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Mark di Suvero and di Suvero family papers

Archives of American Art

Object Details

Creator
Di Suvero, Mark, 1933-
Names
Socrates Sculpture Park
Lessick, Helen
Topic
Works of art
Provenance
The Mark di Suvero and di Suvero family papers were donated in 2004 and 2005 by Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero, the artist's sister. One transcript of a play by Henry di Suvero was donated in 2022 by Henry (Hank) di Suvero's estate, via Scott Krauss, co-executor.
Creator
Di Suvero, Mark, 1933-
See more items in
Mark di Suvero and di Suvero family papers
Summary
The collection measures 6.8 linear feet and 0.263 GB, dates from 1934 to 2005, and documents the career of sculptor Mark di Suvero and family relationships. Found within the papers are biographical material; letters to and from di Suvero family members; scattered writings by di Suvero and Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero, the artist's sister, about Mark di Suvero; drawings; a file on the Socrates Sculpture Park; a file on artist Helen Lessick, an acquaintance of Mark di Suvero; exhibition files; printed material; photographs of the artist, artwork, and members of the di Suvero family; audio and video recordings of interviews with di Suvero; and promotional Tee Shirts. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes a WordPerfect transcript in electronic format of an unpublished play Crescent Moon, Yellow Star, but Henry (Hank) di Suvero, 2004.
Biographical Note
Mark di Suvero was born September 18, 1933, in Shanghai, China, the son of Matilde Millo di Suvero and Victor E. di Suvero, an Italian diplomat. He was one of four children: Victor M., the eldest, Marie Louise, Mark, and the youngest son Henry. With the outbreak of World War II, the family immigrated to San Francisco, California, in 1941. Mark di Suvero studied fine arts and philosophy at the San Francisco City College from 1953 to 1954, and attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, from 1954-1955, where he began creating sculpture. In 1956, he received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. The following year, di Suvero moved to New York City to establish a career as a sculptor. Shortly before his first solo exhibition at the Green Gallery in 1960, di Suvero suffered severe spinal injuries when he was pinned against an elevator shaft in a construction accident. Initially confined to a wheelchair for two years, di Suvero persevered in overcoming his injuries and continuing his work. In protest of the Vietnam War, di Suvero left the United States in 1971, and exhibited his sculpture in Holland and Germany. A year later, he established a painting and drawing studio in Venice, where he also taught at the Università Internazionale dell'Arte, and, in 1973, he moved to France. Also during this time, di Suvero married Maria Teresa Capparotta, an architect, whom he later divorced. The Whitney Museum of American Art honored Mark di Suvero in 1975 with the first retrospective and first American city-wide exhibition of his work, in New York City. At this time, di Suvero began working with a team in assembling his sculpture, first with Lowell McKegney, and later joined by his nephews Enrico and Matteo Martignoni. In 1977, di Suvero founded the Athena Foundation to award grants to artists. In 1986, in conjunction with the Athena Foundation and with Enrico Martignoni, he created the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York, an outdoor space where sculptors are invited to create and exhibit their work. With Marcel Evrard in 1988, di Suvero created a foundation entitled La Vie des Formes (The Life of Forms) in the shipyards at Chalon-sur-Saône, France. Based upon the model of Socrates Sculpture Park, this organization hosted artists in studio and exhibition spaces at the shipyard and on di