Archives of American Art
Vaclav Vytlacil papers
Vytlacil, Vaclav, 1892-1984
AAA.vytlvacl
Archival Resource Key
5.2 Linear feet
1885-1990
The papers of abstract painter and art instructor Vaclav Vytlacil date from 1885-1990 and measure 5.2 linear feet. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, correspondence primarily discussing art school-related matters and the exhibition and sale of Vytlacil's work, scattered business and financial records, and notes and writings including lecture notes. The papers also contain audio recordings of interviews of Vytlacil and his associates, artwork by Vytlacil and others, four scrapbooks, printed material including clippings and exhibition catalogs, and photographs of Vytlacil, his colleagues, and his artwork.
English
.
Provenance
Vaclav Vytlacil lent the Archives of American Art materials for microfilming in 1966. Vaclav Vytlacil's daughter, Anne Vytlacil, donated the Vaclav Vytlacil papers in several installments from 1989 to 1993.
Separated Material
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (D295) including correspondence, lecture notes, general notes, clippings, notebooks concerning paintings, photographs of paintings, photographs titled "Vineyard Boats," and two of Mrs. Vytacil's Paris journals. Two dozen of these letters were later donated. All other lent materials remain with the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Related Material
Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Vaclav Vytlacil, March 2, 1966 and January 10, 1974, and 19 items microfilmed on reel 2016 relating to a 1975 Montclair Art Museum exhibition organized by Worden Day.
Processing Information
The Vaclav Vytlacil papers were processed in May 2007 by Jean Fitzgerald. Motion picture film reel was inspected and re-housed in 2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Preferred Citation
Vaclav Vytlacil papers, 1885-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the original papers requires an appointment.
Terms of 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.
Biographical Note
Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) was an abstract painter and art instructor who worked primarily in the New York city area. He was also one of the co-founders of the American Abstract Artists group.
Born in New York City of Czech parentage, Vytlacil moved at an early age with his family to Chicago. Beginning in 1906 he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under Antonin Sterba for approximately 3 years. In 1912 he graduated as William Vytlacil from Crane Technical and English High School. After receiving a scholarship in 1913, Vytlacil returned to New York to study at the Art Students League with John C. Johansen for three years. From 1917 to 1921 Vytlacil was employed as an instructor at the Minneapolis School of Art.
Beginning in 1921 Vytlacil traveled to Paris, Prague, and Munich, deciding to remain in the latter city indefinitely. He enrolled as a student at the Royal Academy of Art in Munich with fellow American art students Worth Ryder and Ernest Thurn. Vytlacil first studied under Karl Kaspar and, a year later, he and Ernest Thurn enrolled at the Hans Hofmann School in Munich. Vytlacil studied with Hofmann sporadically over the next seven years.
On August 18, 1927, Vytlacil married Elizabeth Foster of St. Paul, Minnesota at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. In the following year, he accepted an invitation to teach at the Art Students League and became an invited lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley during the summer terms of 1928 to 1929. Vytlacil urged Hans Hofmann, with his assistance, to come to the United States to teach at the Art Students League during the 1931-1932 term. Also during the early 1930s, Vytlacil and his wife spent summers in Positano, Italy, and winters in Paris.
In 1935 the Vytlacils returned permanently from Europe to live at 8 West 13th Street in New York City, where they stayed for three years. Vytlacil resumed teaching at the Art Students League, spending the summer sessions teaching at the California College of Arts and Crafts. In the following year he accepted an invitation to teach at the Florence Cane School at Rockefeller Center and continued teaching during the summer session at the California College of Arts and Crafts. It was also during 1936 that Vytlacil co-founded the American Abstract Artists with thirteen other artists.
While continuing to teach at the Art Students League and at the Florence Cane School, Vytlacil began conducting art classes at the Dalton School, where he taught until 1941. In 1938, he moved from New York City to South Mountain Road in New City. Two years later, Vytlacil established his residence and studio in Sparkill, New York, and in 1941, he acquired property in Martha's Vineyard which provided a place to work during the summers.
In 1942, Vytlacil left the Art Students League to become Chairman of the Art Department of Queens College in Flushing, New York. He held this position until 1945, when he accepted an invitation to teach at Black Mountain College. From 1946 to 1951, he returned as instructor at the Art Students League and began selling his artwork through the Feigl Gallery in New York. He also taught at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1947, and at Columbia University in 1950.
