Liberman (Alexander) papers, 1953-1997, undated

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:
Alexander Liberman miscellaneous papers
Dates:
1953-1997, undated
Creators:
Liberman, Alexander, 1912-1999
Abstract:
Alexander Liberman was an artist, photographer, and an influential art director of Vogue magazine from 1943 to 1962, then editorial director of Condé Nast publications until 1994. The collection contains Liberman's drafts, transcripts, mock-ups, sound recordings relating to "Vogue project," The Artist in his Studio and other publications. Also included are nine albums of photographs and clippings from Vogue and various newspaper reviews.
Extent:
35 Linear Feet (35 boxes. Computer media: 2.74 GB [568 files]) and 2 unprocessed Jaz drives
Language:
Collection material is in English.
Preferred citation:

"Alexander Liberman papers, 1953-1997, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2003.M.30.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2003m30

Background

Scope and content:

The collection is comprised of handwritten and typewritten drafts, corrected typescripts, layouts and mock-ups for photo-essays in Vogue, The artist in his Studio, and other publications. Also includes correspondence, several audio recordings, computer disks, and other media. Among the most heavily represented artists in the collection are George Braques, Marc Chagall, and Jacques Villon.

Biographical / historical:

Alexander Liberman was born in Kiev, Russia (now Ukraine) on September 14, 1912, and was educated in London and Paris before moving to the United States in 1941. Liberman, who is mostly known for his tenure as artistic director at Condé Nast and Vogue for over 50 years, had a multifaceted career as sculptor, painter, photographer, writer and graphic designer.

In the summer of 1948, Liberman embarked on a project to photograph artists in their homes and studios. Many of the photographs were published in Vogue with accompanying text by Liberman. The project culminated in Liberman's book, The Artist in His Studio, first published in 1960. According to the book's forward, Liberman's purpose was "to record and interpret with a camera the personalities and ambiance of some of the leading European painters and sculptors."

Acquisition information:
Gift of the Estate of Alexander Liberman. Acquired in 2003.
Processing information:

Lora Chin Derrien received the collection and did preliminary processing in 2003. Emmabeth Nanol then reprocessed the collection under Andra Darlington's supervision in 2012.

Digital materials comprising 30 Syquest disks were processed by Laura Schroffel in 2017. Further processing is required on remaining digital content.

Arrangement:

Arranged in five series: Series I. Artist essays, 1954-circa 1990, undated; Series II. Vogue project, 1956-1980; Series III. The artist in his studio, 1954-1982, undated; Series IV. Other writings, 1956-1997, undated; Series V. Miscellaneous, 1953-1997, undated.

Physical location:
Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Emmabeth Nanol
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-08-13 08:56:53 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers except unreformatted audiovisual material and computer files, which are unavailable until reformatted.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.

Preferred citation:

"Alexander Liberman papers, 1953-1997, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2003.M.30.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2003m30

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website