Tobey C. Moss Gallery records on Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg, 1910-2007 LSC.1964

Lori Dedeyan, 2014; LSC Archivists, 2018.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated on 04 January 2019.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Tobey Moss Gallery records on Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg
Creator: Tobey C. Moss (Gallery)
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1964
Physical Description: 3.6 Linear Feet (9 boxes) and .157 GB (9 digital files)
Date (inclusive): 1910-2007
Abstract: Founded in 1978, the Tobey C. Moss gallery presents the work of Southern California artists, including Lorser Feitelson (1898-1978) and Helen Lundeberg (1908-1999). The contents of this collection have been generated as a result of this representation and the gallery's subsequent acquisition of material related to the careers of both artists. In addition to representation, Tobey Moss was involved with the Feitelson Art Foundation and provided appraisals of its collections. This collection contains primary materials related to these activities, reproductions of materials predating Moss's involvement, and some primary materials belonging to Feitelson and Lundeberg, largely in the form of correspondence and photographs and photographic reproductions across formats.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Tobey Moss Gallery records on Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg (Collection 1964). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 7092308 

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Acquired from Tobey Moss in 2012.

Processing Note

Minimal processing by Gloria Gonzalez with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, July 2012. Folder-level processing by Lori Dedeyan in 2014 in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Jillian Cuellar. Digital materials processed by LSC Archivists in 2018, under the supervision of Shira Peltzman and Jessica Tai. The original structure, naming, and contents of the material have been maintained. Processing of this collection was generously supported by Arcadia.

Biography/History

Founded in 1978, the Tobey C. Moss Gallery in Los Angeles, was established by Tobey Moss. As part of its emphasis on modern and particularly Southern California artists, the Moss Gallery presents the work Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg. Feitelson and Lundeberg are best known as founders of Post- Surrealism and hard edge painting. Moss first met the artists during the early 1970s. Shortly after Feitelson's death in 1978, Moss opened the Gallery and began helping Lundeberg in organizing, classifying, exhibiting, writing, advertising and publishing gallery announcements and brochures for both artists' work. In addition to exhibiting the artists' work, Tobey Moss provided representation for Feitelson and Lundeberg, becoming involved with the Feitelson Art Foundation. Moss assisted Lundeberg with her eventual estate for the following twenty years. Through these activities and a close friendship, Moss organically acquired material related to the two artists and their work. The gallery continues to show work by the two artists.
Lorser Feitelson, born in 1898, studied in New York and Paris from 1919- 1927, coming into contact with the modern art movements there. He settled in Los Angeles in 1927 and taught at the Art Center School and at the Stickney Memorial School of Art, where Helen Lundeberg was his student. In 1934 Feitelson and Lundeberg founded Post-Surrealism. From 1937 to 1943, he served as area supervisor of murals for the New Deal's Federal Art Project. Feitelson also designed and managed the Stanley Rose art gallery and gave many public lectures on topics concerning contemporary art, even creating and hosting a television program in the late fifties. He and Lundeberg continued their artistic innovation as Hard Edge painters, a style which came to define the Los Angeles aesthetic of the sixties. Feitelson exhibits and retrospectives have been hosted at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the LA County Museum of Art, the LA Municipal Art Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Tobey C. Moss Gallery. Feitelson died in 1978.
Helen Lundeberg was born in Chicago in 1908 and moved with her family to Pasadena in 1912. As a student at the Stickney Memorial School of Art, she was taught by Lorser Feitelson, who would become her lifelong collaborator and partner. Their joint accomplishments have been detailed above. Her contributions to art have often been framed within this context of partnership, but she is an artist in her own right. Throughout the thirties, Lundeberg worked as an exhibiting artist and muralist for the Federal Arts Project; her History of Transportation mural in Inglewood was restored in 2007 through a grant from the Getty Foundation. Lundeberg continued her practice up through the 1980s, and her works are included in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute, the Norton Simon Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and numerous other public and private collections. Lundeberg died in 1999. Alternative rock group Sonic Youth paid tribute to her in their 2006 song, "Helen Lundeberg."

Scope and Content

Most of these materials pertain to the function of the Tobey C. Moss gallery in managing the careers of Feitelson and Lundeberg, in the 1980s and onward. Materials relating to the artists' involvement in the Post- Surrealist and Hard Edge movements are mostly reproductions; however, Feitelson's original notes and correspondence from the 1930s- 40s are included. These materials have been generated, reproduced, or compiled by Tobey Moss. They include correspondence, photographs, exhibition records and ephemera dating from the 1920s onward, reproductions of artwork across various photographic formats, gallery records, documentation pertaining to the administration of the Feitelson Art Foundation and its collections, articles, publications, and other press materials.

