http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt087031vj
No online items
Finding aid for the Paul Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979 (bulk 1922-1958)
Finding aid prepared by Andra Darlington.
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
1
Descriptive Summary
Title: Paul Outerbridge papers
Date (inclusive): 1915-1979 (bulk 1922-1958)
Number: 870520
Creator/Collector: Outerbridge, Paul
Physical Description: 16.5 linear ft.(17 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The Paul Outerbridge papers document the American photographer's artistic and professional life from his
earliest art studies in 1915 through his varied career as an innovator in advertising photography, a pioneer in color
photography, and a freelance writer. The archive includes correspondence, notebooks and diaries, typescripts, drawings
and sketches, business records, scrapbooks, a portfolio, autobiographical and biographical statements, and intermittent
clippings and ephemera.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for
this collection. Click here for the access policy .
Language: Collection material is in English
Biographical/Historical Note
American photographer Paul Outerbridge (1896-1958) was born in New York City. He studied anatomy and aesthetics at the
Art Students' League of New York from 1915 to 1917 while working as a theatrical designer and illustrator, among other
jobs. In 1917 he joined the Canadian Royal Flying Corps. Discharged after a minor crash, Outerbridge enlisted in the United
States Army and gained his first photographic experience documenting materials and operations for the army at a lumber
camp in Oregon. In 1921 he enrolled at the Clarence H. White School of Photography, New York, where he studied with
White and Max Weber. Although he did not complete the program at the White School, Outerbridge demonstrated such
proficiency that he was soon invited to teach there. His first published photograph appeared in Vogue in 1922, the same
year he became acquainted with Alfred Stieglitz and studied sculpture with Alexander Archipenko.
Through meticulous composition and manipulation of light, Outerbridge transformed everyday objects into formal
abstractions of mass and line, light and shadow. His innovative photographs were widely praised and published in
magazines such as Vanity fair, Harper's bazaar, and Vogue. As a freelance advertising photographer, he reinterpreted the
‘product shot' in his own visual language, as seen in the crisp precision and Cubist aesthetic of his Ide collar advertisement,
first published in the July 1922 issue of Vanity fair (see series VI). Marcel Duchamp was reportedly so impressed with the
image that he tore it from a magazine and tacked it to his studio wall. This landmark of early modernism in commercial
photography led to more commissions, and Outerbridge had his first solo exhibition at the Art Center, New York, in 1924.
Outerbridge interrupted his New York success by moving to Paris in 1925, then to Berlin three years later where he became
briefly involved in filmmaking. In Paris he met Edward Steichen, with whom he developed a friendly rivalry while they both
worked for the French edition of Vogue. Man Ray was a frequent companion and entries in Outerbridge's pocket diaries
from the period mention encounters with numerous other artists, including Duchamp, Berenice Abbott, Kiki de
Montparnasse, and Constantin Brancusi (see series II).
Shortly after his return to the United States in 1930, Outerbridge moved to Monsey, New York. There he concentrated on
his pioneering work in color photography, eventually perfecting his technique with the complex tri-color carbro process. As
described in U.S. camera, "Technically his carbros are gems. Their color range, their flesh tones, their unbelievable fidelity
make them the envy of all who see them" (no. 2, 1939, p. 80). The primary subject of his technical virtuosity was the
female nude, often exoticized or fetishized with props, sometimes with menacing overtones. The full-color realism of the
nudes shocked some viewers and resulted in scandal, to which Outerbridge responded, "What this country needs is more
and better nudes" (Outerbridge, "The Nude," undated typescript, series III). Outerbridge's book, Photographing in color, was
published by Random House in 1940.
In 1943 Outerbridge moved from New York to California hoping to transition from photography to motion pictures. He never
found work in the film industry, however, and instead earned an irregular livelihood as a portrait photographer and
freelance writer, contributing articles and illustrations to photographic and travel magazines. From 1954 until his death he
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
2
wrote the monthly column "About Color" for U.S. camera. Paul Outerbridge died October 17, 1958, in Laguna Beach,
California.
