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
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
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 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 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
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