film reel
Super 8mm
circa 1973
FC 14
Photographs
4.3
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1990s
Scope and Contents
Photographs depict students during class, the landscape and architecture of Lacoste, class trips, parties, exhibitions, concerts, and artwork.
General
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1980s
4
1-6
General
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1980s
9
4
General, Betsy Richardson
Archival Resource Key
undated
4
7
General, Transparencies and Negatives
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1980s
4
8
General, Slides
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1991
4
9
Student Artwork
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1990s
4
10-13
Student Artwork
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1990s
5
1-5
Student Artwork, Slides
Archival Resource Key
1970-1990
5
6-8
Student Artwork, Negatives
Archival Resource Key
circa 1970-1990s
5
9
Printed Material
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
1.3 Linear feet
Box 5-6, OV 11
1939-1993
Scope and Contents
Series includes artist cards; articles and reviews of Pfriem's artwork; catalogs, announcements, and posters from group and solo exhibitions; Pfriem (1961) by Patrick Waldberg; material from an advertisement and exhibition that used Pfriem's illustrations; and The Mosaics of Jeanne Reynal (1964) for which Pfriem contributed an essay. Also included is exhibition material from the shows of other artists, news clippings not directly related to Pfriem, trade catalogs, and art publications.
Artist Cards, Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
undated
5
10
Clippings, About Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
1951-1969
5
11
Clippings, Various Articles
Archival Resource Key
1965-1987
5
12
Exhibition Material, Pfriem Solo Shows
Archival Resource Key
1950s-1960s
5
13
Exhibition Material, Pfriem Solo Shows
Archival Resource Key
1963
11
Exhibition Material, Pfriem Group Shows
Archival Resource Key
1956-1979
5
14-15
Exhibition Material, Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1980s
5
16-19
Exhibition Material, Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1980s
6
1-6
Exhibition Material, Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
1970, 1993
9
5
Illustrations, Exhibition Ephemera Designed by Pfriem for 400 Years of Italian Art (1967)
Archival Resource Key
1967
6
8
Illustrations, Omega Watch Advertisement
Archival Resource Key
circa 1960s-1970s
11
"8 Polaroid Pages Pfrom Pfriem"
Archival Resource Key
1968
11
The Mosaics of Jeanne Reynal (1964), Text by Ashton, Campbell, Tyler, de Kooning, Pfriem, and Reynal
Archival Resource Key
1964
6
9
Pfriem (1961) by Patrick Waldberg
Archival Resource Key
1961
5
11
"Crossroad," Vol. 1 and 2
Archival Resource Key
1939
6
10
"Industrial Design"
Archival Resource Key
1957
6
11
Poster and Book Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1966-1968
6
12
Sculpture Services Inc., Catalog
Archival Resource Key
undated
6
13
Miscellaneous
Archival Resource Key
circa 1950s-1970s
6
14
Photographs
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
1.8 Linear feet
Box 6-8, 10
circa 1936-1990s
Scope and Contents
Series includes snapshots, slides, contact sheets, negatives, and transparencies depicting Pfriem, his travels in Greece and Ethiopia, hand and nude models, and artwork created by him, former students, and other artists.
Bernard Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
circa 1945-1990s
6
15
Bernard Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
1940s
10
1
Bernard Pfriem, Slides and Transparencies
Archival Resource Key
circa 1942-1960s
6
16
U.S. Pavilion at Salonika, Greece
Archival Resource Key
circa 1953-1956
6
17
Ethiopia
Archival Resource Key
1950s
6
18-20
Ethiopia, Transparencies
Archival Resource Key
1950s
6
21-23
Ethiopia, Transparencies
Archival Resource Key
1950s
7
1
Travel, Transparencies
Archival Resource Key
1960s-1970s
7
2
Exhibitions, Bernard Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
circa 1960s-1980s
7
3
Drawing Show, Iolas Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1960s
7
4
Exhibition, Scale Model Conceived by Ward Bennett
Archival Resource Key
undated
7
5
Artwork Photograph Inventory
Archival Resource Key
1971
7
6
Artwork, College and Mexico
Archival Resource Key
circa 1936-1942
7
7
Artwork, Mexico
Archival Resource Key
1940-1942
7
8
Artwork
Archival Resource Key
circa 1947-1980s
7
9-14
Artwork
Archival Resource Key
circa 1940s-1960s
10
2
Artwork, Self Portraits
Archival Resource Key
1950s-1980s
7
15-16
Artwork, Portraits
Archival Resource Key
1960s
7
17-18
Artwork, Nudes
Archival Resource Key
circa 1960s
7
19
Artwork, Collections
Archival Resource Key
undated
7
20
Slides, Pfriem and Artwork
Archival Resource Key
1940s-1990s
8
1
Transparencies and Negatives, Artwork
Archival Resource Key
1950s-1960s
8
2-3
Artwork, Other Artists
Archival Resource Key
undated
8
4-5
Hands
Archival Resource Key
circa 1960s-1970s
8
6
Nude Female
Archival Resource Key
undated
8
7
Artwork
Series 7
Archival Resource Key
4 Folders
Box 8, OV 12
circa 1940s-1990s
Scope and Contents
Folders contain several small drawings and sketches by Pfriem, a collage made by a former student, and one silk screen print that is unsigned.
Drawings by Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
undated
8
8
Drawings by Pfriem
Archival Resource Key
undated
12
Student Collage
Archival Resource Key
undated
8
9
Untitled Silk Screen
Archival Resource Key
undated
8
10