Fred Martin papers
Object Details
- Creator
- Martin, Fred, 1927-
- Occupation
- Painters -- California -- San Francisco
- Educators -- California -- San Francisco
- Arts administrators -- California -- San Francisco
- Authors -- California -- Santa Barbara
- Provenance
- A small portion of the collection was donated in 1975 by Fred Martin. The bulk of the collection was donated in 2023 by Demian Martin, Fred Martin's son.
- Creator
- Martin, Fred, 1927-
- See more items in
- Fred Martin papers
- Summary
- The Fred Martin papers measure 10.8 linear feet and 0.886 gigabytes and date from circa 1949-2022. Martin's career as a painter, author, arts administrator, and educator are highlighted in biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, exhibition and gallery files, teaching files, printed material, photographic material, and artwork.
- Biographical / Historical
- Fred Martin (1927-2022) was a painter, author, arts administrator, and educator in San Francisco, California. Born in San Francisco on June 13, 1927, Martin's family relocated to the East Bay when he was a child, and he was raised in Alameda and Oakland primarily. Focusing on art early in his life, Martin received his bachelor's degree in 1949 and master's degree in 1954, both from the University of California at Berkeley. Soon after graduation Martin began working as a registrar at the Oakland Art Museum for four years before joining the San Francisco Art Institute (then known as the California School of Fine Arts) as a gallery director and faculty member. He served as the director of the San Francisco Art Institute from 1965 until 1975, after which he continued teaching and was later named the Emeritus Dean of Academic Affairs. Martin had his first solo exhibition in 1949 at the Contemporary Gallery in Sausalito, California, and his work was included that same year in a group exhibition of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The Oakland Museum of California organized a retrospective exhibition in 2003. Martin's writing was key to his practice and shaped his artistic and teaching careers. He served as a contributing editor to Artweek from 1976-1992. He also authored a number of artists' books including Beulah Land, published by Crown Point Press in 1966; A Travel Book, published by Arion Press in 1977; and From an Antique Land, published in 1979 by Green Gates Press. His work is represented in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Oakland Art Museum, the Richmond Art Center, the Crocker Art Museum, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Martin continued to teach until his retirement in 2016. He passed away at his home in Berkeley, California on October 8, 2022.
- Extent
- 10.8 Linear feet
- .886 Gigabytes
- Date
- circa 1949-2022
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Art
- Identifier
- AAA.martfred
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Gigabytes
- Sketchbooks
- Drawings
- Interviews
- Citation
- Fred Martin papers, circa 1949-2022. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as nine series: Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1949-2014 (0.3 Linear feet; box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1955-2022 (1 Linear foot; boxes 1-2) Series 3: Writings, circa 1950-2013 (6.2 Linear feet; boxes 2-8; 0.008 Gigabytes: ER0001) Series 4: Personal Business Records (1 Linear foot; Boxes 8-9) Series 5: Exhibition and Gallery Files, circa 1958-2012 (0.5 Linear feet; Boxes 9-10; 0.53 Gigabytes: ER0002-ER0006) Series 6: Teaching Files, circa 1967-2011 (0.7 Linear feet; Box 10; 0.348 Gigabytes: ER0007) Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1951-2016 (0.5 Linear feet; Boxes 10-11) Series 8: Photographic Material , circa 1950s-2000s (0.2 Linear feet; Box 12) Series 9: Artwork, circa 1960s-1990s (0.2 Linear feet; Box 12)
- Processing Information
- Portions of the collection were microfilmed on reels 1128-1129 after receipt. This collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared, by Ryan Evans in 2023; born-digital materials processed by Ryan Evans in 2023.
- 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
- Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 1128-1129 at 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.
- Genre/Form
- Sketchbooks
- Drawings
- Interviews
- Scope and Contents
- The Fred Martin papers measure 10.8 linear feet and 0.886 gigabytes and date from circa 1949-2022. Martin's career as a painter, author, arts administrator, and educator are highlighted in biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, exhibition and gallery files, teaching files, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. Biographical material includes school records and transcripts, resumes and membership materials, and personalized astrological charts, as well as signature books related to award ceremonies and birthday celebrations. Correspondence is a combination of personal and professional, and is organized by year. The writings series is comprised of Martin's studio notes, travel journals, and general writings including manuscript drafts and lecture notes. Personal business records include daily planners, employment records with a particular emphasis on the San Francisco Art Institute, itineraries and travel documents, mailing lists, painting lists, conference documentation, and shipping documents. Exhibition and gallery files include documents related to galleries and museums Martin had exhibited or sold artwork with, as well as files related to select shows from Martin's career. Teaching files includes course outlines and lesson notes as well as curriculum planning documents for the San Francisco Art Institute. Printed material includes exhibition announcements and invitations, exhibition catalogs, and clippings related both to Fred Martin and his Art Week article series, as well as printed copied of select publications by Martin. Photographic material includes photographs of Martin's artwork as well as that of other artists, slides of artwork for certain years, and some photographs of friends and family. Artwork includes works on paper including watercolors created in Rome.
- 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 Materials
- The Archives of American Art also holds an interview of Fred Martin conducted 1980 Aug. 27-Sept. 19, by Terry St. John, for the Archives of American Art.
- Record ID
- ebl-1596267074774-1596267074777-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