Suvero's converted canal barge Rêve des Signes, that was moored alongside. Included in most major international gallery collections, Mark di Suvero's art work has also been the focus of major solo exhibitions including two at Storm King, and international city-wide exhibitions in Duisberg and Stuttgart in Germany, Chalon-sur-Saône, Paris, Valence, and Nice in France, and Valencia in Spain. During the summer of 1995, di Suvero was honored with a major installation of seven pieces along the Grand Canal to coincide with the Venice Biennale's 100th anniversary. In 1993, Mark di Suvero married Kate Levin, Ph.D., a professor at the City University of New York and Commissioner of the New York Department of Cultural Affairs. Di Suvero and Levin have a daughter named Veri. At present, di Suvero maintains studios in Petaluma, California, Long Island City, New York, and Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
Extent
6.8 Linear feet
0.263 Gigabytes
Date
1934-2005
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.disumark
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Drawings
Photographs
Sound recordings
Interviews
Video recordings
Slides (photographs)
Citation
Mark di Suvero and di Suvero family papers, 1934-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into 12 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1941-2004 (Box 1; 4 folders) Series 2: Letters, 1956-2005, undated (Boxes 1, 6-8, 11-12, OV 10; 1.7 linear feet) Series 3: Notes and Writings, 1961-2005, undated (Boxes 1, 6; 0.4 linear feet) Series 4: Drawings, 1983, undated (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 5: Socrates Sculpture Park File, 1985-2004, undated (Boxes 1-2, 7; 0.6 linear feet) Series 6: Helen Lessick File, 1986-2004 (Box 2, 7; 6 folders) Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1975-2003 (Boxes 2-3, 7; 1.4 linear feet) Series 8: Printed Material, 1958-2004, undated (Box 3-4, 7, OV 9; 1.4 linear feet) Series 9: Photographs, 1934-2004, undated (Box 4-6, 0.263 GB; ER01; 0.3 linear feet) Series 10: Audio and Video Recordings, 1982-1994, undated (Box 5; 7 folders) Series 11: Promotional Tee Shirts, 1978-2001 (Box 7; 0.2 linear feet) Series 12: Unprocessed 2022 Addition, 2004 All series have been arranged chronologically.
Processing Information
The papers were processed by Jean Fitzgerald in October 2005. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding from Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Rights
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.
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own in the following material: transcipt of the play Crescent Moon, Yellow Star by Henry (Hank) di Suvero.
Genre/Form
Drawings
Photographs
Sound recordings
Interviews
Video recordings
Slides (photographs)
Scope and Content Note
The collection measures 6.8 linear feet and 0.263 GB, dates from 1934 to 2005, and documents the career of sculptor Mark di Suvero and the importance of his family relationships. Found within the papers are biographical material; letters to and from di Suvero family members; scattered writings by di Suvero and Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero, the artist's sister, about Mark di Suvero; drawings; a file on the Socrates Sculpture Park; a file on artist Helen Lessick, a friend of Mark di Suvero; exhibition files; printed material; photographs of the artist, artwork, and members of the di Suvero family; audio and video recordings of interviews with di Suvero; and promotional Tee Shirts. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes a WordPerfect transcript in electronic format of an unpublished play Crescent Moon, Yellow Star, but Henry (Hank) di Suvero, 2004.
Restrictions
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503512341998-1503512342010-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ea7b9169-d8a6-4981-979f-5fe6b168eacb

