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Algesa O'Sickey papers

Special Collections and Archives

Algesa O'Sickey papers

Special Collections and Archives

Algesa O'Sickey papers

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.


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