Algesa O'Sickey papers

Finding Aid

Prepared by Maggie Castellani, February 15,1994; Revised September 2019; Last Updated: July 2020

Inclusive Dates: 1946-1995
Extent: 2 cubic feet (1 record storage box; 1 half-size record storage box; 1 flip-top box)
Physical Location: 11th floor; oversized materials are filed in the oversized map case

Biographical Note: Cleveland artist, Algesa O'Sickey created costume designs made for the 1977 production of "Taming of the Shrew" for the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival (GLSF). The designs follow two basic color schemes: earth tones (orange, browns, greens) for the prologue, and bright tones for the five acts of the play. The director's idea for the costumes was more towards a commedia dell'arte style, thus keeping with the Paduan style and the boisterous behavior of the play's characters. Ms. O'Sickey approached her designs with her own ideas of potraying the active characters: costumes that are free and loose conveying the "richness of color, texture and juxtaposition of patterns", and a faded, patched and wrinkled look due to the characters constantly packing their cloths and traveling. This was O'Sickey's first endeavor with costume design. Up to this point, the artist had been involved in other areas which included puppeteering, fashion illustration, interior design, softsculpting, and had acted as a gallery director. Also up to this point, her work had been seen at the Ross Widen Gallery, The Play house Gallery, Lake Erie College, Canton Art Institute, Butler Institute of American Art and Hiram College, among others, along with being a frequent May show exhibitor.

O'Sickey was also associated with the Ten-Thirty Gallery, once located at 1515 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, where she was the director from 1946-1949/50. The gallery was originated in 1944 by artist Wray Manning to assist his Cleveland colleagues and to boost morale for the artists and art on the area. The gallery was then managed by Manning's two daughters, Nancy and Mary. In 1946, the gallery was coined a civic non-profit institution (all along it had never been a money-making adventure) and Mrs. O'Sickey took over as director. Not only did the gallery exist as a central outlet for the exhibition and sales of young, unknown (and established) artist's work , but it existed also for the sake of the community. Artists and art-minded volunteers came together to incorporate their talents and skills at the gallery in order for the community to have exposure to contemporary art as a "more intimate, integral part of daily living." Per O'Sickey, "Through its day-after-day efforts, the gallery has helped to take art out of the lorgnette class, bringing to the average person an increasing awareness of good art, encouraging him to think of a painting as something not merely to view on a museum wall, but to buy and enjoy daily in his home." The gallery offered exhibitions, lectures and demonstrations, a social arena for artists and the public, an education program offering classes, an annual art festival, and sales of art publications(e.g., cards). The gallery closed in the early 1950's due to lack of funding as decided by its board of directors.

Scope and Content: Included in the collection are O'Sickey's constume designs for the Great Lakes production of Taming of the Shrew in 1977. Other items in the collection are: garment specifications written on xeroxed copies of the watercolor paintings; fabric swatches; a journal which states character settings, design ideas and fabric specifications; correspondence; notes on various design ideas and scheduled meetings; items from a GLSF Gallery Exhibit that displayed the watercolor painings; and, newspaper articles which are mainly reviews of the show. Also present are materials from the Ten-Thirty Gallery: membership and progress reports; exhibition announcements and catalogues; photographs of various artists (including the O'Sickeys) and those involved in the gallery's activities; newspaper clippings; and, art festival posters and related materials by Joseph O'Sickey.

One of the noted artists that was often highlighted at the gallery was Ohio-born artist William Sommer. He was highly respected and well known in the area and the gallery was very generous in their efforts to support the artist. There are exhibition catalogues of various shows of the artist ranging from the Ten-Thirty Gallery to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Also included are photographs and newspaper articles depicting the artist's work. Also present are files related to various artists befriended by the O'Sickeys--Leonard Baskin; Alex Katz (Blossom Kent Program); R. B. Kitaj (Blossom Kent Program); Roy Lichtenstein (Ten-Thirty Gallery); Otto Piene (Blossom Kent Program); Wayne Thiebaud (Blossom Kent Program); and Joseph Fiore ( Ten-Thirty Gallery). Included in these folders are mainly correspondence and photographs.

Arrangement: The collection is organized into the following two series.

