Hugo Ballin Papers, 1890-1956
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/ft9g50098d No online items Finding Aid for the Hugo Ballin papers, 1890-1956 Processed by Simone Fujita in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2010; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé. The processing of this collection was generously supported by Arcadia funds. UCLA Library Special Collections Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/ © 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid for the Hugo Ballin 407 1 papers, 1890-1956 Descriptive Summary Title: Hugo Ballin papers Date (inclusive): 1890-1956 Collection number: 407 Creator: Ballin, Hugo, 1879-1956. Extent: 27 boxes (13 linear ft.)6 oversize boxes Abstract: Hugo Ballin (1879-1956) was born in New York City. He began his Hollywood career creating motion picture sets for Samuel Goldwyn and later worked as a director and producer. He ultimately gave up his film career to focus on art and writing. The collection consists of original paintings and drawings by Ballin, correspondence, literary manuscripts, books, clippings, and photographs. Language: Finding aid is written in English. Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library of Special Collections. Los Angeles, California 90095-1575 Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Restrictions on Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: 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 the 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. Processing Note Processed by Simone Fujita in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2010. The processing of this collection was generously supported by Arcadia funds. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Hugo Ballin papers (Collection 407). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. UCLA Catalog Record ID UCLA Catalog Record ID: 462281 Biography Hugo Ballin was born March 7, 1879 in New York City. He attended the Art Students League in New York, spent several years traveling and studying in Italy, and became a portrait painter. In 1917, he began working as an art director for Goldwyn Pictures and subsequently moved to California in 1921. In the 1920s, he began writing, producing, and directing films, and formed his own production company, Hugo Ballin Productions, Inc. Ballin's wife, actress Mabel Croft Ballin, was featured in his silent film adaptations of literary classics, such as Jane Eyre (1921) and Vanity Fair (1923). With the advent of talking pictures, Ballin retired from film to focus on painting and writing. As a noted muralist, he completed a number of significant commissioned works across the country during the course of his career, including murals at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. He designed a seventeen-foot medallion of Pallas Athena which hung over the entrance to the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. He also published several novels, including The Woman at the Door (1925), Stigma (1928), and Dolce Far Niente (1933). Ballin was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design. He lived in Pacific Palisades until he died in 1956. Scope and Content Collection consists of correspondence, literary manuscripts, books, scrapbooks, and photographs of Hugo and Mabel Ballin and their family, friends, and residence. Also contains original paintings, sketches, and watercolors by Ballin. Correspondents include Walter Winchell, Louis B. Mayer, Booker T. Washington, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Jordan-Smith, Oscar Straus, Gloria Swanson, Louis Untermeyer, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Walter Damrosch, Samuel Goldwyn, Helen Keller, David O. Selznick, Darryl F. Zanuck, Erich W. Korngold, Howard Pyle, and Walt Disney. Organization and Arrangement Arranged in the following series: Finding Aid for the Hugo Ballin 407 2 papers, 1890-1956 1. Literary manuscripts (Boxes 1-13). 2. Artwork by Hugo Ballin (Boxes 14, 26, 31-33). 3. Photographs (Boxes 15-20, 26-28, 31). 4. Ephemera (Boxes 21-23, 25, 29-30). 5. Correspondence (Boxes 24-25). Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Subjects Ballin, Hugo, 1879-1956--Archives. Motion picture producers and directors--United States--Archival resources. American fiction--20th century--Archival resources. Motion picture art directors--United States--Archival resources. Boxes 14, 26, Artwork by Hugo Ballin 31-33 Scope and Content Drawings, sketches, and watercolors by Hugo Ballin, including early work. Also includes one engraver's plate of Ballin painting. Box 14, Folder 1 Christmas Stories, 1950. Scope and Content Note Draft of illustrated book. Box 14, Folder 2 Sketches, drawings and watercolor paintings, including many early works, ca. 1899-1944. Physical Description: 24 pieces. In folder. Scope and Content Note Includes drafts of illustrated book covers. Box 14, Folder 3 Sketches, drawings and watercolor paintings, including many early works, ca. 1887-1950. Physical Description: 75 pieces. In folder. Box 14, Folder 4 Early watercolor paintings, ca. 1885-1896. Physical Description: 6 pieces. In envelope. Box 14, Folder 5 Large sketchbook. Box 26, Folder 7 Drawings and studies for murals by Hugo Ballin. v.p., v.d. Physical Description: 13 items. Box 31, Folder 1, Studies for murals. Envelope 6 Scope and Content Note Done with pencil and paint. Box 31, Folders Pencil drawings pertaining to murals. 2-11 Scope and Content Note Primarily pencil drawings on mat board, likely drafts of mural panels. Some of the pencil drawings have been colored with watercolors. Box 31, Folder 2 Travel by covered wagon. Box 31, Folder 3 The bull of Alexander VI dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal / Sir Francis Drake -- San Francisco Bay, July 1578. Finding Aid for the Hugo Ballin 407 3 papers, 1890-1956 Artwork by Hugo Ballin Box 31, Folder 4 Mariano Guadalupe / San Francisco's first schoolhouse / Discovery of gold / Frontiersman. Box 31, Folder 5 Saint Francis / Father Crespi / Fages with twelve soldiers and two servants on their march toward where San Francisco now stands -- March 22, 1772. Box 31, Folder 6 Panama-Pacific Exposition, 1915. Box 31, Folder 7 East side of Plaza San Francisco, 1849. Box 31, Folder 8 A mission father enters California. Box 31, Folder 9 Transportation. Scope and Content Note "Pilots -- DC-3 plane / The Grumman JF-2 of the U.S. coast guard / Airport operator - giving local conditions / Archytas -- 4 c. B.C. flying a wooden dove." Box 31, Folder 10 Overland stage arrives -- 1860. Physical Description: Damaged -- right side is missing portion of the drawing and mat board. Box 31, Folder 11 Vigilance Committee's hanging Hetherington & Brace -- July 29, 1856. Box 31, Folder 12 Xth Olympiad diploma, 1932. Scope and Content Note Diploma addressed to Hugo Ballin for his activity as a member of the Advisory Committee on Preparations for the Xth Olympiad in Los Angeles, 1932. Box 31, Folder 13 Untitled landscape painting (1 of 2). Physical Description: Right side of mat board is damaged but painting is unharmed. Box 31, Folder 14 Untitled landscape painting (2 of 2). Physical Description: Right side of mat board is damaged but painting is unharmed. Box 32, Folder 1 Sketchbook. Box 32, Folder 2 Sketchbook. Box 32, Folder 3 Sketchbook. Box 32, Folder 4 Sketchbook. Box 32, Folder 5 Sketchbook. Scope and Content Note Includes drawings from Ballin's childhood. Box 32, Folder 6 Sketchbook. Scope and Content Note Includes drawings from Ballin's childhood. Box 32, Folder 7 Sketchbook. Scope and Content Note Includes drawings from Ballin's childhood. Box 32, Folder 8 Watercolors and drawings. v.p., v.d. Physical Description: 18 pieces. Box 32, Folder 9 Watercolors and drawings. v.p., v.d. Physical Description: 13 pieces. Box 32, Folder 10 Sketches. v.p., v.d. Physical Description: Sketchbook and 8 loose pieces in an envelope. Box 32, Folder 11 Engraver's plate of Ballin painting. Finding Aid for the Hugo Ballin 407 4 papers, 1890-1956 Artwork by Hugo Ballin Box 32, Folder 12 Sketches and photographs pertaining to murals. Scope and Content Note Includes annotated sketches relating to mural work, several photographs of murals and Mabel Ballin, and four negatives of Milton Getz residence murals. Box 33, Folders Set design drawings. 1-37 Scope and Content Note Set and production design drawings for an unidentified film, each depicting a different scene. Pencil and charcoal drawings on paper. Box 33, Folder 1 Scene 94. Scope and Content Note "Office of Amalgamated Oil Co." Box 33, Folder 2 Scene 190. Scope and Content Note "Buck's room in hotel." Box 33, Folder 3 Introduction no. 2. Box 33, Folder 4 Scene 36. Scope and Content Note "Tom." Box 33, Folder 5 Scene 59. Box 33, Folder 6 Untitled. Box 33, Folder 7 Scene 218. Scope and Content Note "1st sketch for Jai Mahal at Juhu Beach." Box 33, Folder 8 Scene 59. Scope and Content Note Second drawing by this title although images are quite different. Box 33, Folder 9 Introduction no. 1. Box 33, Folder 10 Scene 87.