Organization and Arrangement

This collection has been arranged in the following series and subseries:
  • Series 1: Lorser Feitelson materials, 1924-2004
  • Subseries 1.1: Exhibitions, 1924-2001
  • Subseries 1.2: Professional Career, 1931- 2004
  • Series 2: Helen Lundeberg materials, 1931-2007
  • Subseries 2.1: Exhibitions,1931-2003
  • Subseries 2.2: Professional Career, 1931-2007
  • Series 3: Joint materials, 1910- 2005
  • Subseries 3.1: Exhibitions, 1934- 2003
  • Subseries 3.2: Publications and Images, 1910- 2005
  • Subseries 3.3: Foundation and Art Collections, 1960- 2000
  • Series 4: Tobey Moss correspondence & gallery records, 1976- 2004
Born-digital materials are integrated into Subseries 3.1 based on content. The original order of the files has been retained.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Access to WordPerfect files in their original format is unavailable due to lack of required software. Alternate viewing arrangements may be available. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Related Material

Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg papers  circa 1890s-2002, (bulk 1919-1999) at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Art galleries, Commercial -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives.
Art, American -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century.
Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978
Lundeberg, Helen, 1908-1999
Feitelson Art Foundation -- Archives.

 

Series 1: Lorser Feitelson materials 1924-2004

Scope and Content

This series contains materials pertaining both to Lorser Feitelson's activity as an exhibiting artist and his larger career as a teacher, lecturer, gallery manager, and sometime television personality. The bulk of the materials are reproductions of original documents, publications, and artwork; correspondence; and documentation and photographs generated by Tobey Moss. Also included are primary materials generated by Lorser Feitelson from the 1930s- 1960s, largely pertaining to his activity with the California Arts Club and Art Center School.
 

Subseries 1.1: Exhibitions 1924-2001

Scope and Content

Exhibition files contain press releases; invitations and brochures; Tobey Moss' correspondence with other curators, if organized by another gallery; loan documents; articles and press materials; photographs, slides, and printer's separations; and restoration and transportation documents.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically by exhibition.
box 1, folder 1-6

Various exhibit materials 1920s-2000s

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged in folders by decade.
box 1, folder 8

A Retrospective Exhibition, LA Municipal Art Gallery 1972 April 13-1972 October 21

box 1, folder 9

A Memorial Tribute, Whitney Museum 1978 September 11-1979 February 11

box 1, folder 10

Paintings: 1964-1971, Jan Baum Gallery 1982 February 3-March 27

box 1, folder 11

Four Abstract Classicists, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1982 November 16-1996 January 7

box 1, folder 12

Early Drawings and Late Paintings, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1983 April 8-June 24

box 1, folder 13

The Sensuous Line, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1985 May 8-June 22

box 1, folder 14

Magical Space Forms, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1986 December 12-1987 April 25

box 1, folder 15

Lorser Feitelson: A Retrospective, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1988 September 22-December 31

box 1, folder 16

The Kinetic Line, University Art Gallery at UC Riverside 1989 January 17-April 23

box 1, folder 17

Artist/Teacher, Fine Arts Gallery at Long Beach City College 1989 August 12-November 8

box 1, folder 18

The Organic Line: 1916-1977, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1990 July 20-October 31

box 1, folder 19

Motion as Line, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1992 August 4-October 28

box 1, folder 20

Abstract Classicists: with John McLaughlin, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1994 October 29-1995 January 31

box 2, folder 1

The Romantic Years: 1919- 1949, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1996 August 15-December 30

box 2, folder 2

Evolving Abstraction, Patricia Faure Gallery 2001 May 9-September 30

 

Subseries 1.2: Professional Career 1931-2004

Scope and Content

This subseries contains documents and correspondence by Tobey Moss relating to the sale and acquisition of Feitelson's work; lectures, articles, and other publications about his general career; records of his work in private and institutional collections; materials from his 'Feitelson on Art' television program; reproductions of his sketches and photographs, negatives, and slides of finished work; and other biographical materials. Also included are Feitelson's original notes, correspondence, and other documents and ephemera relating to his involvement with the California Arts Club and career at the Art Center School in Pasadena.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged topically.
box 2, folder 3

