ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

PAUL E. BARR PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #32

DATES: 1928-1955

SIZE: 2.75 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Paul E. Barr Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection. The acquisition records are unavailable.

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Paul Everett Barr was born in Tipton County, Indiana, on November 25, 1892. Barr's first exhibit was in the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, he was only 11 years old. Barr grew up on an Indiana farm until he graduated from Tipton High School in 1911. He attended eight colleges and universities, receiving his A. B. and M. A. degrees, and (from the University of Paris) a Brevet de Histoire del"Art et Archeologie. He studied at the Sorbonne under a foreign scholarship from the Institute of International Education. He married the former Margaret Libby (daughter of Orin G. Libby) on June 8, 1932. Barr was the first artist to paint extensively in the North Dakota Badlands. This appealed to him strongly because of its grandeur and majesty. He also traveled extensively both in American and abroad, and painted everywhere he went.

His work was displayed throughout the country, including Grand Forks, Chicago, Miami, Washington D.C., New York City, "Rockefeller Center," Kansas City, and West Palm Beach, Florida. For nine years Barr was state chairman for American Art Week. During that time, North Dakota received two National Awards, and several names of artists in the state were added to the Honor Roll of the American Artists Professional League. Barr received this citation of Honor in 1947. Barr also headed the Art Department at the University of North Dakota from 1928 until his death on December 22, 1953. He was in a Grand Forks hospital due to a stroke he suffered on December 14. Before his death, he researched the history of artists in the state for a book entitled North Dakota Artists. The book was published posthumously in 1954.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Paul E. Barr Papers consist of correspondence, notes, articles, proofs of a proposed book, scrapbooks, and pamphlets related to the history of art in North Dakota and the United States. The materials date from 1928-1955. 77 photographs were separated and added to the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection. Most of the photographs were for use in Paul Barr's book North Dakota Artists (1954).

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. General correspondence, 1928-1955
2. Art and war: poetry, notes, editorials and newspaper and magazine articles
3. Federal Emergency Relief Administration
4. Delta Phi Delta Art Fraternity
5. Levan West (Ivan Dmitri), Einar Olstad, and Ted Cornell: biographies, magazine and newspaper clippings
6. Magazine articles - North Dakota artists and their work
7. Newspaper clippings
8. "Art in North Dakota," first draft of proposed book by Paul E. Barr
9. North Dakota Artists: first draft
10. North Dakota Artists: first draft
11. North Dakota Artists: research material
12. North Dakota Artists: drawing and pictures.
13. American Art Week in North Dakota: 1947
14. American Art Week in North Dakota: awards, clippings and miscellaneous.
15. American Art Week in North Dakota: 1941-1952, correspondence, bulletins, awards, exhibits, and reports
16. American Art Week in North Dakota: 1941-1952, correspondence, bulletins, awards, exhibits, and reports
17. Hoosier Solon Shows at UND: 1931-1935, correspondence, annual reports, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous
18. Hoosier Solon Shows at UND: 1931-1935, correspondence, annual reports, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous
19. Art in North Dakota and the United States: pamphlets and books

Box 2

Scrapbook: "North Dakota," regarding American Art Week, 1948
Scrapbook:Untitled, regarding American Art Week, 1950
Scrapbook:No cover, primarily newspaper clippings regarding North Dakota artists

SEPARATIONS RECORD

77 photographs were separated and added to the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection. Most of the photographs were for use in Paul Barr's book North Dakota Artists (1954).

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