An Inventory of His Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Corso, Gregory, 1930-2001
Title:
Gregory Corso Art Collection
Dates:
1950s-1970s
Extent:
126 items
Abstract:
The collection consists primarily of drawings by
Gregory Corso (American, 1930-2001), several of which are part of two bound sketchbooks.
Also included is a portrait of Corso by Raphael Soyer.
Call Number:
Art Collection AR-00044
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. Please note that a minimum of 24 hours notice is required to pull
Art
Collection materials to the Ransom Center's Reading and Viewing Room. Some materials
may be
restricted from viewing. To make an appointment or to reserve Art Collection materials,
please contact the Center's staff at art@hrc.utexas.edu. Researchers must create an
online
Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information
that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers
are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable
living
individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals
may have
legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy
may
arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be
deemed
highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University
of
Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use:
Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the
owner of
the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder
which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom
Centers' Open Access and Use Policies.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Gregory Corso Art Collection (AR-00044). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas
at
Austin.
For a brief biography of Corso, see the finding aid for the Gregory Corso Papers
(MS-00936).
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of two bound sketchbooks and loose pages that illustrate Corso's
poems or have known and unknown persons, places, or events as their subjects. Many
of the works reference
Greek mythology, spiritual or supernatural beings, or historical and contemporary
social and
political circumstances. The collection is divided into four series: Series I. Sketchbooks,
circa 1960s; Series II. Drawings for Earth Egg, circa 1974; Series III. Drawings,
circa
1950s-1960s; and Series IV. Works by Others, 1968. Series I. describes drawings within
two
sketchbooks, one of which is dedicated to London while Corso was visiting, likely
in 1961. The other,
dated January 1962 and dedicated to New York City, also contains a page of verse.
Series II. consists of original drawings that were published with accompanying verse
under
the title Earth Egg in 1974. The drawings are taped on
illustration board, some of which have measurements and other annotations for printing,
such as
guideline marks for the accordion folds in the final publication. Series III. describes
drawings on loose pages, including two self-portraits. Items listed with an additional
lowercase letter in the accession number appear to have been taken from the same paper
or
sketchbook pad, with a few pages still bearing a tenuous physical attachment to each
other.
Series IV. consists of one portrait of Corso and his second wife, Belle Carpenter,
by
Raphael Soyer (American, 1899-1987).
Text appearing within brackets are the cataloger's titles or descriptions.
Related Material
Letters and manuscripts by, to, and about Corso can be found in the Gregory Corso
Papers
(MS-00936) and the Gregory Corso Collection (MS-05295). A contact sheet of portraits
of
Corso can be found in the Gregory Corso Literary File Photography Collection (PH-02889).
