Francis J. Geck papers
1923-2001
- Collection Overview
- Organization and Arrangement
- Administrative Information
- Related Materials
- Keywords for Searching Related Subjects
- Collection Inventory
- Series I. Biographical materials
- Series II. Correspondence
- Series III. Paris Ateliers tour files
- Series IV. Printed materials and publications
- Series V. Revision of Interior Decoration: Its Principles and Practice
- Series VI. Sketches and renderings
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Guide to the Francis J. Geck papers
Collection Overview
- Repository
- Kellen Design Archives
- Creator
- Geck, Francis J., 1900-
- Title
- Francis J. Geck papers, 1923-2001
- Extent
- 3.5 linear ft: 4 boxes, 2 oversize folders
- Summary
- Francis Geck (1900-2005) graduated from the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons The New School for Design) in 1924 and taught interior design at the school's Paris Ateliers until 1927. Following a professional career in his native Detroit, Geck became a professor of Fine Arts at University of Colorado, where he taught for 39 years. The papers contain correspondence with Parsons administrators, including Frank Alvah Parsons, design renderings and student work, publications, and course-related materials.
Organization and Arrangement
- Biographical materials, 1998
- Correspondence, 1924-1971
- Paris Ateliers tour files, 1925-1927
- Printed materials and publications, 1933-2001
- Revision of Interior Decoration, 1955-1957
- Sketches and renderings, circa 1923-1937
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Kellen Design Archives 2009
66 5th Ave./lobby level/
New York, NY, 10011
212.229.5942
archivist@newschool.edu
Use Restrictions
To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the Kellen Design Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.
Related Materials
Related materials may be found in the Kellen Design Archives’ Parsons School of Design Alumni Association records, 1920-1970 (PIC.03.002). These include 56 snapshots taken by Geck during his teaching career with the New York School of Fine and Applied Art’s Paris Ateliers, donated by Geck to the Alumni Association. The Alumni Association records also contain a biographical file on Geck.
Measured drawings created by students at the Paris Ateliers may be found in the Academic departments, programs, and schools collection (PIC.02.001), Parsons Paris series, Student work subseries. These items include original drawings reproduced in Geck's publications. Materials stored offsite.
Francis J. Geck's bibliographies of Italian art may be found in the Gimbel Library, Parsons The New School for Design.
The University of Colorado at Boulder holds a related collection of materials documenting Francis J. Geck’s teaching career and that of Evelyn Marie Sturdyvin Geck, his wife. From A Guide to Manuscript Collections, Seventh Edition, 2008. University of Colorado at Boulder, University Libraries, Archives. Accessed July 17, 2009 at http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/archives/guides/manuscript2008.pdf
Materials relating to Francis J. Geck's involvement in Boulder-based civic and cultural organizations are held by the Boulder Public Library's Carnegie Branch Library for Public History.
Furniture and architectural renderings created by Francis J. Geck during his professional career are held by the Detroit Historical Society.
Keywords for Searching Related Subjects
Corporate Name(s)
- New York School of Fine and Applied Art.
- Paris Ateliers. Interior Architecture and Decoration Dept.
- Paris Ateliers. Italian School.
Genre(s)
- Correspondence.
- Maps.
- Measured drawings.
- Publications.
- Renderings.
- Sketches.
- Student projects.
Personal Name(s)
- Parsons, Frank Alvah, 1868-1930
Subject(s)
- Costume design.
- Interior decoration -- Study and teaching -- France -- 20th century.
- Interior decoration -- Study and teaching -- New York (State) -- New York -- 20th century.