From 1952 to 1954, Vytlacil traveled to Colorado to paint and teach at the summer sessions of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. After a summer spent on Monhegan Island, Maine, Vytlacil and his wife spent 1955 in Europe. Upon his return in 1956, he became a guest instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and, in the following year, he taught a summer session at Boston College.
During the winter months of 1960 and 1961, Vytlacil lived in Oaxaca, Mexico. In 1964, he was a guest instructor at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.
Vytlacil was a member of the Art Students League of New York, the American Abstract Artists, the Federation of American Painters and Sculptors, and the Audubon Artists.
Vaclav Vytlacil died at his home in Sparkill, New York on January 5, 1984.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of abstract painter and art instructor Vaclav Vytlacil date from 1885-1990 and measure 5.2 linear feet. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, correspondence, scattered business and financial records, and notes and writings including lecture notes. The papers also contain audio recordings of interviews of Vytlacil and his associates, artwork by Vytlacil and others, four scrapbooks, printed material including clippings and exhibition catalogs, and photographs of Vytlacil, his colleagues, and his artwork.
Scattered biographical materials include documents relating to family history and biographical accounts for Vytlacil. Correspondence consists of letters exchanged between Vytlacil and his wife and colleagues including Josef Albers, Worden Day, Hugo Feigl, John Haley, Alfred Jensen, Irving Manoir, Mercedes Matter, Worth Ryder, Ernest Thurn, and Glenn Wessels.
Scattered business and financial records consist of teaching contracts and scattered financial records. Notes and writings include lecture notes, notebooks concerning teaching, minutes of meetings, essays, and writings by others. Three untranscribed sound recordings on cassette contain an interview of Vytlacil by Susan Larsen and interviews of Vytlacil's students and associates.
Artwork consists of drawings and prints by Vytlacil and others, etchings by Betty Vytlacil, and a color woodcut by Zalmar. Four scrapbooks contain printed materials and artwork by students compiled as a get-well gift to Vytlacil. Additional printed materials include numerous clippings, exhibition catalogs, and art school catalogs. Photographs in the collection are of Vytlacil, family members, his artwork, and his colleagues including Blanche Lazzell and Irving Manoir with Diego Rivera. One small motion picture film reel, 8mm, shows views of Manhattan and a family outing.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 10 series:
Missing Title
- Series 1: Biographical Material, 1885, 1933-1981 (Box 1; 3 folders)
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1911-1985 (Boxes 1-2, 7; 2.0 linear feet)
- Series 3: Business Records, 1912-1982 (Box 3; 11 folders)
- Series 4: Notes and Writings, 1928-1978 (Boxes 3, 7; 0.9 linear feet)
- Series 5: Interviews (Sound Recordings), 1974, 1984 (Box 4; 2 folders)
- Series 6: Artwork, 1921-1952 (Boxes 4, 7; 5 folders)
- Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1927-1979 (Boxes 4, 7; 4 folders)
- Series 8: Printed Material, 1912-1990 (Boxes 4-5, 7; 1.3 linear feet)
- Series 9: Photographs, 1906-1976 (Boxes 6-7; 27 folders)
- Series 10: Motion Picture Film, circa 1938-1968 (Box FC 8; 1 film reel)
Existence and Location of Copies
Material lent for microfilming is available on 35mm microfilm reel D295 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Writings
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York
Art -- Study and teaching
Photographs
Drawings
Sound recordings
Woodcuts
Motion pictures (visual works)
Prints
Etchings
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
Zalmar
Manoir, Irving K. (Irving Kraut), 1891-1982
Matter, Mercedes
Ryder, Worth Allen, 1884-1960
Thurn, Ernest
Vytlacil, Elizabeth Foster, 1899-
Wessels, Glenn A. (Glenn Anthony), 1895-
Albers, Josef
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957 -- Photographs
Day, Worden, 1916-1986
Feigl, Hugo
Haley, John, 1905-1991
Jensen, Alfred, 1903-1981
Larsen, Susan C.
Lazzell, Blanche, 1878-1956 -- Photographs
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
3 Folders
Box 1
1885, 1933-1981
Scope and Contents note
Biographical material includes ancestral documents, membership cards and certificates for organizations including the Art Students League and Audubon Artists, and miscellaneous biographical accounts for Vytlacil.