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Preferred Citation
Paul Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979 (bulk 1915-1958), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 870520
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa870520
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1987.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Paul Outerbridge papers constitute the surviving body of documents relating to the American photographer's artistic
and professional life from his earliest art studies in 1915 through his varied career as an innovator in advertising
photography, a pioneer in color photography, and a freelance writer.
Letters to and from Outerbridge document the acquisition, exhibition, and publication of his work, while professional
records itemize prints sold and loaned. A large portion of the archive consists of Outerbridge's writings, which range from
early poems to a draft and a proof of his book, Photographing in color (New York: Random House, 1940), to typescript
drafts of articles. Among the articles are drafts of every issue, from 1954 until his death, of Outerbridge's monthly column
"About Color" for U.S. camera. Also included are writings by others, primarily poems and brief excerpts, but also a
typescript of a play by Alvan L. Barach.
Monthly diaries for four years chronicle the details of Outerbridge's daily life in the 1920s and offer a glimpse of the artistic
life of New York and Paris, the cities in which he lived at the time. Among many artists mentioned in these volumes are
Alexander Archipenko, Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Marcel Duchamp, Berenice Abbott, Kiki de Montparnasse, and
Constantin Brancusi.
Preliminary sketches and drawings, a student notebook, and a teaching notebook provide insight into Outerbridge's
creative process. Detailed notes, exposure records, and lighting diagrams document his work methods. The published
results are contained in two large scrapbooks and a portfolio. With approximately 500 tear sheets from magazines and
journals, the portfolio and scrapbooks together comprise a comprehensive collection of Outerbridge's published work.
The archive also contains resumes, transcribed comments about Outerbridge's work, an incomplete autobiography (1929),
and brief biographical and autobiographical statements written at different stages in his career. Materials collected
intermittently by Outerbridge, including clippings, printed ephemera, and writings and drawings by others, point to his
varied interests and associates.
Although a substantial portion of the material is undated, the bulk can be situated between 1922, the year of Outerbridge's
first published photographs, and his death in 1958. Also included are obituaries, correspondence regarding the final
dispensation of his estate, and other materials collected by his widow, Lois (Weir) Outerbridge, after his death.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in eight series: Series I. Correspondence, 1915-1979 Series II. Writings, 1929-1958 Series III.
Notebooks and diaries, 1915-1926 Series IV. Drawings and sketches, 1935-1938 Series V. Professional records, 1922-1958
Series VI. Portfolios, 1922-1956 Series VII. Autobiographical and biographical information, 1924-1973 Series VIII. Clippings
and ephemera, 1923-1966
Subjects - Names
Barach, Alvan L. (Alvan Leroy), 1895Epstean, Arnold Allen
Loomis, Maurine
Man Ray, 1890-1976
Outerbridge, Paul
Quinquela Martín, Benito, 1890-1977
Wood, Robert W. (Robert William), 1889-1979
Subjects - Topics
Advertising photography
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
3
Color photography
Commercial art--United States
Photographers--Correspondence
Photography
Photography, Artistic
Subjects - Places
New York (N.Y.)--Intellectual life--20th century
Paris (France)--Intellectual life--20th century
Genres and Forms of Material
Color transparencies
Correspondence
Diaries
Drawings (visual works)
Photographic prints
Photographs, Original
Portfolios (groups of works)
Sketches
Series I. Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Physical Description: 0.52 linear feet(2 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Includes approximately 300 business and personal letters arranged alphabetically by
correspondent with unidentified correspondents at the end. Letters to and from individuals,
art institutions, and publications pertain primarily to the acquisition, exhibition, and
publication of Outerbridge's work. A 1942 letter from Beaumont Newhall, for example,
recognizes the gift of three Outerbridge carbro prints as the Museum of Modern Art's first
acquisition of color photography (March 6); the director of the Cleveland Museum of Art in a
letter the following year requests on behalf of his museum's board that Outerbridge
substitute "some other subject" for "the Nude" offered as a donation by Outerbridge's friend
and collector Vivian Allen (January 13, 1943). Other topics include financial and legal
matters, awards, memberships, and employment inquiries. Also included are condolences
and correspondence with Outerbridge's widow, Lois, concerning the final dispensation of his
estate.
