Edith Schloss Burckhardt Papers, 1962-2011
Collection context
- Creator:
- Schloss, Edith, 1919-
- Extent:
- 35 linear feet (26 record cartons, 1 document box; 1 flat box)
- Language:
- English .
- Scope and content:
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The Edith Schloss Burckhardt Papers offer an extraordinary opportunity for research into multiple areas of scholarship, especially unique insight into the lives and experiences of women in the art world, an American artist's expat life in Rome from the 1960s-2010s, the New York School of painters and poets, and a particularly rich and far-reaching, vein of the avant-garde and experimental music world, to name a few.
- Biographical / historical:
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Edith Schloss was born in Offenbach, Germany. She was sent to France and England to learn languages and, in 1936, attended a private school in Florence where she first fell in love with Italy. Edith eventually ended up in England working as an au pair while going to night school. During the Blitz she left England in a convoy that landed in New York City. In New York Edith attended lectures and dance performances at Cooper Union and studied painting and printmaking at the Art Students League. She also studied art history, music and poetry at the New School for Social Research.
Her friend, Heinz Langerhans, German sociologist and follower of Marxist theoretician Karl Korsch, introduced her to Anne and Fairfield Porter. In 1944, Porter introduced Edith to Elaine and Willem de Kooning, and soon after she moved into a West 21st Street Chelsea loft that de Kooning had painted for Walter and Ellen "Pit" Auberbach.
In 1962, Edith and Rudy Burckhardt separated, at which point Edith and her young son Jacob moved to Rome. In Italy she painted and supported herself with her writing; she was the Italian art editor for the International Herald Tribune for nearly 20 years and wrote forWanted in Rome. During this time, Edith became friends with artists Cy Twombly (with whom she had an exhibition), Giulio Turcato, Paul Klerr and Peter Rockwell. She was also a longtime partner and lifelong friend of composer/performer/teacher Alvin Curran, with whom she often collaborated. Edith continued to work and paint up until she died in 2011 at the age of 92.
Edith very quickly became a part of the de Kooning/Denby Chelsea scene that included photographer/filmmaker/painter Rudy Burckhardt and the Jane Street Group around Nell Blaine. In 1947, she and Burckhardt married. Edith was "known for knowing everyone who counted in Manhattan's legendary postwar art scene" (New York Sun, 2008) and she, Burckhardt and Denby were vital components of the New York School and the loft scene of that era.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
- Terms of access:
-
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
- Preferred citation:
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Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Edith Schloss Burckhardt Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
- Contact:
- rbml@library.columbia.edu