Dates
- Majority of material found in 1953-2004
Scope and Content Note
The Blanche Grambs Papers span the period 1953-2004, with the bulk from 1960-1990. They comprise 0.4 cubic feet of material in one manuscript box. The collection consists of one series, arranged alphabetically by folder title. The collection includes personal correspondence, including drafts of letters, as well as publicity and reviews of Grambs Miller book illustrations. Also included are notes, professional correspondence with publishers and galleries, recipes, and travel memorabilia. Within the correspondence folders, personal correspondence is arranged in the artist's original order, while professional correspondence related to her work as an illustrator is arranged by date.
Correspondence with Winifred Milius Lubell is among the letters of the collection. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries has prints and papers of Winifred Milius Lubell (see Related Collections).
An article by James Wechsler on Blanche Grambs depression era prints is also in the collection. One folder originally contained a large number of images of owls, of which a representative sample was retained.
"Blanche Grambs." British Museum, http://collection.britishmuseum.org/resource?uri=http://collection.britishmuseum.org/id/person-institution/29571
Accessed 4/24/2016
"Blanche Grambs." International Fine Print Dealers Association, http://www.ifpda.org/artist/924
Accessed 4/24/2016
"Illustrator Grambs Aronson Dies at 94." Vineyard Gazette,March 11, 2010, https://vineyardgazette.com/obituaries/2010/03/12/illustrator-grambs-aronson-dies-94
Accessed 4/24/2016
Extent
0.4 Cubic Feet (1 manuscript box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection consists primarily of personal correspondence, including drafts of letters, and publicity and reviews of Grambs Miller book illustrations. Also included are notes, professional correspondence with publishers and galleries, recipes, and travel memorabilia.
Biographical Sketch
The artist Blanche Grambs (1916-2010), also known as Blanche Mary Grambs, Grambs Aronson, Blanche Mary Aronson and Grambs Miller, was a printmaker and illustrator. Born in Beijing, China, she studied with Harry Sternberg at the Art Students League in New York City in the 1930s. She became part of a radical group of artists, joined the Artist's Union and participated in Communist rallies and activities. Working for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (FAP/WPA) for a few years starting in 1936, she created prints depicting the harsh working conditions of miners and factory workers and the misery of the poor and unemployed. After her time with the WPA, she stopped printmaking, working as a magazine illustrator and commercial artist, focused on fashion. Later, she turned to book illustration, particularly children's books and cookbooks. Her depression era prints can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. In 2009, her work was included in a Susan Teller Gallery retrospective exhibition of prints from that period. She lived in New York City and Martha's Vineyard. Married to "Lefty" Miller from 1939-1945, she used the name Grambs Miller for most of her book illustration work. Later, married to James Aronson, she also was known as Grambs Aronson and Blanche Mary Aronson.
- Title
- Inventory to the Blanche Grambs Papers
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Elizabeth M. Phillips
- Date
- April 2017
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Revision Statements
- March 2009: Items listed as n.d. changed to undated, per DACS
- September 2009: revised coding to add encoding analogs to some elements per the EAD report card
Part of the New Brunswick Special Collections Repository