Helen Joy Weinberg (1900-1994) was a painter and printmaker from, and active in, Chicago, Illinois.
Weinberg was the daughter of Arthur Henry Kimball (originally named Kaiser) who was a designer, garment manufacturer, and painter. After moving to Chicago with her family in 1909, Weinberg studied printmaking with Max Kahn at the Art Institute of Chicago, and with Misch Kohn at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She also studied painting with Gerald Landt at the Summer School of Painting in Saugatuck, Michigan.
In addition to painting and printmaking, Weinberg also made ceramic and plastic jewelery, lectured in art, and taught art classes in her studio, and at Temple Emanuel and Temple Shalom in Chicago. She was also employed in advertising and public relations work and was a free-lance writer who published several poems.
Weinberg had multiple solo shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere, and participated in many group shows throughout the United States and in Israel. Her work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Brooklyn Museum, Israel Museum, Syracuse University, and elsewhere. She and was an active member of Artists Equity, Chicago Society of Artists, American Jewish Arts Club, and the Print Council of America.
The collection is arranged as four series.
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This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
The collection was donated in several installments from 1971 to 1987 by Helen Joy Weinberg.
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 837-839 and 4864-4865 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.
Helen Joy Weinberg papers, 1908-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Portions of the collection were microfilmed in 1994 on microfilm reels 837-839 and 4864-4865 with grants from the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, the Goldie-Anna Charitable Trust, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, and the Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation. The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2023.
The Helen Joy Weinberg papers measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1987. The collection sheds light on Weinberg's career through personal and professional files, writings, printed material, and 29 sketchbooks.
Personal and professional files include biographical sketches and resumes, inventories of artwork, photos of Weinberg and her paintings, art organization records, and one file pertaining to Weinberg's father, Arthur Kimball, that includes printed materials, a few sketches, and photos of Kimball and his artwork. Also included in this series is correspondence that documents Weinberg's poetry, publication of her artwork, art awards, exhibitions, and more; and personal business records such as calls for art submissions, contracts, financial records, and scant correspondence.
Writings consist of 12 notebooks of Weinberg's notes on Jewish art, Israeli art, modern art, Byzantine art, art movements, her own artwork, and miscellaneous topics. Also included are loose writings on Jewish art, Weinberg's ideas for inventions, lecture notes, and a biographical sketch written by Weinberg about her father. Printed materials consist of brochures and calendars listing Weinberg's exhibitions and talks, clippings and other printed materials that document Weinberg's career, exhibition catalogs, announcements and invitations, and ephemera from Distelheim Galleries.
Weinberg's sketchbooks are numbered and dated, and filled mostly with sketches in marker, pen, pencil, and oil pastel, though some sketchbooks also include watercolors.
Found here are resumes, biographical sketches, Weinberg's statements on her career, inventories of artwork, some photos of Weinberg and her paintings, and art organization records that include newsletters, membership lists, and voting records. Correspondence includes personal and professional letters with publishers, art organizations, public libraries, galleries, and university museums about Weinberg's poetry, publication of her artwork, art awards, exhibitions, and more. Personal business records include four pages from a Weinberg exhibition guest book, calls for art submissions, price lists, contracts with the Art Rental Service, receipts, and scant correspondence. This series also includes one file on Arthur Kimball, Weinberg's father, containing photos of Kimball and his artwork, several sketches, an exhibition catalog, clippings, and other printed materials.
Found here are writings on Jewish art, Weinberg's ideas for inventions, lecture notes, and a biographical sketch written by Weinberg about her father. The series includes 12 notebooks that contain Weinberg's notes on Jewish art, Israeli art, modern art, Byzantine art, art movements, her own artwork, and miscellaneous topics.
Found here are brochures and calendars that list Weinberg's exhibitions and talks; clippings and other printed materials documenting her career; gallery ephemera from Distelheim Galleries, which lists Weinberg as one of the Distelheim artists; exhibition catalogs, announcements, and invitations; a book jacket from
This series contains 29 sketchbooks that are numbered and dated. Sketches and drawings were done mostly in marker, pen, pencil, and oil pastel, though some sketchbooks include also include watercolors.