Long Beach Museum Art Auctions VI and VII 1997 November 15-1998 October 10

box 2, folder 4

Records of work in institutional collections 1962-1999

box 2, folder 5

Records of work in personal collections 1990-1995

box 2, folder 6

Articles and publications 1939-2001

box 2, folder 7

Tobey Moss itinerary for lecture on Feitelson, Fresno Arts Center 1988

box 2, folder 8

Biographical Materials circa 1992

box 2, folder 9

Original sketch 1944

box 1, folder 7

Feitelson on Art television program 1957-1963

box 2, folder 10

Art Center correspondence, records and notes 1939-1949

box 2, folder 11

General correspondence and notes 1934-1960

box 2, folder 12

California Arts Club and Museum Committee correspondence and notes 1934-1960

box 8, folder 1

Slides of sold artwork from 1910s-1970s 1980s-1990s

box 8, folder 2

Images of artwork from 1910s- 1970s 1980s-1990s

 

Series 2: Helen Lundeberg materials 1931-2007

Scope and Content

This series contains materials relating to Lundeberg's career as a muralist and exhibiting artist. Contents are divided between materials associated directly with exhibitions and more general materials concerning her career as a whole. Materials include reproductions of original documents, publications, and artwork; correspondence; and documentation and photographs generated by Tobey Moss.
 

Subseries 2.1: Exhibitions 1931-2003

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically by exhibition.

Scope and Content

Exhibition files contain press releases; invitations and brochures; Tobey Moss' correspondence with other curators, if organized by another gallery; loan documents; articles and press materials; photographs, slides, and printer's separations; and restoration and transportation documents.
box 3, folder 1-6

Various exhibit materials 1931-2004

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged in folders by decade.
box 3, folder 7

Selected Works, North Point Gallery 1980 August 24-1981 February 12

box 3, folder 8

Paintings, Prints, Drawings, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1981 April 27-June 10

box 3, folder 9

Works on Paper: 1937-1982, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1982 May 11-June 12

box 3, folder 10

Paintings: 1937- 1969, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1983 February 4-May 22

box 3, folder 11

Recent Work (with June Harwood), Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1985 April

box 3, folder 12

Still Life, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1985 September 12-1986 March

box 3, folder 13

Kindred Spirits, LA Municipal Art Gallery 1986 April 9-June 1

box 3, folder 14

Contemporary Artists 36, Laguna Art Museum 1986 September 16-1987 June 12

box 3, folder 15

By Land and By Sea, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1987 July 28-November 7

box 3, folder 16

A Retrospective View, Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at UC Santa Cruz 1988 February 7-December 19

box 3, folder 17

Light- Bringer Project materials 1988

box 4, folder 1

A Birthday Salute, LA County Museum of Art 1988 March 28-1989 September 15

box 4, folder 2

Art in the Public Eye, Security Pacific Corporation 1989 June 13-November

box 4, folder 3

Paintings: 1960- 1963, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1989 August 31-November 30

box 4, folder 4

Greater Years, Greater Visions, Irvine Fine Arts Center 1991 April 8-October 29

box 4, folder 5

The Sunset Years: 1980-1990, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1992 February 28-May 9

box 4, folder 6

Annual Purchase Exhibition, American Academy of Arts and Letters 1993-1995

box 4, folder 7

Generation of Mentors, Jose Drudis- Biada Gallery at Mount St. Mary's College 1995 January 24-May 5

box 4, folder 8

Then and Now, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1995 June 16-1996 January

box 4, folder 9

City of Vapor, Tatistcheff/ Rogers 1996 October 18-1997 December 31

box 4, folder 10

Still Life Through Five Decades, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1997 July 31-October 27

box 4, folder 11

A Memorial Exhibitions, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1999 September 3-October 30

box 4, folder 12

Inner Visions of Outer Spaces, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 2001 September 15-November 3

 

Subseries 2.2: Professional Career 1931-2007

Scope and Content

Materials include interview transcripts; articles and other publications; documentation and correspondence regarding awards and honors bestowed upon Lundeberg; ephemera from lectures and presentations given on Lundeberg; correspondence and records of work in private and institutional collections; reproductions of artwork and sketches in the form of photocopies, negatives, positives, slides, and other photographic formats; ephemera from her memorial service; and other biographical materials.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged topically.
box 4, folder 13

