Martha's Vineyard Museum

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Biography/Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

Descriptive Summary

Repository	Martha's Vineyard MuseumGale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508)627-4441
Call Number	RU 464
Creator - creator	Hurwitz, Al
Title	Al Hurwitz sketches
Date	1941 or after
Extent	1 1/2 boxes + 2 oversize folders (0.325 cubic feet)
Language	The materials are in English.
Abstract	The collection contains sketches created by World War II combat artist Al Hurwitz, 1920-2012, which depict fellow soldiers and his wartime experience.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions to access.

Use and Reproduction Restrictions

Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to museum staff. Reproduction fees may apply.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Al Hurwitz, December 13, 2011. (Accession no. 2011.020)

Publication Information

Martha's Vineyard Museum

Gale Huntington Research Library
59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508)627-4441

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by Insley Julier February-March 2014, and machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick in July 2014.

 Creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Related Materials

Related Material

Al Hurwitz donated a number of his combat sketches to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in August 2011.

Separated Material

These materials were collected in conjunction with an oral history interview conducted by Linsey Lee, 2011, August 8. The oral history interview (ObjectID 2011.020.001) can be found with RU 468, the Linsey Lee Oral History Collection. Contact museum staff for more information.

Biography/Historical Note

Al Hurwitz was born in Maryland in 1920, the eldest of four brothers. He graduated from Westminster High School in 1938. Hurwitz became interested in art at an early age, attending classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art as a child. He enrolled first at Johns Hopkins University and later George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1942 and a Master of Arts in 1943. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hurwitz enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served with the 1st Marine Division, 1st Engineer Battalion as a combat artist. Hurwitz was stationed in the South Pacific, and saw action at Peleliu and the invasion of Okinawa, Japan. He was then posted in China and later honorably discharged as a sergeant in 1946.

With the help of the G. I. bill Hurwitz attended the Yale School of Drama, receiving a Master of Fine Arts. At Yale, Hurwitz met his wife Helen and they were married in 1950. Helen and Al Hurwitz had three children, Mark, Michael and Tamara. The couple eventually moved to New York City and Hurwitz worked as a producer of off-Broadway theater. When an opportunity arose in Florida, Hurwitz turned from theater to art education. He taught at the elementary, junior high and high school levels, ultimately becoming supervisor of art in the Miami-Dade County school system. He took another supervisory position at Newton, Massachusetts public schools and remained there until his retirement. While in Massachusetts, Hurwitz obtained a doctorate in Art Education from Pennsylvania State University. In 1984, he returned to Maryland and became the chair and graduate director of the art education program at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). The MICA Study Center for Art Education is named after Hurwitz.

During his lifetime, Hurwitz was the recipient of numerous awards and honors including; a Victor Lowenfeld Award (1989), a National Art Educator award (1995) and an Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), all from the National Art Education Association (NAEA), and a Mahmoud El-Bassiouny Award (1997) and Sir Herbert Read award (1981), both from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Society for Education through Art (InSEA). He served as president of National Art Education Association and International Society for Education through Art (1975-1978). In addition, Hurwitz was a prolific writer, producing ten books, including a classic in art education; Children and Their Art, co-authored with Michael Daly. Hurwitz was well-travelled and participated in international symposia and conferences. He lectured around the world, visiting local schools and art educators and often led drawing workshops for children abroad. Over the years, he amassed a collection of international student artwork, which he later donated to Pennsylvania State University. He retired to Chilmark, Massachusetts, spending winters in California with his daughter, Tamara Pullman. Al Hurwitz died in California in 2012.

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains 21 sketches on paper created by World War II combat artist Al Hurwitz. Hurwitz drew rapidly and later refined his combat scenes, sometimes adding color or wash. Many of the drawings in this collection are portraits of friends and fellow soldiers, depicted in profile and executed in pencil on 8 1/8 x 10 1/2 inch sheets. There are also images of groups of troops, local scenery in Asia, army buildings and scenes from a soldier's day off. The majority of the sketches are in pencil, however black pen and occasionally, black marker, blue pen, red pen, red pencil and other colors were also used.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically.