RETRACE THE RETROSPECTIVE

Duesberry, Joellyn (1944–2016)

[Original Manuscript Archive] Joellyn Duesberry Association Archive: The Maley Correspondence & Denver Exhibition Program 1991–1992

Denver & Martha's Vineyard: 1991–1992. 
Original Manuscript and Ephemera.

THE PAINTER BETWEEN TWO WORLDS — WHEN THE CANVASES GREW LARGER
This unique association archive captures Joellyn Duesberry at a defining moment in her career, documenting her transition to the monumental 'monster canvases' that became a hallmark of her mature work while simultaneously preparing for a major museum retrospective. 

Anchored by an autograph letter to sculptor Tom Maley discussing a planned working residency in Chilmark and paired with the exhibition program from her landmark Denver Art Museum retrospective, the archive preserves both the private working artist and the public success story.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
+++ Visuals: The museum program is illustrated with black-and-white figures documenting landscape work. 
+++ Imprint: Denver Art Museum / Joellyn Duesberry letterhead; 1991–1992. 
+++ Specs: 17 by 9 inch museum program folded to four pages; Two-page ALS on personal stationery; 4.25 by 5.5 inches. 
+++ Limitation & Signatures: Autograph Note Signed ('Joly D.') to 'Tom M.' [Tom Maley], dated 11/20/91.

CONDITION:
+++ THE MANUSCRIPTS: The autograph letter is in fine condition, crisp and clean with original mailing folds.
+++ THE EPHEMERA: The 17 x 9 inch program is well-preserved with sharp folds and minimal handling evidence.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES:
+++ Design & Methodology: The letter provides a high-level technical account of Duesberry’s 'plein air' ambitions, specifically her move toward 'monster canvases' and the logistics of painting in a 'rural setting near Chilmark' to maintain creative privacy. 
+++ Scholarship: Documents the intersection of Duesberry's private studio practice with her public institutional validation at the Denver Art Museum. 
+++ Contextual Analysis: Captures the artist at a career zenith, successfully balancing simultaneous exhibitions in New York, Santa Fe, and Denver while negotiating the peer support network of the Martha's Vineyard art colony.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — THE PRIVATE STORY BEHIND A PUBLIC RETROSPECTIVE
By the early 1990s, Joellyn Duesberry had emerged as one of America's leading contemporary representational painters. This archive captures the intersection of her private working life and growing institutional recognition, preserving both the candid correspondence of a working artist and the public documentation of a landmark museum retrospective.

SUBJECTS: American Landscape Painting, Martha's Vineyard Art, Denver Art Museum, Plein Air Movement, Tom Maley, Women Artists, Association Copy, Original Manuscript, Ephemera.

TRANSCRIPTION—
Date: 11/20/91
+++ Letterhead: Joellyn T. Duesberry +++

Dear Tom M.:
I would have loved February on the Vineyard, but just can't this year because of commissions, work with a master printer, the Denver Museum show plans for '93, etc.
But your kind invitation leads me to ask if there is any time in early autumn that I might actually rent from you for two weeks' worth of work there? Don't I remember you're in a rural setting near Chilmark? How I would love to paint the island again and avoid tourists' curiosity when I set up one of my monster canvases.
I'd love to know if any of this is possible from Labor Day on, so I can start carving out the time around a show opening Sept. 18 in Santa Fe.
The show at Graham brings me to NYC Dec. 5-10 because it has successfully yielded me commissions! I'm so happy with the response to this, my strongest show ever.
Thanks for your kind interest—
Joly D.

Item #21977

Price: $85.00