Aspects of the Archive

The Remisoff Archive includes more than 400 original works, consisting of full-size watercolor drawings, some black and white drawings, and numerous oil paintings. The earliest dated drawing is from 1921. The archive covers all aspects of Remisoff's career and shows in detail his strengths as a set designer, costumer, muralist,

portrait painter, professional designer, caricaturist, and illustrator. There are also several files of correspondence and photographs related to Remisoff's professional commissions for salons and movies. In addition, there are three personal scrapbooks that contain numerous original photographs (many of them studio shots), newspaper clippings, and printed ephemera. Looked at in its entirety, the archive provides both a detailed record of Remisoff's career and an important, if incomplete, personal record of his life.

I. In Russia before the Revolution

Remisoff achieved fame in Russia for his satirical views of Russian life as published in the Russian journals, Satiricon and Novy Satiricon, which were read throughout Europe. His archive contains clippings of hundreds of his early contributions to both magazines mounted in three journals, plus a comprehensive run of the rare Satiricon in original wrappers (essentially complete from 1908-11). (There is but one Union List location: the Library of Congress).

II. The Chauve-Souris

The Remisoff archive contains many original press clippings from Russia and Paris as well as rare programs concerning the Chauve-Souris. Most important, there are more than 75 original watercolor costume and set designs (some with fabric swatches) dating from the 1920s.

III. New York and Chicago

The archive contains a substantial amount of correspondence, photographs, and original articles concerning Remisoff's work for Elizabeth Arden, Adolph Bolm, Morris Gest (New York Century Roof Theater), and Ruth Page. Many original drawings are present, including those for Bolm's Tragedy of the Cello (1927), as well as original drawings for magazines and projects such as the Club Petrushka, the State Street lamp post gargoyles, catalog covers, and the Lake Forest Public Library murals.

IV. San Francisco and Los Angeles

The archive maintains a comprehensive record of Remisoff's years in California in the form of letters, reviews, and original articles. In addition to these materials are many original drawings and designs for Remisoff's various projects, such as: Inspector General, for which there are 21 drawings in the archive; Faust, with 22 original drawings; and The Firebird, including many drawings for sets and costumes. Remisoff produced considerable work in Hollywood, designing sets for 31 movies and 4 television series. The archive provides original drawings and photographs for some of these productions, including Of Mice and Men (a 1939 movie with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr.); Guest in the House (a 1944 movie with Anne Baxter and Ralph Bellamy); The Red Pony (a 1947 movie with Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum); and Ocean's Eleven (a 1960 movie with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.). In addition, there are many unidentified drawings related to Remisoff's movie and television career.

Contents List

The content of the archive is sorted according to project: mural designs, set designs, etc. Those works that can be readily identified are grouped together; miscellaneous items are stored with others of like size and medium. Most of the collection is in good condition, though a few items and the older drawings are more deteriorated. Not surprisingly, the newspaper clippings are quite embrittled.

Box					     Folder		Contents

1  Large paintings						mural  designs (23)
								self-portraits (10)
								other portraits (24)

2  Theatrical/film production			1		Tragedy of the Cello
						2		Firebird
						3		American in Paris
						4		Fair at Sorochinsk
						5		Ocean's Eleven
						6		The Red Pony
						7		Of Mice and Men

3  Set/costume designs						Faust 
								Guest in the House
								Inspector General

4  Misc. large art						landscapes (24)
						1		large cartoons
						2-4		color sketches

5  Misc. large set/costume			1		costume designs
								50+ set designs


6  Southwestern scenes						6 series of lithographs
								pastel and ink drawings

7  Elizabeth Arden				1		original salon designs
						2		photos of salons
						3		correspondence

8  Personal collection				1		advertisement clippings
						2		collected prints of other artists
								album of press clippings

9  Personal scrapbook						hardbound album

10 Satiricon clippings in 3 paperbound volumes, 1908-13

11 Original Satiricon, essentially complete, 1908-1911

12 Drawings for publications			1		Kennedy/Nixon
						2		B&W illustrations
						3		small cartoons
						4		Vanity Fair watercolors
						5		Vanity Fair drawings
						6		caricatures
						7		illustrations - Chekhov's 
								The Actor

13 Personal items						hardbound scrapbook
								oval framed portrait

14 Production memorabilia			1		Inspector General program
						2		Faust set photos
						3		Guest in the House 
								set photos
						4		Faust publicity clippings
						5		Faust interview

15 Costume designs on paperboard with fabric swatches, 35+

16 Photos						1		personal
						2		Red Pony movie stills
						3		Club Petrushka
						4		murals/artwork
						5		interior designs
						6-7		stage designs

17 Misc. printed material			1		correspondence
						2-6		articles/reviews
						7		biographies/death 
								certificate
						8		Ruth Page articles
						9		Russian documents
						10		Hollywood documents
						11		programs and ads 
						12		contract for Moon is Blue
						13		lists of ballet designs
						14		price list--paintings
						15		filmography

18 Small art works				1		misc. set designs
						2		misc. costume designs 
								easel paintings (21)
								1 small sketchbook