This collection contains the papers of American artist Alexander Kruse (1888-1972), a student of the "Ashcan" School of Art and author of two popular art instruction books. The materials relate to Kruse’s career as an artist, art critic, and author and chiefly date from the 1930s to 1960s.

Alexander Kruse (1888-1972) was a student of the "Ashcan" School of Art at the turn of the century, studying under artists John Sloan, Henry McBride, and George Bellows, among others. Some of his more well-known paintings include "The Butcher Shop," "Young Smoker," and "Ted Lewis Performs," among hundreds of other paintings as well as drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Kruse was also influenced by the political atmosphere of his upbringing especially the socialistic thinkers such as Eugene V. Debs, John Reed, and Emma Goldman; thus his work reflected his leftist ideals of the beauty and nobleness of the working class. Kruse also taught art at the Brooklyn Museum, the YMCA, and several other institutions in New York. For many years he was the art critic for the Brooklyn Eagle and wrote a "how-to" art column for the New York Post. He also wrote two widely popular art instruction books: How to draw and paint, and The ABC's of pencil drawing, both published in the 1950s. Alexander Z. Kruse's work can be found in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Library of Congress, and in many private collections worldwide.

Approximately 3,755 items in 35 boxes

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