Description
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.
Background
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.
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.