In the Collection

Pages

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  • Biographical Material

  • Biographical Accounts for di Suvero Family Members

  • Proposal to Cast in Bronze Gutzon Borglum's Bust of Adolph Bandelier

  • Oversized Posters from a Press Packet in Exhibition File for Mark di Suvero in Paris

  • Baseball Cards Created by Helen Lessick

  • Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Others (see also Box 7)

  • Letters from Mark di Suvero to Henry di Suvero, ACCESS RESTRICTED

  • Mark di Suvero in Paris Exhibition, Paris, France

  • Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany

  • Videotape Echt Wahr Träume (Genuinely True Dreams) by Nina Hagar

  • Miscellaneous Printed Material

  • Miscellaneous Printed Material

  • Mark di Suvero's Art Work Executed from the 1960s to 1990s, Digital Images

  • Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

  • Miscellaneous Printed Material

  • Letters

  • Photographs

  • Letters (see also Box 7)

  • Inventory and Analysis Report

  • Socrates Sculpture Park File

  • Mark di Suvero's Art Work Executed from the 1960s to 1990s, Slides

  • Statement regarding Slides and Digital Images of Mark di Suvero's Art Work Executed from the 1960s to 1990s

  • Unveiling of L'Illume (Erleuchtung), Parliament Building, Bonn, Germany

  • Artifacts (see Also Box 7)

  • Tee Shirt from the Art Walk 2001 for the Venice Family Clinic

  • Oversized Illustrated Letter from Helen Lessick File

  • Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York

  • Letters from Mark di Suvero to Henry di Suvero, ACCESS RESTRICTED

  • Notes for Lecture at University of New Mexico

  • Brochures for Miscellaneous Art Galleries

  • Oversized letter from Mark di Suvero to Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero

  • Bookmarks Created by Helen Lessick

  • Book New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970 by Henry Geldzahler

  • Ink Sketches

  • Audio-Cassette Lecture by Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero Speaking about Mark di Suvero, Portland Museum of Art, Oregon

  • Unveiling of Tyne Anew

  • La Biennale di Venezia, XLCI International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy

  • Promotional Tee Shirts

  • Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Mark di Suvero (see also OV 9)

  • Socrates Sculpture Park tee shirt

  • Brochures for Socrates Sculpture Park

  • Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York

  • Typescripts of Poems Written from 1938 to 1953 by Victor di Suvero

  • Helen Lessick File

  • Videotape Storm King

  • Oversized Letter from Mark di Suvero to Henry di Suvero, from the La Biennale di Venezia Exhibition File

  • Photographs

  • Centre Julio González, Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM), Valencia, Spain

  • Oversized Exhibition Announcement for Others

  • Poems by Mark di Suvero

  • Letters

  • Notes and Writings by Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero

  • Typescript of the Proposal

  • Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs for Mark di Suvero

  • Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain, Nice, France

  • Brochure for the Athena Foundation

  • Letters from di Suvero Family Members

  • Notes Concerning Mark di Suvero Art Work Executed Between 1954 and 2004

  • Clippings

  • Dedication of Sea Change, South Beach Park, San Francisco, California

  • Printed Material

  • Photographs of the di Suvero Family and Mark di Suvero's Art Work

  • Notes and Writings

  • Lecture Announcements

  • Miscellaneous Notes Concerning Decades of Family Events

  • Videotape Socrates Sculpture Park

  • Note Cards with Photographs of Art Work by Mark di Suvero

  • Oversized Exhibition Announcement from the Socrates Sculpture Park File

  • Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs (see also Box 7)

  • Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valence, France

  • Miscellaneous Picture Postcards

  • Clippings (see also Box 7)

  • Postcards with Photographs of Art Work by Mark di Suvero

  • Brochures for the Sale of Art Work

  • Works from a Private Collection, Danese Gallery, New York, New York

  • Drawings

  • Report Cards for Mark di Suvero

  • Videotape Mark di Suvero: Rêve des Signes (Dream of Signs)

  • School Attendance Certificate for Mark di Suvero

  • Installation of Beppe, University of Missouri at St. Louis and Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri

  • Press Packet

  • Exhibition Files

  • Videotape La Vie des Formes by Dominique Evrard

  • Miscellaneous Brochures

  • Oversized Exhibition Announcements for Mark di Suvero

  • Notes and Writings

  • Press Releases

  • Tee Shirt from the Unveiling of Potowatami

  • Videotape In the Steel: A Portrait of Mark di Suvero

  • Booklet Summer War Haiku by Jack Crimmins

  • Letters from Mark di Suvero to Marie Louise Martignoni di Suvero

  • Draft Press Release for the Portland Museum

  • Oversized Clippings

  • Videotape Sculptors at Storm King

  • Oversized letters from Mark di Suvero to Henry di Suvero, ACCESS RESTRICTED

  • Travel Brochures

  • Curriculum Vitae Written by Mark di Suvero

  • Audio and Video Recordings

  • Exhibition Announcements and Catalogs

  • Miscellaneous Press Releases

Pages

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Biographical Accounts for di Suvero Family Members
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