William Halsey papers

Artwork, travel sketchbooks and illustrations, writings, color slides, photographs, exhibition catalogs, letters and correspondence, clippings, working files, and other papers of artist, author, and teacher William Halsey. Collection includes assorted biographical materials including published magazine articles on Halsey and his artwork, copies of his curriculum vitae, and the DVD “In Retrospect William Halsey,” a restored documentary produced as part of the 1971-1972 “William Halsey Retrospective” exhibition organized by the Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville, South Carolina. Also included are a variety of materials relating to the Halsey and Loeb families including the 1880 marriage certificate between Jacob H. Loeb and Eliza L. Goldsmith, materials relating to Jacob H. Loeb’s involvement with the Gala Week Association including minute books and a scrapbook of clippings, assorted papers relating to Eleanor Rose Loeb Halseys involvement in various local civic organizations, and assorted letters, obituaries, and other materials relating to the Halsey family. The collection also includes artwork by Halsey including small sketchbooks, oversize sketches, and drawings created during his travels through Mexico, South and Central America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the United States as well as early cityscapes and anatomy studies done as a student at the Boston Museum School (now called the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Note that original sketch book and drawing titles have, for the most part, been retained. Also included are published illustrations for the Ford Motor Company publications Ford Times and Lincoln-Mercury Times and a set of prints of Fort Sumter produced in 1961. There are also writings by Halsey including travel diaries from his travels through Mexico, Central America, Europe, North Africa, the South Pacific, and the Galapagos containing detailed daily entries recording Halsey’s impressions of the people and locales visited as well as accommodations and meals. Diaries occasionally contain sketches, contact information, itineraries, and other assorted ephemera. Writings also include materials relating to his book Maya Journal including outlines, oversize sketches, and page layouts as well as published articles written by Halsey for the Carolina Art Association newsletter, South Carolina Magazine, and Ford Times on the topics of mural painting in South Carolina, the state of Southern art, Fort Sumter, and the gardens and plantations of Charleston, South Carolina. The collection also includes a large portion of color slides taken by Halsey during his travels through Mexico, South and Central America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the United States as well as slide images of his artwork, family, home, and studio. There are also assorted photographs of Halsey and his studio, assorted artwork, including sculptures and tapestries, and glass lantern slides of “The Charleston Story” mural created by Halsey for the Sears, Roebuck and Co. store (originally located on Calhoun Street, Charleston, South Carolina). Note that original slide and photograph titles have, for the most part, been retained. There are also assorted printed materials including exhibition catalogs and announcements for solo and group shows as well as the publications Sears Presents the Charleston Story in a Panorama of Murals by Halsey and William M. Halsey: Retrospective, the accompanying monograph to his 1972 retrospective organized by the Greenville County Museum of Art, plus assorted clippings relating to Halsey and his career, and “Children of Yucatan,” and “Conversation, Oaxaca, Mexico” postcards. Also included is assorted correspondence from local, regional and national museums, and galleries. Topics include the acquisition or loan of artworks for exhibition, requests for biographical information, invitations to speak, and the scheduling of studio visits as well as routine correspondence from family and friends. There are also working files containing black and white images of Halsey and his work, price lists, sales receipts, clippings, and show announcements. In addition there are also index card files recording individual sales of artwork in addition to title, price and buyer, from 1942 to 1976, patron and gallery addresses, and catalog cards recording title, medium, height and width, collectors, and other details of individual works of art from 1928 to 1971. Index card files also occasionally contain color and black and white photographs, notes, receipts, and other assorted ephemera. Note that original working file and index card file titles have, for the most part, been retained. There is also a small amount of material relating to Halsey’s career as a teacher as well as several awards conferred upon Halsey including an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from the College of Charleston.