Arrangement note
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent with unidentified materials at the end.
Box 1, Folder 1
Box 1, Folder 2
Adam: la revue de l'homme, Paris, 1928
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Advertising Club of New York, 1943
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 3
Allen, Vivian B., 1942-1948, undated
Physical Description: 5.0 items
Box 1, Folder 4
Box 1, Folder 5
Alshin, Edith, 1943, undated
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Anna Rosenstock, Inc., New York, 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
4
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 1, Folder 6
ANSCO, New York, 1956
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Box 1, Folder 7
Box 1, Folder 8
Box 1, Folder 9
Box 1, Folder 10
Box 1, Folder 11
Box 1, Folder 12
Box 1, Folder 13
Box 1, Folder 14
Box 1, Folder 15
Box 1, Folder 16
Box 1, Folder 17
Box 1, Folder 18
Appleby, Edgar, undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Arkin, Harry and Sidney, 1948
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Art Center School, Los Angeles, 1955
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Authors Guild, New York, undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Automobile Club of Orange County, 1945
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Ayer Gallery, Philadelphia, 1931
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Barrien, J. G., 1922
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Batton, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, New York, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Bennett, Ralph H., 1944
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Boeck, William C., 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Brunoff, M. de, 1925
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 19
Butterworth, E. T., and S. C. Goff, ca. 1953
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 20
California Division of Real Estate, Sacramento, 1945
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Box 1, Folder 21
Camera Craft Publishing, San Francisco, 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 22
Box 1, Folder 23
Clarence H. White School of Photography, New York, 1922-1932
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942-1943
Physical Description: 4.0 items
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
5
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 1, Folder 24
Condé Nast Publications, New York, 1935
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 25
Box 1, Folder 26
Box 1, Folder 27
Box 1, Folder 28
Box 1, Folder 29
Box 1, Folder 30
Box 1, Folder 31
Box 1, Folder 32
Box 1, Folder 33
Box 1, Folder 34
Box 1, Folder 35
Box 1, Folder 36
Cunningham, L., 1944
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Devean, Ross R., 1943
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Drier, Hans [?], undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Durege, Paul, 1958
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, 1941-1958
Physical Description: 17.0 items
Galin, Roland, 1931
Physical Description: 4.0 items
Gamma Picture Agency, New York, 1955-1956
Physical Description: 13.0 items
Graf Optical Co., South Bend, 1922
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Greenberg Publisher, New York, 1956
Physical Description: 2.0 items
H. A. Samuel Picture Framing, Laguna Beach, 1943-1944
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Handelman, Dorothy, 1948
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Henderson, Jack, undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 37
Holiday magazine, Philadelphia, 1950
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Box 1, Folder 38
Honigsberg, Michael, 1958
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 39
House beautiful magazine, New York, 1938
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 40
Box 1, Folder 41
J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1932
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Johnson, Nicholas, 1945
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
6
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 1, Folder 42
Jones, Marc and Priscilla, undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 43
Box 1, Folder 44
Box 1, Folder 45
Box 1, Folder 46
Box 1, Folder 47
Box 1, Folder 48
Box 1, Folder 49
Box 1, Folder 50
Box 1, Folder 51
Box 1, Folder 52
Box 1, Folder 53
Julien Levy Gallery, New York, 1932
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Kemnitzer, W. J., Mrs., 1944
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Kestner Gesellschaft, 1929
Physical Description: 1.0 item
L. W. Frohlich and Co., New York, 1956
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1958-1959
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Life magazine, New York, 1941-1945
Physical Description: 7.0 items
Los Angeles Museum, 1944-1945
Physical Description: 2.0 items
M. S. Rau, Inc., New Orleans, 1955
Physical Description: 1.0 item
MacGregor, Sophie L., 1943
Physical Description: 1.0 item
MacPhee, Jack, 1958
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Maloney, T.J., 1940-1941
Physical Description: 14.0 items
Scope and Content Note
See also U.S. Camera.