Birth Certificate for Anna and Death Certificate for Unidentified Relative
Archival Resource Key
1885
1
1
Membership Cards and Certificates
Archival Resource Key
1942-1955
1
2
Miscellaneous Biographical Notes for Vytlacil
Archival Resource Key
1933-1981, undated
1
3
Miscellaneous Biographical Notes for Vytlacil
Correspondence
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
2 Linear feet
Boxes 1-2, 7
1911-1985
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence consists of letters exchanged between Vytlacil and his wife and colleagues including Josef Albers, Worden Day, Hugo Feigl, John Haley, Alfred Jensen, Irving Manoir, Mercedes Matter, Worth Ryder, Ernest Thurn, and Glenn Wessels. There are single letters from Romare Bearden, Joseph Hirshhorn, Miz Hofmann, and Ludwig Sander. The letters primarily discuss art school-related matters and the exhibition and sale of Vytlacil's work.
Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
undated
1
4-5
Correspondence
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1911
1
6
Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1912
1
7-14
Correspondence
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1913
1
15-18
Correspondence
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1916
1
19
Correspondence
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1920-1926
1
20
Correspondence
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1927
1
21
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Correspondence
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1928
1
22
Correspondence
Correspondence
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1929
1
23
Correspondence
Correspondence
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1930
1
24
Correspondence
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1931-1932
1
25
Correspondence
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1933
1
26
Correspondence
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1935
1
27
Correspondence
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1936
1
28-32
Correspondence
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1937
1
33-34
Correspondence
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1938-1939
1
35
Correspondence
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1940
1
36
Correspondence
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1941
1
37
Correspondence
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1942
1
38-40
Correspondence
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1943
1
41-46
Correspondence
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1944
1
47-51
Correspondence
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1945
1
52-57
Correspondence
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1946
1
58
Correspondence
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1947
1
59-60
Correspondence
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1948
1
61-62
Correspondence
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1949
1
63-65
Correspondence
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1950
1
66-69
Correspondence
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1951
1
70-72
Correspondence
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1952
1
73-74
Correspondence
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1953
1
75-76
Correspondence
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1954
1
77-79
Correspondence
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1955
1
80
Correspondence
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1956
1
81
Correspondence
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1957
1
82
Correspondence
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1958
1
83
Correspondence
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1959
1
84
Correspondence
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1960
2
1
Correspondence
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1961-1962
2
2
Correspondence
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1963
2
3
Correspondence
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1964
2
4
Correspondence
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1965
2
5
Correspondence
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1966
2
6-7
Correspondence
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1967
2
8-9
Correspondence
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1968
2
10-12
Correspondence
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1969
2
13
Correspondence
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1970
2
14
Correspondence
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1971
2
15-17
Correspondence
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1972
2
18-22
Correspondence
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1973
2
23-34
Correspondence
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1974
2
35-42
Correspondence
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1975
2
43-51
Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1976
2
52-56
Correspondence
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1977
2
57-60
Correspondence
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1978
2
61-62
Correspondence
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1979
2
63-64
Correspondence
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1980
2
65-67
Correspondence
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1981
2
68-69
Correspondence
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1982
2
70
Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1983
2
71
Correspondence
Archival Resource Key
1984-1985
2
72
Oversized Draft of Letter from Vytlacil to His Wife from Box 1, Folder 21
Archival Resource Key
1927
7
Business Records
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
11 Folders
Box 3
1912-1982
Scope and Contents note
Business records consist of legal documents primarily concerning Vytlacil's employment as an art instructor and scattered financial records.
City of New York Teaching Licenses
Archival Resource Key
1914-1916
3
1
Art Students League Teaching Contracts
Archival Resource Key
1935-1961
3
2-4
Art Students League Employees' Benefit Plan
Archival Resource Key
1946
3
5
Dalton School Teaching Contracts
Archival Resource Key
1937-1954
3
6
Reorganization Documents Concerning Dalton Schools, Inc.
