A Finding Aid to the Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins Research Materials on Alexander Liberman, 1927-1999, in the Archives of American Art Christopher DeMairo The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee. 2019/08/19 Archives of American Art 750 9th Street, NW Victor Building, Suite 2200 Washington, D.C. 20001 https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions https://www.aaa.si.edu/ Table of Contents Collection Overview ........................................................................................................ 1 Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 1 Biographical / Historical.................................................................................................... 2 Scope and Contents........................................................................................................ 2 Arrangement..................................................................................................................... 2 Names and Subjects ...................................................................................................... 3 Container Listing ............................................................................................................. 4 Series 1: Interviews and Transcripts, 1987-1994..................................................... 4 Series 2: Research Files, 1927-1999..................................................................... 20 Series 3: Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman, circa 1988-1992......................... 22 Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman AAA.kazadodi Collection Overview Repository: Archives of American Art Title: Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman Identifier: AAA.kazadodi Date: 1927-1999 Creator: Kazanjian, Dodie, 1952- Tomkins, Calvin, 1925- Extent: 7.8 Linear feet Language: English . Summary: The Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman measures 7.8 linear feet and date from 1927-1999. The collection contains sound recordings of interviews, interview transcripts, correspondence, biographical material, clippings, and some photographs. The papers and recordings were predominantly compiled during Kazanjian and Tomkin's preparation for their book, Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman (1993). Administrative Information Acquisition Information The collection was donated in 1999 by Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins. Related Materials The Archives of American Art houses two other collections that may be of use to researchers interested in either Alexander Liberman or Dodie Kazanjian. The collections are the Alexander Liberman papers, 1912-2003, and the Dodie Kazanjian papers, 1949-2017, bulk 1980-2017. Processing Information The collection was processed and a finding aid was written by Christopher DeMairo in 2019. Preferred Citation Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman, circa 1927-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Restrictions This collection is access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access, with permission, to original papers and audiovisual material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Conditions Governing Use Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins. Contact Reference Services for more information. Page 1 of 22 Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman AAA.kazadodi Terms of Use The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information. Biographical / Historical Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman (Knopf, 1993) was written by Dodie Kazanjian and her husband Calvin Tomkins. Kazanjian and Tomkins are both authors and art critics in New York, New York. Alexander Liberman (1912-1999) was Editorial Director for Conde Nast for 51 years as well as an accomplished artist. Kazanjian was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1952. She received her undergraduate degree from Salve Regina College in 1974, and subsequently worked a number of writing and editing jobs with the Washington Post, Washington Starr, House and Garden, Vogue, and The New Yorker. She has authored five books, held the position of communications director for the National Endowment for the Arts, and is currently the Director of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. Tomkins is a writer and art critic who was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1925. He graduated from Princeton University in 1948, and went on to work as a journalist for Radio Free Europe and then Newsweek. Tomkins joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1960. Alexander Liberman (1912-1999) was a Russian-American magazine executive, writer, painter, photographer, and sculptor. Liberman was born in 1912 in Kiev Russia. He was educated in London and the École des Beaux Art in Paris. While in France he was introduction to a career in publication working at Vu magazine owned by Lucien Vogel. After emigrating to New York in 1941, Liberman began working at Conde Nast Publications. For the next twenty years Liberman held multiple positions with Conde Nast's publication Vogue. Liberman was named Conde Nast's editorial director in 1964, a position he held until 1992. In addition to Liberman's career as an editor with Conde Nast, he wrote The Artist in His Studio (1960) and Marlene: An Intimate Photographic Memoir (1992), and has paintings and sculptures featured in museums and public sites worldwide. Scope and Contents The Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman measures 7.8 linear feet and contains sound recordings of interviews, interview transcripts, correspondence, biographical material, clippings, and some photographs. The interviews include cassette tapes and transcripts documenting Alexander Liberman's professional and personal life. A portion of the interviews are with Liberman himself, but a majority of the interviewees are Liberman's contemporaries and peers including artists, publishers, personal friends, and art collectors. The collection's research files contain school records, articles and clippings, legal documents, and correspondence. Kazanjian's and Tomkins's notes and annotations are found dispersed throughout the research files. This collection also contains drafts and an edited manuscript of the book, Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman. Arrangement This collection is arranged as 3 series Page 2 of 22 Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman AAA.kazadodi • Series 1: Interviews and Transcripts, 1987-1994 (5.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-15) • Series 2: Research Files, 1927-1999 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 15-16) • Series 3: Alex: The Life of Alexander Liberman, circa 1988-1992 (7 folders; Boxes 16-17) Names and Subject Terms This collection is indexed in the online catalog of the Smithsonian Institution under the following terms: Types of Materials: Interviews Sound recordings Names: Liberman, Alexander, 1912-1999 Liberman, Alexander, 1912-1999 -- Interviews Occupations: Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Page 3 of 22 Series 1: Interviews and Transcripts Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman AAA.kazadodi Container Listing Series 1: Interviews and Transcripts, 1987-1994 5.1 Linear feet (Shoeboxes 1-13; Box 14-15) Scope and This series includes 216 sound cassettes and transcripts from interviews with Alexander Contents: Liberman discussing various topics, and over 60 of Liberman's peers and associates. The interview topics include Liberman's professional career as both an artist and publisher, Liberman's personal life, the interviewees relationship with Liberman, and a variety of anecdotes about the 20th century art and fashion world. 1.1: Sound Recordings, 1987-1994 Arrangement: It should be noted that some of the cassette tapes found in the series contain interviews with multiple individuals. The decision was made to list each interviewee individually in an alphabetical arrangement so that the interviews may be easily identified. The inventory is alphabetical, but some container numbers are not sequential as a result. Box 1, Item 1 Alexander Liberman, on Abstract Art, 1988 December 19 1 Sound cassette Box 1, Item 2 Alexander Liberman, on Art and His Art; on Tatiana, October, 1988 1 Sound cassette Box 1, Item 3 Alexander Liberman, on Art and Early Years, circa 1988 1 Sound cassette Box 1, Item 4-5 Alexander Liberman, on Artist in His Studio, 1988 October 21 2 Sound cassettes Box 1, Item 6 Alexander Liberman, on Allure, 1990 October 1 1 Sound cassette Box 1, Item 7 Alexander Liberman, on Auctions, 1988