Box 1, Folder 54
Box 1, Folder 55
May, Mrs., 1943
Physical Description: 1.0 item
May Co., Los Angeles, 1944
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 56
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 1957
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Box 1, Folder 57
Box 1, Folder 58
McAlpin, David H., 1941
Physical Description: 4.0 items
McCall Co., New York, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
7
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 1, Folder 59
McManus, Austin, 1945
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 60
Box 1, Folder 61
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1941
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Minicam photography, Cincinnati, 1946
Physical Description: 8.0 items
Scope and Content Note
Includes a brief autobiography of Outerbridge (1946).
Box 1, Folder 62
Box 1, Folder 63
Box 1, Folder 64
Box 1, Folder 65
Box 1, Folder 66
Box 1, Folder 67
Box 1, Folder 68
Box 1, Folder 69
Box 1, Folder 70
Box 1, Folder 71
Box 1, Folder 72
Mohrenwitz, L., 1932
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1942-1955
Physical Description: 6.0 items
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1958
Physical Description: 2.0 items
National geographic magazine, Washington, D.C. 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Nevius, Brett & Kellogg, New York, 1940
Physical Description: 1.0 item
New Yorker magazine, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Newark Museum, 1940
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Newton, Arthur F., 1958
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Ohlson, David, 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Overseas Press Club of America, New York, 1958
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Parsons, Louella, undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 73
Patacek, Martin F., 1955
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 74
Box 1, Folder 75
Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1931-1933
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Peters, Clinton, 1915-1919
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
8
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 1, Folder 76
Peters, Rollo, undated
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Box 1, Folder 77
Box 1, Folder 78
Box 1, Folder 79
Box 1, Folder 80
Box 1, Folder 81
Box 1, Folder 82
Box 1, Folder 83
Box 1, Folder 84
Box 1, Folder 85
Box 1, Folder 86
Box 1, Folder 87
Box 1, Folder 88
Phillips, Dr., 1945
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Photography magazine, New York, 1954
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Ponder & Best, Los Angeles, 1956
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel, 1945
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Powers, James T., Mrs., undated
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Quicke, Charles, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
R. H. Macy & Co., New York, 1932
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Richardson, Alley & Richards Co., New York, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Riggins, Marie, 1943
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, 1925-1931, undated
Physical Description: 5.0 items
Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Los Angeles, 1943
Physical Description: 1.0 item
San Francisco Museum of Art, 1944-1945
Physical Description: 4.0 items
Box 1, Folder 89
Seilset, L., Mrs., 1944
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 90
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. 1958-1959
Physical Description: 16.0 items
Box 1, Folder 91
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1957
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 92
Box 1, Folder 93
Spiratone, Inc., New York, 1955
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Stafford Studios, Johannesburg, 1955
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
9
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 1, Folder 94
Taylor, Jane, 1948
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 1, Folder 95
Box 1, Folder 96
Box 1, Folder 97
Technicolor Motion Picture Corp., Los Angeles, 1943-1944
Physical Description: 6.0 items
Town & country magazine, New York, 1936
Physical Description: 1.0 item
U.S. camera, New York, 1939-1958
Physical Description: 13.0 items
Scope and Content Note
See also series III.