Archival Resource Key
1942-1945
3
7
Record Book of Expenditures
Archival Resource Key
1912-1916
3
8
Account Book for Summer School in Edgartown, Massachusetts
Archival Resource Key
1949
3
9
Ledger of Artwork Sold
Archival Resource Key
1969
3
10
Miscellaneous Records and Receipts
Archival Resource Key
1931-1982, undated
3
11
Notes and Writings
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
0.9 Linear feet
Boxes 3, 7
1928-1978
Scope and Contents note
This series includes notebooks concerning artist materials, address lists, lists of purchasers of Vytlacil's work, lecture notes, annual reports and minutes of meetings held by various schools in which Vytlacil was an instructor, and miscellaneous notes and typescripts by Vytlacil and others concerning art-related topics.
Address Books
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
12-13
Address Lists
Archival Resource Key
1971-1978, undated
3
14
Notebook 1 Concerning Artists' Materials
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
15
Notebook 2 Concerning Artists' Materials
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
16
Notebook 3 Concerning Artists' Materials
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
17
Lists of Purchasers of Vytlacil's Work
Archival Resource Key
1971-1973, undated
3
18
Lists of Artwork
Archival Resource Key
1963-1973, undated
3
19
Lists of Artwork Sent to Feigl Gallery
Archival Resource Key
1946-1953
3
20
List of Artwork Sent to the Montclair Museum
Archival Resource Key
1975
3
21
Notebook Concerning Exhibitions
Archival Resource Key
1959-1963
3
22
Lecture Notes for University of California, Berkeley, Summer Sessions
Archival Resource Key
1928-1929, undated
3
23
Lecture Notes for University of California, Berkeley, Summer Sessions
Lecture Notes for University of California, Berkeley, Summer Sessions
Archival Resource Key
1928-1929, undated
3
24-27
Annual Reports for Department of Art, Queens College
Archival Resource Key
1942-1944
3
28-29
Minutes of Meetings at Queens College
Archival Resource Key
1942-1945
3
30-33
Lectures Notes from Queens College
Archival Resource Key
1942-1945
3
34-35
Miscellaneous Notes Concerning Queens College
Archival Resource Key
1942-1945, undated
3
36-44
List of Students at Dalton School
Archival Resource Key
1947-1948
3
45
Notebook 1 Concerning Edgartown Summer School
Archival Resource Key
1947
3
46
Notebook 2 Concerning Edgartown Summer School
Archival Resource Key
1948
3
47
Notebook 3 Concerning Edgartown Summer School
Archival Resource Key
1950
3
48
Notebook 4 Concerning Edgartown Summer School
Archival Resource Key
1954
3
49
Annual Reports for the Art Students League
Archival Resource Key
1948-1951
3
50
Miscellaneous Class Outlines
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
51-52
Miscellaneous Lecture Notes
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
53-59
Notes on "Dynamic Symmetry,"
Archival Resource Key
1960
3
60
Autobiographical Account
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
61-62
Typescript "Special Events,"?
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
63
Manuscript Concerning Art History Education
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
64
Typescript "The Development of the Creative Process,"
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
65
Typescript "The Motif,"
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
66
Typescript Concerning Positano, Italy
Archival Resource Key
1932
3
67
Draft of Book on the Techniques of Painting
Archival Resource Key
1954
3
68-70
Typescript "Or So I Think" by Frederick Childs
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
71
Typescript "March of Time" by an Unidentified Author
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
72
Typescript "American Geometric Abstraction of the 1930s" by John Gordon
Archival Resource Key
1962
3
73
Miscellaneous Writings by Students
Archival Resource Key
1945, undated
3
74
Typescript on Vytlacil by Murray Turnbull
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
75
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Oversized Typescript on Vytlacil by Murray Turnbull from Box 3, Folder 75
Archival Resource Key
undated
7
Interviews (Sound Recordings)
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
2 Folders
Box 4
1974, 1984
Scope and Contents note
Three audio-cassettes contain interviews with Vytlacil and with his students and associates.
Untranscribed Audio-Cassette Interview of Vytlacil by Susan Larsen
Archival Resource Key
1974
4
1
Untranscribed Audio-Cassette Interviews of Vytlacil's Students and Associates
Archival Resource Key
1984
4
2
Artwork
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
5 Folders
Boxes 4, 7
1921-1952
Scope and Contents note
Artwork consists of drawings by Vytlacil and others, etchings by Betty Vytlacil, and a color woodcut by Zalmar.
