Charles Hoffbauer papers
Object Details
- Creator
- Hoffbauer, Charles, 1875-1957
- Names
- Jefferson Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
- Schweitzer Gallery
- Walt Disney Productions
- Occupation
- Painters -- France -- Paris
- Topic
- World War, 1914-1918
- Mural painting and decoration
- Provenance
- The Charles Hoffbauer papers were donated in 1977-1978 by Joseph Gropper, except for correspondence dated 1905-1957, which was donated in 1978 by Lewis Gelbert.
- Creator
- Hoffbauer, Charles, 1875-1957
- See more items in
- Charles Hoffbauer papers
- Summary
- The papers of painter Charles Hoffbauer measure 6.5 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1975. The papers document his career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, printed materials, and photographic materials.
- Biographical / Historical
- Charles Hoffbauer (1875-1957) was a painter primarily in Paris, France, and New York, NY. Hoffbauer was born in Paris and came to the United States in 1909 and established himself in the New York art community. Eventually, he became represented by the Knoedler Galleries and maintained a close, professional relationship with Roland Knoedler throughout his life. Before moving to the U.S., Hoffbauer attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris for three years before entering mandatory military service in Normandy. Once his military duty was fulfilled in 1897, he returned to Paris to begin his career as an artist. Years later he returned to France to fight in World War I. Hoffbauer produced murals for the Confederate Memorial Institute, Missouri State Capitol, Arras town hall in France, New England Life Insurance Company, and Hayden Planetarium. In the 1930s, he proposed the idea of an animated, historical film based on Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 to Walt Disney. Hoffbauer prepared a set of paintings titled "Napoleon's Russian Campaign" to support this idea. Disney declined to make the film, however he hired Hoffbauer as a research artist and remained at Disney for several years. Hoffbauer died in Boston in 1957.
- Extent
- 6.5 Linear feet
- Date
- 1891-1975
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Art
- Identifier
- AAA.hoffchar
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Scrapbooks
- Citation
- Charles Hoffbauer papers, 1891-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as six series. Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1898-circa 1950s (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 8) Series 2: Correspondence, 1891-1974 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-3) Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1908-circa 1955 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 7) Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1912-1975 (0.6 linear feet; Box 4) Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1905-1967 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 5, 7, OV 9) Series 6: Photographic Materials, 1893-circa 1970 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 5-7)
- Processing Information
- The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2020.
- 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.
- Genre/Form
- Scrapbooks
- Scope and Contents
- The papers of painter Charles Hoffbauer measure 6.5 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1975. The papers document his career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, personal business records, printed materials, and photographic materials. Biographical materials include biographical sketches, certificates and awards, diary excerpts, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs documents, and other records. Correspondence is with family and colleagues, including letters from Rudulph Evans describing work on the Jefferson Memorial statue, letters relating to Hoffbauer's military service during World War I, and other letters regarding murals. Writings and notes include notebooks, drafts, manuscripts, photographs of artwork, and other material for "The Incredible Prophecy," "Napoleon's Russian Campaign," and "War and Peace." Personal business records consist of inventories and price lists, project and exhibition files, business files for Schweitzer Gallery and Walt Disney Productions, and studio records. Booklets, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a scrapbook, and other printed materials document Hoffbauer and his career. Photographic materials include slides, glass slides and negatives, and vintage photographs of Hoffbauer, friends and family, Europe and World War I, and works of art.
- 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.
- Record ID
- ebl-1584630103660-1584630103665-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