Box 1, Folder 98
Box 1, Folder 99
Box 2, Folder 1
Box 2, Folder 2
Box 2, Folder 3
Box 2, Folder 4
Box 2, Folder 5
Box 2, Folder 6
Box 2, Folder 7
Box 2, Folder 8
United States of America, Office of War Information, 1941-1942
Physical Description: 3.0 items
Van Patton, John H., 1945
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Vanity fair, New York, 1931
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Verlag Ullstein, Berlin, 1931
Physical Description: 1.0 item
W. H. S. Lloyd Co., New York, 1941
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Walker, Patricia, 1945
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Warren Imports, Laguna Beach, 1944
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Weir, B. W., 1947
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Winter, Inc., Los Angeles, 1944
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Wolfe, Jose, 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 2, Folder 9
World Wide Trading Co., Los Angeles, 1956
Physical Description: 1.0 item
Box 2, Folder 10
Box 2, Folder 11
Wright, George B., 1957
Physical Description: 2.0 items
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 1942
Physical Description: 4.0 items
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
10
Series I.Correspondence, 1915-1959, undated
Box 2, Folder
12-13
Unidentified, 1917-1958, undated
Physical Description: 48.0 items
Scope and Content Note
The names of some correspondents are unidentified or illegible; the following are
identified by first name only: Constance, Thea, Dom, Ruth, Suzanne, Bill and Jon,
Florence, Helen, Betty, May (or Mae), Reg, and Ada.
Series II. Writings, 1929-1958, undated
Physical Description: 1.73 linear feet(4 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Includes a typescript and a proof of Outerbridge's book, Photographing in color (New York:
Random House, 1940), typescript drafts of articles, as well as poems, stories, essays and
musings. Among the articles are drafts of all 56 issues of Outerbridge's column "About Color"
in U.S. camera (1954-1958). The disparate topics for his other articles range from travel
destinations to feminine beauty to individual artists. The article "How Are You Doing These
Days?" (undated) about landscape painter Bob Wood is accompanied by black and white
photographs of the artist at work; color transparencies that accompanied the article on
Wood and an article on Argentine painter Benito Quinquela Martín (1951) have been moved
to a separate box. Writings by people other than Outerbridge are located at the end of the
series. The different types of writings are arranged chronologically with undated items at the
end.
Box 2, Folder
14-17
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
Box
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Folder
Typescript of Photographing in Color, ca. 1940
14
15
16
17
18
1-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7-10
7
Introduction and chapters 1-3
Chapters 4-7
Chapters 8-9
Appendix
Proof of Photographing in Color, 1940
Typescripts for U.S. camera column "About Color," 1954-1958
Numbers 1-9, 1954
Numbers 10-22, 1955
Numbers 23-26, 1956
Numbers 27-34, 1956
Numbers 35-45, 1957
Numbers 46-56, 1958
Typescript drafts of articles, 1950-1956
"Do You Like Amethysts and Topaz?" 1951
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of an article on the Uruguayan amethyst and topaz industry.
Box 3, Folder 8
"Quinquela Martin," 1951
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of an article about Argentine painter Benito Quinquela Martín; two
accompanying color transparencies moved to box 13.
Box 3, Folder 9
"Maurine," 1954
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of an article about celebrity photographer Maurine Loomis.
Box 3, Folder 10
Typescript drafts of miscellaneous articles, 1950-1956
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of nine articles.
Box 4, Folder 1-3
Typescript drafts of articles, undated
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
11
Series II.Writings, 1929-1958, undated
Box 4, Folder 1
"And They Both Lived Happily Ever After," undated
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of an article about marriage.
Box 4, Folder 2
"How Are You Doing These Days?" undated
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of an article about landscape painter Robert W. Wood accompanied by seven
black and white photographs; nine accompanying color transparencies moved to box
13.
Box 4, Folder 3
Typescript drafts of miscellaneous articles, undated
Scope and Content Note
Drafts of nine articles.