• Series 1: Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, 1977 production of Taming of the Shrew
• Series 2: Ten-Thirty Gallery

Related Material: For additional materials related to Great Lakes theater, please consult the following collections held in Special Collections and Archives.

• Great Lakes Theater Festival records
• Arthur Lithgow papers
• Vincent Dowling papers

Acquisitions Note: Algesa O'Sickey donated the materials in this collection to Kent State University in 1992 and 1994.

Series 1: Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, 1977 production of Taming of the Shrew

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Adultress-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
2. Adultress-watercolor
3. Baptista-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
4. Baptista-watercolor
5. Bianca-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
6. Bianca-watercolor
7. Bianca Wedding Dress-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
8. Bianca Wedding Dress-watercolor
9. Biondello-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
10. Biondello-watercolor
11. Boy-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
12. Boy-watercolor
13. Curtis-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
14. Curtis-watercolor
15. Gremio-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
16. Gremio-watercolor
17. Grumio-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
18. Grumio-watercolor
19. Haberdasher-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
20. Haberdasher-watercolor
21. Haberdasher-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
22. Haberdasher-watercolor
23. Hortensio-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
24. Hortensio-watercolor
25. Hostess-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
26. Hostess-watercolors
27. Huntsman-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
28. Huntsman-watercolor
29. Kate's Party Dress-watercolor
30. Katherine-watercolor
31. Katherine Wedding-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
32. Katherine Wedding-watercolor
33. Katherine Wedding Dress-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
34. Katherine Wedding Dress-watercolor
35. Katherine Bedraggled-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
36. Katherine Bedraggled-watercolor
37. Little Girl-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
38. Little Girl-watercolor
39. A Lord-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
40. A Lord-watercolor
41. Lucentio as Teacher-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
42. Lucentio as Teacher-watercolor
43. Maidservants-watercolor
44. Musicians-watercolor
45. Nicholas & Peter-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
46. Nicholas & Peter-watercolor
47. Officer-watercolor
48. Page-watercolor
49. Pagent-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
50. Pagent-watercolor
51. Petruchio-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
52. Petruchio-watercolor
53. Petruchio Bedraggled-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
54. Petruchio Bedraggled-watercolor
55. Petruchio's House Servants-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
56. Petruchio's House Servants-watercolor
57. Players-watercolor
58. Players-watercolor
59. Sly-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
60. Sly-watercolor
61. Sly in Robe-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
62. Sly in Robe-watercolor
63. Tailor-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
64. Tailor-watercolor
65. Tranio as Lucentio-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
66. Tranio as Lucentio-watercolor
67. Vincencio-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
68. Vincencio-watercolor
69. Widow-Garment Specs./fabric swatches
70. Widow-watercolor
71. Miscellaneous watercolor
72. Journal
73. Correspondence
74. Notes/Schedules
75. GLSF Gallery Exhibit
76. Newspaper articles