Collection Inventory
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Series I. Biographical materials 1991 | 1 | 1 | ||
|
Series II. Correspondence 1924-1971
Correspondence primarily contains letters Geck received during and immediately following his employment as an instructor and tour director for the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. Geck's primary correspondents were school administrators in Paris and New York, including Frank Alvah Parsons. Also included in this series are faculty memoranda, some by Parsons, with Geck’s notations. These records provide documentation of Parsons' pedagogical philosophies and his governance of the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. |
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| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| General | 1 | 2 | ||
| New York School of Fine and Applied Art faculty memoranda | 1 | 3 | ||
| Paris Ateliers | 1 | 4 | ||
| Frank Alvah Parsons | 1 | 5 | ||
| Parsons School of Design Alumni Association | 1 | 6 | ||
|
Series III. Paris Ateliers tour files 1925-1927
Tour files include materials Geck used in planning his research tours for New York School of Fine and Applied Art students. Files contain class rosters, correspondence with tour guides and hoteliers, lecture notes, itineraries, expense records, teaching plans, and ephemera - such as railway schedules, maps, and brochures. Arrangement is alphabetical by location. |
||||
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| English School | 1 | 7 | ||
| France | 1 | 8 | ||
| France: Photograph and ephemera | 1 | 9 | ||
| Italian School | 1 | 10-11 | ||
|
Series IV. Printed materials and publications 1933-2001
Primarily consists of self-published books documenting Geck's work in a number of art and design disciplines. The books include reproductions of renderings with prefatory notes explaining the context in which they were created. Renderings created during Geck’s studies and instructorship at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art will be found in the Sketches and Renderings series, while renderings executed during earlier and later periods have been donated to other archival repositories (SEE Related collections note). In addition to Geck's own renderings, this series includes four books containing reproductions of measured drawings by his students. Arrangement is alphabetical by publication title. |
||||
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Anne Was His Name [book jacket only] | 1 | 12 | ||
| Architectural Designs by Francis J. Geck | 1 | 13 | ||
| Costume Designs of Francis J. Geck | 1 | 14 | ||
| "Dynamic Symmetry" | 1 | 15 | ||
| Fisher Offices Body by Fisher and Related Areas in the Fisher Building Detroit, MI | 1 | 16 | ||
| Frank Alvah Parsons booklets | 1 | 17 | ||
| French Interiors 18th Century Measured and Drawn by Students of the New York School of Fine and Applied Art 1925-1926 Contains two publications. | 1 | 18 | ||
| French Interiors 1985-1996 | ||||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Gothic Period | 1 | 19 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Period of Henry II | 1 | 20 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Period of Henry IV | 1 | 21 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Period of Louis XIII | 1 | 22 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Period of Louis XIV | 2 | 1 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Regency Period | 2 | 2 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Period of Louis XV | 2 | 3 | ||
| French Interiors and Furniture: The Period of Louis XVI | 2 | 4 | ||
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Furniture Designs of Francis J. Geck | 2 | 5 | ||
| Furniture Designs for the Lawrence P. Fisher Residence Now the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center | 2 | 6 | ||
| Interior Design and Decoration: An Outline | 2 | 7 | ||
| Interior Design and Decoration: An Outline | 2 | 8 | ||
| Interior Designs by Francis J. Geck | 2 | 9 | ||
| Italian Interiors 16th to 19th Century Measured and Drawn by Students of the New York School of Fine and Appled Art Florence 1925-1926 | 2 | 10 | ||
| Museum Exhibits by Francis J. Geck | 2 | 11 | ||
| Our Inherited ABCs from France: A Sampling | 3 | 1 | ||
| Paintings by Francis J. Geck | 3 | 2 | ||
| Stage Designs of Francis J. Geck | 3 | 3 | ||
| Yacht Interiors and Furniture for Walter G. Briggs Cambriona and Frederick J. Fisher Nakhoda | 3 | 4 | ||
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
|
Series V. Revision of
Interior Decoration: Its Principles and Practice
Includes correspondence from Parsons President Pierre Bedard soliciting Geck's editorial assistance and drafts of Geck's work on an updated edition of Frank Alvah Parsons' book of the same title. It is unclear if this revision was ever published. |
3 | 5 | ||
|
Series VI. Sketches and renderings circa 1923-1937
Consists primarily of work Geck created during his studies at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art and renderings from his years as an instructor for the school. Life drawing sketches appear to have been completed for a class Geck took during the spring 1923 semester, possibly under the instruction of Harry Baker. Watercolor renderings include costumes, furniture, textiles, interiors, and stage designs. Some renderings indicate Geck based them on items he saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History in New York, while others were created at historical sites he visited with students in Europe. Seven sketchbooks, organized geographically and then chronologically by Geck, contain measured drawings of interiors in England, France, and Italy. One oversize folder contains large pen and ink renderings of identified French and Italian interiors as well as two hand-drawn maps of Italy executed while Geck was teaching at University of Colorado at Boulder. Arrangement is alphabetical. |
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| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Life drawing sketches | 3 | 6 | ||
| Measured drawing sketchbooks, 1924-1926, undated | ||||
| English Interiors | 4 | 1 | ||
| Paris | 4 | 2-4 | ||
| Italian Research | 4 | 5 | ||
| Italy | 4 | 6 | ||
| Italian Research | 4 | 7 | ||
| Title | Box | Folder | ||
| Pen and ink renderings | k_OSxx-2 | 4 | ||
| Watercolor renderings circa 1923-27, undated | ||||
| Costume and stage design | 3 | 7 | ||
| Interior and furnishings | 3 | 8 | ||
| Oversized | k_OSx-2 | 2 | ||