Box 17, Folder 1
Box 17, Folder 1
Accompanying color transparencies, 1951, undated
"Quinquela Martin," 1951
Scope and Content Note
Two color transparancies (2.6 x 2.9 in.) that accompanied drafts of an article about
Argentine painter Benito Quinquela Martín (1951), showing the artist at work.
Box 17, Folder 1
"How Are You Doing These Days?" undated
Scope and Content Note
Nine color transparancies (2.9 x 3.4 in.) that accompanied drafts of an article about
landscape painter Robert W. Wood (undated), showing the artist at work.
Box 4, Folder 4-8
Box 4, Folder 4
Creative writing, 1929-1944, undated
Poetry, 1929-1932, undated
Scope and Content Note
35 leaves of poetry.
Box 4, Folder 5-6
Poetry, undated
Scope and Content Note
69 leaves of poetry.
Box 4, Folder 7
Prose, 1930-1944, undated
Scope and Content Note
Stories, essays, musings, and a screen treatment (46 leaves).
Box 4, Folder 8
Box 4, Folder 8
Notebooks of poetry and prose, 1929-1932, undated
"Prose and prose poems," 1929-1932
Scope and Content Note
Binder of typed poems and prose (52 leaves) with 41 loose leaves enclosed in the
back pocket; includes a 1 p. statement entitled "Why I work" (1932).
Box 4, Folder 8
Poetry notebook, undated
Scope and Content Note
Pocket notebook with handwritten poems (41 p.).
Box 4, Folder 9-10
Box 4, Folder 9
Writings by others, 1922-1931, undated
Writings by others, 1922-1931, undated
Scope and Content Note
Poems, aphorisms and excerpts from books, transcribed or collected by Outerbridge
(22 leaves).
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
12
Series II.Writings, 1929-1958, undated
Box 4, Folder 10
"Office hour: a play in three acts," by Alvan L. Barach, undated
Scope and Content Note
Typescript of a play (66 leaves).
Series III. Notebooks and diaries, 1915-1926, undated
Physical Description: 0.85 linear feet(2 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Includes five notebooks and 48 pocket diaries. Three of the notebooks contain notes and
sketches from distinct periods in Outerbridge's life: his studies in anatomy and aesthetics
(ca. 1915); his training with the Canadian Royal Flying Corps (1917); and his first teaching
assignment (ca. 1922). The fourth notebook is an almost blank address book (undated), and
the fifth contains journal entries and recipes written by an unidentified young girl (undated).
The diaries provide detailed accounts of Outerbridge's life and early career in New York and
Paris in 1919, 1922, and from 1924-1926, including his work schedules, personal finances,
travels, exhibitions, and social activities. The diaries also chronicle aspects of the artistic life
of the two cities, with references to numerous artists, including Alexander Archipenko, Ralph
Steiner, Man Ray, Kiki de Montparnasse, Marcel Duchamp, Berenice Abbott, and Constantin
Brancusi.
Box 5, Folder 1-2
Box 5, Folder 1
Notebooks, ca. 1915-ca. 1922, undated
Student notebook, ca. 1915
Scope and Content Note
Sketches and notes on anatomy, aesthetics and compositional theory, probably from
Outerbridge's studies at the Art Students' League of New York.
Box 5, Folder 1
Canadian Royal Flying Corps notebook, 1917
Scope and Content Note
Notes and sketches from training in airplane engine mechanics, flight theory and
practice, and aerial gunnery, among other topics.
Box 5, Folder 2
Teaching notebook, ca. 1922
Scope and Content Note
Outerbridge's lecture notes and sketches made while an instructor at the Clarence H.
White School of Photography, New York.
Box 5, Folder 2
Address book, undated
Scope and Content Note
Blank except for two hotel addresses and miscellaneous notes on three pages.
Box 5, Folder 2
Box 7
Notebook of a young girl, undated
Diaries, 1919-1926
Scope and Content Note
48 diaries: one volume for 1919 and more extensive monthly diaries for 1922 and
1924-1926, except July 1926. The 1919 volume records only personal expenses. There
are no entries for August 1922.