Box 1A
Contents

1. Fabric Swatches

Series 2: Ten-Thirty Gallery

Box 2
Folder--Contents

1. Gallery Membership Program
2. Gallery Progress Report, 1946-47
3. Gallery Progress Report, 1947-48
4. Class Registration & mailer advertisement
5. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Richard Gosminski/ Eugene Berman; Feb 2-26
6. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, William Sommer/Poem by Hart Crane; Mar 18-Apr 20, 1946. (copy 1)
7. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, William Sommer/Poem by Hart Crane; Mar 18-Apr 20, 1946. (copy 2)
8. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Geno Pettit/Guy Maccoy/Serigraphs; Apr 22-May 11.
9. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Anne Eaton Dodge/ Downtown Gallery Group; June 8-July 2 (copy 1)
10. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Anne Eaton Dodge/ Downtown Gallery Group; June 8-July 2 (copy 2)
11. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Kenneth Marcus Hugh/Yasuo Kuniyoshi; July 8-30.
12. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, William Sommer/Henry P. Boynton; Sept 8-24.(copy 1)
13. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, William Sommer/Henry P. Boynton; Sept 8-24.(copy 2)
14. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Paintings & Pottery by Assorted Artists; October Exhibition. (copy 1)
15. Ten-Thirty Gallery Exhibition Announcements/Catalogues, Paintings & Pottery by Assorted Artists; October Exhibition. (copy 2)
16. Canton Art Institute presents Ohio Regional Artist Series: Algesa O'Sickey Soft Sculpture: January 14 to March 6, 1977
17. The Cleveland Museum of Art; The William Sommer Memorial Exhibition; Nov 1-Dec 10, 1950
18. Kraushaar Galleries, New York City; William Sommer; Jan 8-Feb 3, 1951.
19. John Carroll University; Cleveland Artists Series;William Sommer: Cleveland's Early Modern Master; 1992
20. Akron Art Museum Gallery Guide; The Art of William Sommer; Nov 6, 1993-Jan 9, 1994
21. Line Drawing by William Sommer; 1934. (reproduction).
22. Wiliam Sommer article, "For A Native Son" by Alice B. Loucheim, New York Times, Nov 5, 1950
23. The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art for December 1974.(reference to William Sommer pg. 366)
24. Wiliam Sommer article, "Portrait of an Artist at Home", by Nancy Payson Holt.
25. Photographs by Jerry Cooke, four (4) oversized photographs [shelved in oversized map case]
26. Photographs by Jerry Cooke, two (2) photographs
27. Photographs by Jerry Cooke, three (3) photographs
28. Photographs by Harry Ittner, three (3) photographs
29. Photographs by Harry Ittner, three (3) photographs
30. Photograph by Jerry Cooke and printed by George Karas, one (1) oversized photograph [shelved in oversized map case]
31. Photographs by Wallace Kirkland, eight (8) oversized photographs [shelved in oversized map case]
32. Photographs by John Paul Miller, ten (10) photographs
33. Photographs by John Paul Miller, one (1) negative and magazine reproduction
34. Photographs of Ten-Thirty Gallery, five (5) photographs
35. Photograph of Joseph O'Sickey, one (1) oversized photograph [shelved in oversized map case]
36. Photographs with William Sommer, five (5) photographs
37. Photograph of William Sommer and Algesa O'Sickey, one (1) oversized photograph [shelved in oversized map case]
38. Photograph of William Sommer, one (1) oversized photograph [shelved in oversized map case]
39. Negatives
40. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1943
41. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1946
42. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1947
43. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1948
44. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1949
45. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1950
46. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) 1952
47. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) undated
48. Newspaper clippings (photocopied) enlarged copies
49. Joseph O'Sickey Impression
50. Joseph O'Sickey Poster for an art exhibit; Art Festival Sept 20-Oct 2 (oversized copy 1)
51. Joseph O'Sickey Poster for an art exhibit; Art Festival Sept 20-Oct 2 (oversized copy 2)
52. Joseph O'Sickey Poster for an art exhibit; Festival of Art-Fashion Show Demonstrations Oct 6*7*8. (oversized, copy 1)
53. Joseph O'Sickey Poster for an art exhibit; Festival of Art-Fashion Show Demonstrations Oct 6*7*8. (oversized, copy 2)
54. Correspondence regarding International Poster Annual
55. Various artists' works
56. Signed Christmas note from Leonard Baskin
57. Photograph of Leonard Baskin at O'Sickey studio, Maine
58. Alex Katz announcement from Sloane/O'Sickey Gallery; "Recent Prints"; June 9-July 8 (1972)
59. Alex Katz exhibition catalogue featuring works from the collection of Paul J. Schupf
60. Alex Katz Newspaper clippings
61. R.B. Kitaj exhibition Catalogue- "Three Sets/In Our Time"; Marlborough New London Gallery
62. R.B. Kitaj magazine article
63. Five photographs of Kitaj (Kent Blossom Program)
64. Roy Lichtenstein autographed poster; Mi Chou Gallery
65. Lichtenstein corrspondence to the O'Sickey's
66. Otto Peine letter to Algesa
67. Otto Peine letter to Joseph
68. Otto Peine photographs from Kent Blossom Program
69. Otto Peine newspaper article; balloon art
70. Wayne Thiebaud, four reproductions on cards (two with correspondence to the O'Sickeys)
71. Wayne Thiebaud, correspondence to the O'Sickeys Feb 1970-Feb 1972
72. Wayne Thiebaud, photographs
73. Wayne Thiebaud, five photographs at the O'Sickey residence
74. Wayne Thiebaud, four Photographs with Kent Blossom students
75. Joseph Fiore, correspondence to the O'Sickey's with Black Mountain College Dossier, 1995