Miscellaneous Drawings by Vytlacil
Archival Resource Key
undated
4
3
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Drawing and Etchings by Betty Vytlacil
Archival Resource Key
1921, undated
4
4
Drawing by Majka Vurmova
Archival Resource Key
undated
4
5
Woodcut by Zalmar
Archival Resource Key
1952
4
6
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Oversized Sheet of Drawings by Vytlacil from Box 4, Folder 3
Archival Resource Key
undated
7
Oversized Color Woodcut by Zalmar from Box 4, Folder 6
Archival Resource Key
1952
7
Scrapbooks
Series 7
Archival Resource Key
4 Folders
Boxes 4,7
1927-1979
Scope and Contents note
Scrapbooks 1 and 2 contain clippings, lecture announcements, and exhibition announcements and catalogs. Scrapbooks 3 and 4 contain artwork by students compiled as get-well gifts for Vytlacil.
Scrapbooks 1-2
Archival Resource Key
1927-1942, undated
4
7
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Scrapbook 3
Archival Resource Key
1978
4
8
Scrapbook 4
Archival Resource Key
1979
4
9
Oversized Scrapbooks 1-2 from Box 4, Folder 7
Archival Resource Key
1927-1942, undated
7
Printed Material
Series 8
Archival Resource Key
1.3 Linear feet
Boxes 4-5, 7
1912-1990
Scope and Contents note
Printed material includes clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Vytlacil and others, copies of Vytlacil's high school year book, art school brochures, programs, and miscellaneous brochures.
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1912-1984, undated
4
10-44
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1936-1990, undated
4
45-62
Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Others
Archival Resource Key
1960-1983
4
63-64
High School Yearbooks
Archival Resource Key
1912
5
1-2
Calendars of Events
Archival Resource Key
1947-1968
5
3-5
Programs
Archival Resource Key
1975
5
6
Miscellaneous Art School Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1937-1983, undated
5
7-15
Auction Catalog
Archival Resource Key
1970
5
16
Booklet "By-Laws of the Board of Education of the City of New York,"
Archival Resource Key
1939
5
17
Miscellaneous Brochures
Archival Resource Key
1966-1976, undated
5
18-19
Miscellaneous Printed Material and Draft Proof of Magazine Cover by Vytlacil
Archival Resource Key
undated
5
20
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Oversized Clipping, Life Magazine from Box 4, Folders 10-44
Archival Resource Key
1957
7
Oversized Clipping from Box 4, Folders 10-44
Archival Resource Key
1972
7
Oversized Draft Proof of Magazine Cover Designed by Vytlacil from Box 5, Folder 20
Archival Resource Key
1947
7
Photographs
Series 9
Archival Resource Key
27 Folders
Boxes 6-7
1906-1976
Scope and Contents note
Photographs are of Vytlacil, family members, residences, exhibitions, artwork, and colleagues including Blanche Lazzell, and Irving Manoir with Diego Rivera. There are photographs of Hans Hofmann's Munich art class picturing students Alice Fish, Betty Foster, Edgar Ruprecht, Isabel Ruprecht, and Ernest Thurn, and photographs of miscellaneous outings by Vytlacil's art classes.
Photographs of Vytlacil
Archival Resource Key
1906-1973, undated
6
1-3
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Photographs of Family Members
Archival Resource Key
1927-1934, undated
6
4
Photographs of Miscellaneous Residences
Archival Resource Key
1929-1935, undated
6
5
Photographs of Travel
Archival Resource Key
1925-1960
6
6
Photographs of Art Class Outings
Archival Resource Key
1951-1953
6
7
Photographs of Vytlacil with Colleagues
Archival Resource Key
1926-1949, undated
6
8-10
Scope and Contents
Oversized material housed in Box 7
Photographs of an Exhibition Installation
Archival Resource Key
undated
6
11
Photographs of Artwork by Vytlacil
Archival Resource Key
1948-1976, undated
6
12-26
Photographs of Artwork by Others
Archival Resource Key
undated
6
27
Oversized Photograph of Vytlacil as an Instructor from Box 6, Folders 1-3
Archival Resource Key
1946
7
Oversized Photograph of Blanche Lazzell and Her House from Box 6, Folders 8-10
Archival Resource Key
undated
7
Motion Picture Film
Series 10
Archival Resource Key
1 Film reel
FC 8
circa 1938
Scope and Contents note
One reel of motion picture film, 8 mm, shows views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty from a boat and a family outing with a child in the park.
Home Movie
Archival Resource Key
1 Film reel
8mm
circa 1938
FC 8