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
13
Series IV.Drawings and sketches, 1935-1938, undated
Series IV. Drawings and sketches, 1935-1938, undated
Physical Description: 1.41 linear feet(5 folders)
Scope and Content Note
Includes approximately 100 preparatory sketches and drawings for Outerbridge's
photographic work. Most are undated preliminary pencil sketches, but the range extends to
completed designs in colored crayon and watercolor. Annotations, explanations, variations
and additions provide insight into Outerbridge's creative process. Also included are several
drawings by other artists. Among them are portraits of Outerbridge (1938) and Man Ray
(1937) by Arnold Allen Epstean, two caricatures of Man Ray with a halo and wings by
Epstean (1937), and a silhouette of Outerbridge by Baron Scotford (1924), all signed and
dated.
Box
Box
Box
Box
6, 15*
6, Folder 1
6, Folder 2-3
15*, Folder 1
Drawings and sketches, 1935-1938, undated
1935-1938, undated
undated
undated
Box 15*, Folder 2
Drawings by others, 1924-1938, undated
Series V. Professional records, 1922-1958, undated
Physical Description: 0.48 linear feet(4 folders)
General Physical Description note: 0.48 linear feet 4 folders
Scope and Content Note
Includes intermittent business and technical records from Outerbridge's career in
photography, including lists of prints sold or loaned. Plans for a studio renovation project are
documented with floor plans, equipment lists, and cost estimates (ca. 1933). Records from
advertising assignments include cost analyses, lighting diagrams, and exposure and
development records (1940-1942). Among the technical records are five "Photographic
Exposure Calculator" notebooks detailing the date, time, film, light, subject, etc., of specific
exposures (1922-1925). The first pages of two otherwise blank pocket diaries list
photographic equipment (1944), and a pocket-size "Photo Data Book" published by General
Electric provides technical information and exposure index tables for different kinds of film
and photographic equipment (1946).
Box 5, Folder 3
Studio renovation project, ca. 1933
Scope and Content Note
Floor plans, equipment lists and cost estimates.
Box 5, Folder 4
Advertising projects, 1940-1942, undated
Scope and Content Note
Cost sheets, lighting diagrams, and exposure and development records from
approximately 20 advertising projects, many for A&P Grocery Store products.
Box 5, Folder 5
Professional records, 1931-1958, undated
Scope and Content Note
Miscellaneous records including cost sheets, receipts, and lists of prints sold or loaned for
exhibition and publication.
Box 5, 7
Box 5, Folder 6
Professional notebooks, 1922-1946
Photographic equipment notebooks, 1944
Scope and Content Note
Lists of photographic equipment on 1 p. each of two pocket diaries, labeled January
and February, 1944.
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
14
Series V.Professional records, 1922-1958, undated
Box 5, Folder 6
"Photographic data book," 1946
Scope and Content Note
Pocket-size book published by General Electric with technical information and
exposure index tables for different kinds of film and photographic equipment.
Box 7
"Photographic exposure calculator" notebooks, 1922-1925
Scope and Content Note
Five pocket notebooks record the date, film, time, light, stop, exposure, and subject of
specific exposures in 1922, Jan.-Apr. 1923, Oct.-Dec. 1923, and June-Nov. 1926. A
volume for 1914 has no entries.
Series VI. Scrapbooks and portfolio, 1922-1956, undated
Physical Description: 9.23 linear feet(7 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Includes a two volume scrapbook and a portfolio, together containing approximately 500
tear sheets of Outerbridge's published work, some unattributed, from periodicals such as
House beautiful, Vogue, Good housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Popular photography,
American photography, and U.S. camera. Some images are labeled with typed captions and
additional information. Also included are correspondence, miscellaneous printed material, 13
black and white photographs, four signed and dated ink drawings by Outerbridge (1934) and
two layouts for magazine covers.
