People:
- Judith Pearlman (archive creator)
Title:
Bauhaus in America fonds
Form:
archives
Level of archival description:
Fonds
Extent and medium:
Approximately 1706 photographic materials
141 audio recordings
119 moving images
101 ephemera
46 reprographic copies
25 serials
3 books
2 notebooks
2 maps
1.67 l.m. of textual records
Scope and content:
***The complete finding aid can be found here: https://cdm22041.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p22041coll8/id/5431/rec/18 ***
The Bauhaus in America fonds, circa 1930 – 2011, documents the research and production activities that went into producing the documentary film Bauhaus in America (1995) directed by Judith Pearlman. The fonds primarily consists of photographic materials used for research purposes. These materials were collected from numerous institutions, firms, and individuals in Germany and the United States. The fonds includes moving image and sound recordings of interviews with key students and members of the Bauhaus School including Anni Albers, Edward Larabee Barnes, James Ingo Freed, Bertrand Goldberg, Michael Graves, Helmut Jahn, Sidney Janis, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy Kepes, I.M. Pei, Stanley Tigerman, and Tom Wolfe. These recordings were used for research as well as compiled into the finished film. There are also audio recordings of the Bauhaus 50 years Symposium that took place at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1969. The fonds also includes correspondence, notes, publications, ephemera, film scripts, brochures, diary excerpts, newspapers, and catalogues used for research. Jayne Fargnoli was Judith Pearlman’s assistant during the research stages of the film and her name can be found in much of the correspondence. These materials illustrate some of the necessary components and activities that go into producing a documentary film with numerous interview subjects. Material in this fonds dates predominantly from 1965 – 1989. This fonds serves as a reference collection, providing an overview of the design and architecture students that were shaped by their time at the Bauhaus School.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements:
Original audiovisual materials require specialized equipment for playback and are not available for consultation.
Arrangement:
The material in this archive was arranged by the donor prior to arriving at the CCA. This original order was respected when arranging the fonds into four series: Series AP217.S1: Research on Bauhaus in the U.S. Series AP217.S2: Research on Bauhaus in Germany Series AP217.S3: Film production Series AP217.S4: Publishing activities
Administrative history:
Bauhaus in America is a 1995 documentary film directed and produced by Judith Pearlman. The directors of photography are Terry Hopkins and Mike Molloy. The Canadian Centre for Architecture is mentioned in the credits as assisting with picture and sound sync for the film. The film explores the impact that the Bauhaus Art School had on American architecture and design through interviews with former students. The Staatliches Bauhaus Art School was founded in Weimar, Germany on 1 April 1919 by Walter Gropius. Faculty members of the school included Gropius, Hannes Meyer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lyonel Feininger, Johannes Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Gerhard Marcks, László Moholy-Nagy, Georg Muche, and Oskar Schlemmer [1]. The school eventually moved to Dessau, Germany from 1925 – 1932 then Berlin, Germany from 1932 – 1933 [2]. The school closed in April 1933 with director at the time, Mies, emigrating to the United States. The film features contemporary interviews with former students of the Bauhaus School from around the time of when the Nazis closed the school in 1933 and the resulting influence the school had on American art and design. Individuals featured in the film include Anni Albers, Edward Larabee Barnes, James Ingo Freed, Betrand Goldberg, Michael Graves, Helmut Jahn, Sidney Janis, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy Kepes, I.M. Pei, Stanley Tigerman, and Tom Wolfe. Research for this documentary includes interviews with key members of the Bauhaus School. These interviews formed the basis of the documentary with the compiled research also serving the writing of an article for the New York Times in 1983. Cliofilm was founded in 1985 by Judith Pearlman to produce primarily documentary films with related print and web material. Judith Pearlman is a writer and producer based in New York City. Her other films include Harkness Ballet (1967), The Idea of North (1970), and Brats: Our Journey Home (2006). [1] Reissinger, E. (2000). Bauhaus Weimar: Designs for the Future., pg. 8 [2] Reissinger, E. (2000)., pg. 292
Conditions governing access:
- The CCA collection is open to everyone. We only ask that you reach out to us at ref@cca.qc.ca and make an appointment in advance so we have the time to properly prepare your resources. Audiovisual recordings must be digitized for access. Researchers may request access to audiovisual materials by contacting Reference.
Conditions governing reproduction:
- Authorization to quote or reproduce the audiovisual material in the collection requires written permission from the donor. For more information, please contact CCA at reproductions@cca.qc.ca.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer:
- Purchased from Judith Pearlman (representative of Cliofilm) on March 23rd, 1989 and June 9th, 2023.
Custodial history:
- In 1989, the audiovisual collection of Bauhaus in America was purchased by the CCA and the collection was housed in the library. In 2023, the CCA acquired textual and photographic records that complimented the AV collection. At this time, it was decided to transfer the initial accession into the archives. In both instances, the records had been kept at the residence of Judith Pearlman in New York City prior to their arrival at the CCA.
Archivist's note:
- The Bauhaus in America fonds was processed by Nina Patterson from 2025-2026. Prior to this, the majority of the audiovisual materials were assessed and described by Dylan Adamson in 2025 as part of the AV Digitization project. The collection that was transferred from the library was processed by CCA cataloguers between 1989 – 1991. Materials were processed to the file-level, with the exception of audiovisual materials which were processed at the item level.
Credit line:
When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation: Bauhaus in America, Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal. When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line.
General note:
- CONTENT WARNING: This fonds contains material that includes disturbing imagery of Nazis and crime-scenes. File-level descriptions of the records in the fonds contain more specific content warnings. Given the time periods that the research in this fonds covers, particularly WWII Germany, it is probable that further references to Nazi genocide and anti-Semitism are present. Please take care when consulting the fonds and finding aid.
