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INVENTORY OF THE ALEXANDER LIBERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE, 1911-1998, undated
2000.R.19
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Title: Alexander Liberman photography archive,
Date (inclusive): 1911-1998, undated
Number: 2000.R.19
Creator/Collector:
Liberman, Alexander, 1912-1999
Physical Description:
337.0 linear feet
(403 boxes, 4 flat file folders, 19 framed items)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The archive contains photographs by Alexander Liberman, Russian-born photographer, art director of
Vogue magazine, and editorial director of Condé Nast publications. Included in the collection are approximately 8,000 photographic
prints, 50,000 transparencies, 90,000 negatives, 38 books of contact prints, and prints mounted for exhibition. The predominant
subjects are artists and other cultural figures, and European historical sites. Also included are personal photographs of
family and friends.
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Language: Collection material is in
English
Biographical / Historical Note
Russian-born artist Alexander Liberman was the influential art director of Vogue magazine from 1943 to 1962, then editorial
director of Condé Nast publications until 1994. As an artist, Liberman worked in paint, large-scale sculpture, and photography.
He photographed contemporary artists and other cultural figures, friends, family, and historical sites from about 1925 until
1998. He published several books of his photographs, including
The Artist in His Studio (1960, 1988),
Campodiglio: Michelangelo's Roman Capitol (1994), and
Then: Photographs 1925-1995 (1995).
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Alexander Liberman photography archive, 1911-1998, undated, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no.
2000.R.19.
Gift of the Alexander Liberman estate, 2000.
Preliminary processing by Alan Tomlinson under the supervision of Jocelyn Gibbs. Two boxes of photographic material were received
in 2003, 2004. In 2010 Emmabeth Nanol researched the dates for images in Series II.A and Series VI.A and added them to the
finding aid, along with the number of unique images in each folder. In 2012, Emmabeth Nanol rearranged the finding aid under
the supervision of Andra Darlington.
Selected photographs of artists and personalities were digitized between 2011-2012.
Connect to selected digitized images from Series I. Artists and personalities.
Alexander Liberman papers, 1953-1997, undated (accession number 2003.M.30).
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains photographs by Alexander Liberman from 1925 to 1998, including approximately 8,000 photographic prints,
50,000 transparencies, 90,000 negatives, 38 books of contact sheets, and loose prints mounted on foam core. The subjects of
the photographs fall primarily into two groups: contemporary artists and cultural figures, and European historical sites.
The collection documents over 242 major European and American artists, such as Braque, Cezanne, Dali, de Kooning, Duchamp,
Ernst, Giacometti, Kandinsky, Matisse, Newman, Picasso, Rauschenberg, and Rothko. Among the images are portraits of the artists
at work or in their studios, photographs of their work in progress, and documentation of finished artworks. A smaller group
of photographs documenting historical and architectural sites focuses on Greece, France, Italy, and Spain. Some photographs
depict Liberman's family and friends. Production materials for some of his photographic books are included, as are images
for Barbara Rose's book on Liberman. Also present are photographs by other photographers, some dating as early as 1911.
Arranged in six series:
.Series I. Artists and personalities, 1911-1995, undated;
Series II. Publications, circa 1925-1998;
Series III. Prints in edition for exhibition, circa 1994-1996;
Series IV. Benrubi returns, circa 1940-1995;
Series V. Places, 1960-1972, undated;
Series VI. Negatives, contact prints and scrapbooks, 1936-1972, undated
Braque, Georges, 1882-1963
Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968
Ernst, Max, 1891-1976
Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966
Kandinsky, Wassily, 1866-1944
Liberman, Alexander, 1912-1999
Matisse, Henri, 1869-1954
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970
Art, Modern--20th century
Artists' studios
Artists--Portraits
Celebrities--Portraits
Painters--Portraits
Portrait photography
Sculptors--Portraits
Capitoline Hill (Italy)--Pictorial works
Rome (Italy)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works
Campodiglio : Michelangelo's Roman capitol The artist in his studio Then : photographs 1925-1995
Negatives (photographic)
Photographic prints
Photographs, Original
Transparencies