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Matsumi Kanemitsu papers

Archives of American Art

Biographical Profiles and Resumes
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
Finding aid
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

Object Details

sova.aaa.kanemats
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93ce28e72-1191-423f-affd-528ac9f1cc1d
Creator
Kanemitsu, Matsumi
Occupation
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles
Topic
Abstract expressionism
Asian American artists
Japanese American artists
Asian American painters
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945
Provenance
The Matsumi Kanemitsu papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1994 and 1998 by Nancy Uyemura, Kanemitsu's former student, friend, and executor.
Creator
Kanemitsu, Matsumi
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Matsumi Kanemitsu papers
Sponsor
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee. Additional funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Summary
The papers of Matsumi Kanemitsu measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1947-1998. The papers document Kanemitsu's career through biographical material; correspondence with friends, family, artists, universities, and galleries; professional files such as teaching files and work on juried shows; personal and business financial records; printed materials, and photographs.
Biographical / Historical
Matsumi Kanemitsu (1922-1992), also known as Mike Kanemistu, was a Japanese American painter based in both New York City, New York and Los Angeles, California. Although born in Utah, Kanemitsu lived in Japan until he was eighteen. In 1940 he returned to the United States, joining the Army in 1941. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was detained in several U.S. army camps due to his Japanese ancestry even as he actively served in the military. During this time, he began to draw with pen and ink and pastels. Eventually, he was released and volunteered for overseas duty as a hospital assistant in Europe. His Army tour ended in 1946. After the war, he studied with Fernand Leger in Paris; with Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Harry Sternberg, and others at the Art Student's League in New York; and with sculptor Karl Metzler in Baltimore. A highly recognized second generation Abstract Expressionist in New York, Kanemitsu came to live permanently in Los Angeles after recieving a Ford Foundation Fellowship in 1961 to work at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, where he created a series of prints that translated sumi painting techniques into lithography. He exhibited widely throughout the United States, as well as Japan, and his work is owned by a number of public institutions in the United States and Japan. In addition to his practice, Kanemitsu also held professorial positions at a number of universities and art institutions including the University of California, Berkely; the Chouinard Art Institute; and the Otis Art Institute.
Extent
3.4 Linear feet
Date
circa 1947-1998
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.kanemats
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Citation
Matsumi Kanemitsu papers, circa 1947-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as six series. Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1947-1992 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1947-1992 (1.3 Linear feet: Box 1-2) Series 3: Professional Files, circa 1961-1990 (0.3 Linear feet: Box 2) Series 4: Personal Business , circa 1959-1991 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 3) Series 5: Printed Material, 1961-1998 (0.8 Linear feet: Box 3, OVs 4-7) Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1960-1992 (0.2 Linear feet: Box 3)
Processing Information
The collection was minimally processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sabine Lipten in 2023. The collection was fully processed, prepared for digitization, and the finding aid updated by Rihoko Ueno in 2024 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee. Additional funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
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.
Existence and Location of Copies
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2024 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
Scope and Contents
The papers of Matsumi Kanemitsu measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1947-1998. The papers document Kanemitsu's career through biographical material; correspondence with friends, family, artists, universities, and galleries; professional files such as teaching files and work on juried shows; personal and business financial records; printed materials, and photographs. Biographical material includes resumes, contact and business cards, assorted notes written by Kanemitsu in English and Japanese, and National Geographic membership certificates. There is also a childhood drawing by his daughter Patia Valazquez and a childhood painting by Harumi Zoha Kanemitsu. Correspondence consist of a mix of personal letters with family and friends, many of which were other artists, as well as professional letters with galleries, museums and colleagues in both English and Japanese. Noteable correspondence include the Akron Art museum, Harold Rosenberg, Harriet and Esteban Vicente, MOMA, Paul Jenkins, Peter Pollack, William De Kooning and others. Professional files document Kanemitsu's academic appoitments, roles serving on the exhibition jury for the Utah '88: Painting and Sculpture exhibition and as a Friends of Little Tokyo Arts (FOLTA) member, commission work and an application for the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Personal business records include sale, consignment and loan recipets, shipping records, gallery correspondence and other documents related to the creation, commission and sale of Kanemitu's work such as artwork inventory lists, gallery consignment records and commission invoices. This series also includes records pertaining to Kanemitu's travel and buisness expenses, personal finances and art collecting. Printed Material includes exhibition announcements, invitations and catalogs, magazines, posters, a posthumous retrospective exhibition catalog written in English and Japanese, clippings in English and Japanese and other miscellaneous materials. Photographic Material primarily include photographs of Kanemitsu, his children and friends. Also found are photographs of artwork, miscellaneous photographs of a winter landscape, a house and street in Japan and two slides of artwork titled Phil.
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.
AAA.kanemats
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93ce28e72-1191-423f-affd-528ac9f1cc1d
AAA.kanemats
AAA
Record ID
ebl-1596247301674-1596247301676-0

Showing 145 result(s)

  • Images 132 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Archival materials 145 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1940s 6 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1950s 11 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1960s 77 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1970s 102 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1980s 115 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1990s 67 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers 145 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 2: Correspondence 67 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 4: Personal Business Records 20 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 5: Printed Material 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 1: Biographical Material / Contact Cards 14 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 3: Professional Files 10 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 1: Biographical Material 6 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Matsumi Kanemitsu papers / Series 6: Photographic Material 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • CC0 145 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Yes 139 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • No 6 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • ead_component 145 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photographic Material

  • Correspondence

  • Contact Cards

  • Personal Business Records

  • Professional Files

  • Printed Material

  • Biographical Material

  • First Names Only, P-Z

  • Art Supplies Expenses

  • Other Artists - Exhibition Announcements

  • Photographs of Artwork

  • Envelopes, No Contents

  • Japanese Correspondence - Unidentified Correspondents

  • Jenkins, Paul

  • Holiday Cards from Matsumi Kanemitsu

  • Japan, South America, U.S.S.R.

  • Japanese Correspondence - S

  • Friends of Little Tokyo Art Membership List and Auction Planning Documents

  • University of California, Berkeley

  • Japanese Correspondence - A-H

  • Japanese Correspondence - K

  • Other Artists - Exhibition Announcements

  • San Diego and Santa Barbara

  • Nagamatsu, Ernest


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