Shirley Gorelick papers, 1939-2008, 2016, bulk 1939-1980s
Object Details
- Place of publication, production, or execution
- Other
- Physical Description
- 4.8 Linear feet
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as seven series. Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1942-2000 (Box 1; 7 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, 1939-1994 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet) Series 3: Writings, 1942-circa 1980s (Box 1; 4 folders) Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1960-1996, 2016 (Box 1; 7 folders) Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1940s-2008 (Boxes 2-3, OV 7; 1.8 linear feet) Series 6: Sketchbooks, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (Boxes 2, 6; 0.3 linear feet) Series 7: Photographic Material, 1960s-1990s (Boxes 3-5; 1.7 linear feet)
- Access Note / Rights
- This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
- Summary
- The papers of painter Shirley Gorelick measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1939-2008, 2016, with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1980s. The collection documents Gorelick's life and career through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, scattered writings, professional files recording her involvement with art collectives and galleries owned and/or run by women, printed and photographic material, and nine sketchbooks and loose sketches.
- Citation
- Shirley Gorelick papers, 1939-2008, 2016, bulk 1939-1980s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Additional Forms
- The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2023 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
- For printed material only covers and relevant pages of publications have been digitized. Items not digitized include duplicates, and some transparencies and negatives for which prints exist.
- Funding
- Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided in part by The Shirley Gorelick Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
- Use Note
- 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.
- Biography Note
- New York and Washington, D.C. painter Shirley Gorelick (1924-2000) is known primarily for her large-scale portraits in acrylic. Gorelick described her work as "psychological portraiture," that depicted couples and families through an intimate and empathic lens.
- Gorelick was born Shirley Fishman in Brooklyn, New York. Her education involved studying with Chaim Gross, Moses Soyer, and Raphael Soyer, and then with Serge Chermayeff at Brooklyn College where she earned her B. A. in 1944. Gorelick subsequently earned an M. A. at Teachers College, Columbia University, briefly attended the Hans Hofmann School of Art in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and also studied with Betty Holliday in Port Washington, Long Island. In 1944 Gorelick married Leonard Gorelick, a dentist with a passion for art and science.
- Gorelick's early work was influenced by Cubism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism, but she ultimately gravitated towards realistic, figurative portraits painted from photographs and direct observation. While working primarily in acrylic, she was also known for her silverpoint drawings and intaglio prints. Working with middle-aged couples and family groups repeatedly in the 1970s and 1980s, Gorelick's work explores the psychological state of her subjects as they directly engage the viewer.
- In 1973, Gorelick was a founding member of Central Hall Gallery, a cooperative run by all women artists in Port Washington. She also had six solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group shows at SOHO 20, the second all-women artist-run exhibition space in New York City. She was one of thirteen women artists who collaborated on The Sister Chapel , painting a nine-foot portrait of Frida Kahlo for the installation which premiered at P.S. 1 in Long Island City in 1976.
- Gorelick's work was widely exhibited, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, and she is represented in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.
- Gorelick died in Washington D.C. in 2000.
- Language Note
- English .
- Provenance
- The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2021 and 2022 by Jamie Gorelick, Shirley Gorelick's daughter.
- Digitization Note
- This site provides access to the papers of Shirley Gorelick in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2023, and total 4,541 images.
- Location Note
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
- Data Source
- Archives of American Art
- Record number
- (DSI-AAA_CollID)22098
- AAA_collcode_goreshir
- Creator
- Gorelick, Shirley, 1924-2000
- Subject
- Gorelick, Leonard
- Soho 20 (Gallery)
- Central Hall Gallery (Port Washington, N.Y.)
- Type
- Sketchbooks
- Theme
- Women
- Lives of artists
- Topic
- Sister Chapel (Art installation)
- Women painters
- Women artists
- Theme
- Women
- Lives of artists
- Record ID
- AAADCD_coll_22098