Interview 1986

box 4, folder 14

In publications 1940s-2000s

box 4, folder 15

Awards and honors 1980-1990

box 4, folder 16

Articles on mural work 1980-2007

box 4, folder 17

Lectures and presentations (as subject) 1980s-2000s

box 5, folder 1

Records of work in collections 1983-1994

box 5, folder 2

Memorial service at LA County Museum of Art 1999

box 5, folder 3

Biographical materials and resume circa 2000

box 5, folder 4

Reproductions of sketches and notes 1950s-1980s

box 8, folder 3

Slides of sold artwork from 1930s- 1980s 1990s

box 8, folder 4-5

Images of artwork from 1930s-1980s 1990s

 

Series 3: Joint materials 1910-2005

Scope and Content

Includes exhibit materials, articles and publications, and imagery jointly addressing Feitelson and Lundeberg. Also includes documentation belonging to the Feitelson Art Foundation and estate.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

SERIES CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Access to digital materials is available on-site in the Special Collections reading room, however access to WordPerfect files in their original format is unavailable due to lack of required software. Alternate viewing arrangements formats may be available. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
 

Subseries 3.1: Exhibitions 1934-2003

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically by exhibition.

Scope and Content

Exhibition files can contain press releases; invitations and brochures; Tobey Moss' correspondence with other curators, if organized by another gallery; loan documents; articles, images, and press materials; and restoration and transportation documents.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

SUBSERIES CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Access to digital materials is available on-site in the Special Collections reading room, however access to WordPerfect files in their original format is unavailable due to lack of required software. Alternate viewing arrangements formats may be available. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
box 5, folder 5-12

Various exhibit materials 1930s-2000s

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged in folders by decade.
box 5, folder 13

A Retrospective Exhibition, UCLA/ SF MoMA 1980-1981

box 5, folder 14

Together Again, LA Art Association 1991 September-1993 August

box 5, folder 15

Pacific Dreams, UCLA Hammer Museum and Oakland Art Museum 1995

box 5, folder 16

Helen Lundeberg: Post- Surrealism to HardEdge and Lorser Feitelson: Magical Space Forms to HardEdge, Tobey C. Moss Gallery 1998 July-December

Scope and Contents

Includes two 3.5 inch floppy disks that contain WordPerfect documents with artist bios, price listings, and basic artwork descriptions.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

FOLDER CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Access to digital materials is available on-site in the Special Collections reading room, however access to WordPerfect files in their original format is unavailable due to lack of required software. Alternate viewing arrangements formats may be available. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
 

Subseries 3.2: Publications and images 1910-2005

Scope and Content

This subseries includes publicity and personal photographs, and articles and other publications in which Feitelson and Lundeberg are mentioned jointly.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged topically.
box 2, folder 13

Images of Feitelson and Lundeberg 1910-1985

box 5, folder 17

Articles and publications 1930s-2000s

box 9

Magazines 1955-1988

 

Subseries 3.3: Art Foundation and collections 1960-2000

Scope and Content

Materials relating to the Feitelson Art Foundation, its administration and collections. Includes inventories of works by Feitelson and Lundeberg, as well as appraisals of their collections of Old Master paintings/ drawings and modern art.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged topically.
box 7, folder 4

Inventories of Feitelson works 1980s-2000s

box 7, folder 5

Inventories of Lundeberg works circa 1990

box 7, folder 6

Inventories for Old Master drawings and prints 1970s-1990s

box 7, folder 7

Inventories for modern art 1960s-1990s

box 7, folder 8

Comprehensive appraisals 1985-1989

 

Series 4: Tobey Moss materials 1976-2004

Scope and Content

This series includes correspondence by Tobey Moss with individuals and institutions, as well as her extensive correspondence with the Feitelson Art Foundation. Also included are her research materials and ephemera relating to other artists and exhibitions, gallery records, and documentation of work done for the Feitelson Art Foundation.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged topically.
box 6, folder 1

General correspondence 1979-2003

box 6, folder 2

Correspondence with Feitelson Arts Foundation 1990-2003

box 6, folder 3

Correspondence with Claudine Humblet 1986-2002

box 6, folder 4

Correspondence with Alfred Moir and Gloria Sanders 1986-1990

box 6, folder 5

Lundeberg birthday celebration materials 1984-1999

box 6, folder 6

Research materials and other artists circa 1980

box 7, folder 1-3

Gallery records and work for Feitelson Art Foundation 1980s-2000s