Box 8-12
Scrapbook, vol. I, 1922-1953, undated
Scope and Content Note
Volume I of the scrapbook was disbound due to poor physical condition. The cover is in
box 8; the 88 scrapbook pages are arranged in order in boxes 9-12 with several loose
items at the end. The original format of volume I was the same as volume II, which
remains intact, though fragile.
Box 8*
Cover, undated
Scope and Content Note
Painted on the front cover and spine: "Outerbridge / I."
Box 9*, Folder 1-5
Pages 1-20, 1923-1953, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes a pastel layout for a cover of McCall's homemaking (p. 18).
Box 10*, Folder
1-6
Box 11*, Folder
1-6
Box 12*, Folder
1-5
Pages 21-48, 1924-1943, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes eight black and white photographs of house interiors and exteriors (p. 34).
Pages 49-74, 1922-1944, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes a photograph of Outerbridge in an airplane (p. 71).
Pages 75-88 and loose items, 1922-1952, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes a copy of Outerbridge's Ide collar advertisement from the November 1922
issue of Vanity fair (loose item, folder 5).
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
15
Series VI.Scrapbooks and portfolio, 1922-1956, undated
Box 13*
Scrapbook, vol. II 1922-1956, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes 108 pages and two loose inserts. In addition to tear sheets of Outerbridge's
work, it contains a watercolor layout for a cover of House beautiful, a portrait photograph
of Outerbridge, three contact prints of a woman in a bonnet, and four signed and dated
ink drawings by Outerbridge (1934). Three of the drawings, entitled "The Clown," "The
Acrobat," and "The Elephant," are from the "Circus" series. The fourth is entitled "The
Great Northwest." Painted on the front cover and spine of the scrapbook: "Outerbridge /
II."
Box 14*, Folder 1
Portfolio, 1922-1956, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes tear sheets of Outerbridge's magazine work. Written in pencil on the cover:
"Annoncement [sic]: Paul Outerbridge is now represented by Nathaniel Pousette-Dart."
Series VII. Autobiographical and biographical information, 1924-1973, undated
Physical Description: 0.15 linear feet(2 folders)
Scope and Content Note
Includes resumes, bibliographies, transcribed comments about Outerbridge's work, an
incomplete autobiography (1929), and brief biographical and autobiographical statements
written at different stages in his career. Also includes a photographic baby portrait (matte
collodion, undated), and a manuscript genealogy of the Outerbridge family from 1066-1675.
Box 5, Folder 7
Box 5, Folder 8
Autobiographical and biographical information, 1924-1973, undated
Outerbridge family genealogy, undated
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript entitled "Genealogy of the most ancient family of Outerbridge of Co. Yorks,
etc." traces the family history from 1066-1676, including family trees and coats of arms.
Series VIII. Clippings and ephemera, 1923-1966, undated
Physical Description: 2.13 linear feet(8 folders)
Scope and Content Note
Includes invitations, event programs, exhibition catalogs, and magazine and newspaper
clippings of illustrations and articles, some of which are by or about Outerbridge. Those
dated after Outerbridge's death in 1958, including obituaries, were probably collected by his
widow, Lois Outerbridge.
Box 5, Folder 9
Clippings and ephemera, 1923-1943, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes printed invitations, programs, and exhibition catalogs, and miscellaneous
magazine and journal clippings.
Box 15*, Folder 3
Clippings and ephemera, 1937-1960, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes invitations, magazine clippings, a lithograph poster for a Greenwich Village, NY,
block party called "Night of Stars," and the cover of House beautiful, October 1937.
Box 16*, Folder
1-3
Newspaper clippings, 1926-1966, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes clippings of newspaper articles, some by or about Outerbridge.
Box 16*, Folder 1
Box 16*, Folder 2
1926-1959
1960-1966
Box 16*, Folder 3
undated
Finding aid for the Paul
Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979
(bulk 1922-1958) ...
870520
16