American Images

Stuart Davis

Untitled (Black and White Variation on Pochade)casein on canvas45 ⅜ by 56 ¼ in.&nbsp;115.3 by 142.9 cm.Executed circa 1956-58.

Untitled (Black and White Variation on Pochade)

Richard Prince

Cowboys No. 8

The Ray Sipherd Sesame Street Archive, 1969–1985 "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?" — SESAME STREET THEME&nbsp;&nbsp; A remarkable archive of Sesame Street's production dating from its earliest episodes, comprising:<ul><li>Hundreds of mimeographed typescripts, beginning in November of 1969, and running through December 1985, many with Ray Sipherd’s manuscript annotations</li><li>Mimeographed typescripts for test episodes that predate Episode 1</li><li>Manuscript notes related to rewrites and brainstorming sessions “The Sesame Street Writers’ Notebook,” which served as the show’s curriculum</li><li>Numerous daily production schedules</li><li>Lyric sheets</li><li>Guest lists</li><li>Bert and Ernie puppets, dating to the early days of Sesame Street </li><li>Ray Sipherd’s personalized, official “Production Staff” raincoat</li></ul> Detailed inventory available upon request. From its very first episode, Sesame Street captivated the imaginations of America’s children. Created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett in the late 1960s, the show aimed to not only entertain, but to educate. Sesame Street is now regarded as the largest—and least costly—early childhood intervention to ever be implemented in the United States. It is undoubtedly part of the American cultural fabric. Three-time Emmy Award-winner Raymond ("Ray") Duke Sipherd was one of the four original writers of Sesame Street, and he contributed to the show for 17 years. The present archive captures not only the highlights of Ray's career with Sesame Street, but also the origins and development of countless iconic characters, songs, and stories that have inspired children and adults alike in the nearly 60 years since the show's premiere. Sesame Street was founded upon tenets of developmental psychology in children, and in order to reach a diverse audience, it applied a research-based approach behind-the-scenes. The present archive contains not only the "Writers' Notebook," which outlined the writers' theories about effective youth education across socioeconomic backgrounds and long-term goals for the show, but also the scripts of the test episodes which aired before the first season premiered. Test audiences of children in Philadelphia and New York watched and responded to five episodes of the variety show in July 1969 before the show's official first episode on 10 November 1969—the script of which is also contained in the archive. Among the highlights of the archive is the pilot script, which introduces iconic characters like Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert and Ernie (who also appear in the archive as early puppets). There are song lyrics, from Ernie's Grammy-nominated signature song "Rubber Duckie," to Kermit's poignant ballad "Being Green," to the show's memorable theme song. The script for Episode 1439 introduces Elmo, the red puppet who developed from a non-speaking unnamed character to one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in the series; other scripts highlight guest stars like Carol Burnett, James Earl Jones, C-3PO and R2-D2, Stevie Wonder, and more. Throughout, Sipherd's annotations to scripts, lyric sheets, call sheets, and research documents illuminate the day-to-day development of the storylines and characters over the years. The nearly comprehensive archive provides a glimpse into the production of America's most iconic children's series, capturing the intersections of American television history, developmental psychology, socioeconomic policy, and childhood nostalgia.

The Ray Sipherd Sesame Street Archive, 1969–1985

The Bill Evans Archive, 1959–1982A collection of twenty-one original manuscript compositions for several of the jazz icon’s hits, spanning seven albums from 1959 to 1982 21 pages (approximately 8 x 11.5 in). Condition upon request. Jazz is a quintessentially American art form—a diverse creation born out of a diverse environment. Pulling in the musical traditions of African rhythms and syncopation, European harmonic structure, it was further strengthened by the lessons and doctrines of ragtime and blues. Jazz moved with people nearly as much as it moved them, with iterations and sub-genres populating across the nation from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast. This national sound birthed a cultural phenomenon, underscored literary and historical movements, and saw the creation of some of the best American musicians of all time.&nbsp; As one of the most important jazz pianists of his generation, Bill Evans cultivated and expanded the music tradition, moving beyond the hard bop tradition that defined the 1950s. Offering up a moodier sound enhanced by the ballad-driven and lyrical choices within his compositions, Evans' artistry would go on to inspire other jazz pianists such as Brad Mehldau, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock.&nbsp; The famed pianist began his long and storied relationship with the piano at age six, later adding the violin, piccolo, and flute. Much like Jazz’s early origins in New Orleans and later cultivation in New York City, it was only sixty miles north of the birthplace of Jazz and within the various iconic clubs of Manhattan that Evans would come to artistic maturity. It was under a flute scholarship rather than piano, that Evans studied at Southeastern Louisiana College, receiving a degree in music education in 1946. The late 40’s marked Evans’ first period of musical creation with his first known tune “Very Early”. After backing Billie Holiday in a brief tour making appearances across the nation, Evans received the draft and joined the U.S. Army where he played in the U.S. Fifth Army Band.&nbsp; Moving to New York in 1955, Evans met jazz composer George Russell, Lucy Reed, and Scott LeFaro—all formative figures within his life and collaborators within various stages of his career. Though struggling to make a name for himself amongst the roaring and reigning subgenres of Hard bop, murmurings of Evan’s innovative style began to make waves within the jazz scene and began to incite attraction from some of the genre’s top names.&nbsp; "Bill had this quiet fire that I loved on piano. The way he approached it, the sound he got was like crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall." — Miles Davis In early 1958, Miles Davis would call upon Russell to bring Evans for a performance with his band at the Colony Club. More than just a one-night feature, this performance was essentially an audition with&nbsp;Evans formally joining the Miles Davis Sextet soon after. With Evans on the piano, Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley as featured saxophonists Davis’ critically acclaimed album Kind of Blue was born. Despite its success, Evans would break off and begin to organize his own trio. It’s upon this departure and step into his own, that Evan’s original work begins to take shape.&nbsp; The present archive of original manuscript compositions offers a glance into highlights of Bill Evans's career in its formative moments—as a maturing bandleader, introspective composer, and Grammy-winning pianist. The archive includes compositions for:<ul><li>"Blues in F"</li><li>"34 Skidoo"</li><li>"Walking Up"</li><li>"Fudgsicle Built For Four"</li><li>"Loose Bloose"</li><li>"Fun Ride"</li><li>"There Came You"</li><li>"Funny Man"</li><li>"Time Remembered"</li><li>"A Simple Matter of Conviction"</li><li>"These Things Called Changes"</li><li>"Orbit (Unless It's You)"</li><li>"Prologue"</li><li>"One for Helen"</li><li>"Story Line"</li><li>"My Bells"</li><li>"Epilogue"</li></ul> Representing over seven albums released from 1959 to 1982, this archive reflects the pianist's detailed creative process in crafting his iconic original compositions. In its drafts, notes, and revisions, we see a composer innovating in his genre, refining a legacy that continues to influence jazz to this day.&nbsp; "Jazz is not a what, it is a how. If it were a what, it would be static, never growing. The how is that the music comes from the moment, it is spontaneous, it exists at the time it is created." — Bill Evans Detailed inventory upon request.

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Stuart Davis

Richard Prince