Lee Baxandall Papers
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Lee Baxandall Papers (dates 1888-2001, bulk 1965-1989) contain writings, research files, and correspondence related to the works of publisher and writer Lee Baxandall. Lee Baxandall was a literary critic, poet, and playwright who specialized in Marxism and aesthetics. Baxandall studied English and Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin—Madison where he became attracted to New Left scholarship, and later became an editor for the journal Studies on the Left from 1960-1967. His papers contain research files he compiled in the 1960s and 1970s on Marxist and leftist writers, artists, and intellectuals from the mid-19th to the early-20th century. The collection also contains manuscripts and correspondence related to Polish philosopher Stefan Morawski, who was a frequent collaborator of Baxandall's. Materials from a 2004 accretion largely relate to Baxandall's work after 1975 and contain an assortment of research files, as well as drafts, photographs, pamphlets, scripts and periodicals related to Baxandall's poetry, plays, and advocacy of naturism.
Historical Note
Lee Baxandall was a publisher and literary critic who specialized in Marxism and aesthetics. Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1935, he received an MA in English from the University of Wisconsin--Madison where he also pursued doctoral studies in comparative literature and wrote extensively on Marxist theatre, art, and literature. At the University of Wisconsin he became attracted to New Left scholarship, and later became an editor for the journal Studies on the Left from 1960-1967. Baxandall had a special interest in the works of German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht and translated many of his plays into English. He edited several anthologies on Marxism and literature, and published essays on art criticism in periodicals including: The Nation, Partisan Review, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, and the New York Times.
Throughout his publishing career, Baxandall worked closely with Polish philosopher Stefan Morawski. He translated several of Morawski's works on aesthetics into English for publication in the United States. In 1973 Baxandall and Morawski co-edited the anthology Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on Art and Literature, which they later republished in 1974 for the series Documents on Marxist Aesthetics (DOMA). Baxandall and Morawski worked together for several years to produce an additional 11 volumes in the series, but it appears that they were never completed.
Baxandall lived in New York City throughout much of the 1960s, but returned to his home in Oshkosh following the death of his father in 1970. Baxandall ran the publishing company Green Mountain Editions, which produced issues of the periodical Green Mountain Quarterly between 1975 and 1977. Baxandall was also a proponent of naturism and the Free Beach movement. He was the founder of the Naturist Society in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and wrote a popular guide to nude beaches in 1986. He died in Oshkosh in 2008.
Arrangement
The Lee Baxandall Papers are divided into three series.
Series I: Research Files contain of two sets of research files that are arranged in alphabetical order by name or topic.
Series II: Translations and Lee Baxandall Publications are contained in rough groupings by publication title or record type.
Materials in Series III: 2004 Accretion are the least well arranged and are contained in rough groupings based on record type and topic. In many cases these grouping are broken-up across several boxes and contain materials related to files in Series I and Series II.
Scope and Content Note
The Lee Baxandall Papers (dates 1888-2001, bulk 1965-1989) contain writings, research files, and correspondence related to the works of leftist literary critic Lee Baxandall. Research files in this collection focus predominantly on Marxist scholars and intellectuals, with the most intensive research on the works of Brecht. These files were compiled in the 1960s and 1970s and largely consist of Baxandall's notes and copies of theoretical works by a variety of mid-19th and early-20th century artists and intellectuals. A small portion of these files more specifically address topics related to early-American socialist theater.
The collection also contains drafts of Baxandall's writings and translations of works by Marxist intellectuals. The majority of his translations relate to the writings of Polish philosopher Stefan Morawski, and include extensive correspondence between the two. Materials related to Baxandall's writings also include translation of the works of Wilhelm Reich, and correspondence with publishers and colleagues regarding his various projects.
A second donation of Baxandall's papers received in 2004 includes additional research files, drafts, notes, correspondence, and newspaper clippings related to Baxandall's work in literary criticism. A substantial amount of these materials consist of additional correspondence and drafts related to Baxandall's work with Stefan Morawski. These materials are largely dated after 1975, and reflect both the personal and professional relationship between Baxandall and Morawski. There are also drafts of Baxandall's plays and poetry, which include copies of scripts, photographs, flyers, and published works. Baxandall's best represented plays are Potsy and Claws of the Eagle, Claws of the Jaguar. Additionally, the collection contains periodicals, essays, and ephemera related to Baxandall's interest in the politics of sexual expression and his advocacy of naturism. It also includes correspondence and publications produced by the small press Green Mountain Editions in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (and related rights to publicity and privacy) to materials in this collection created by Lee Baxandall was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Lee Baxandall Papers; TAM 151; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were donated by Lee Baxandall in 1975 and 2004. One folder of correspondence between Lee Baxandall and publishers, which was found in the repository, was added to the collection in 2014. One folder of materials related to the small press Green Mountain Editions was found in repository and added to the collection in 2016. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 1998.012, 2004.037, 2014.083, and 2016.068.
In 2025, materials from accession 2019.056, which is associated with Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Subjects (PE 029), were transferred to this collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection was received in two accretions in 1975 and 2004. Boxes from the 2004 accretion were initially established as a separate collection, Lee Baxandall Addendum (TAM 151.1). They were incorporated into the Lee Baxandall Papers in 2016 as Series III: 2004 Accretion. Additionally, there are several materials in Series I and Series II that are dated after the initial 1975 donation. These materials were possibly added to the collection prior to the donation of the 2004 addendum, however, there is no documentation to indicate when they were received. One folder of publication correspondence from the 1980s, which was found in the repository in 2014, was added to Series III.
This collection was minimally processed in 2016, at which time the collection was divided into three series, a box-level inventory was created, and materials were rehoused into archival folders. Materials in the collection were not arranged at this time. Series I: Research Files is arranged alphabetically by subject name. This arrangement was established prior to the 2016 processing, and it is unclear whether this arrangement was established by the creator or by the library upon receipt of the collection.
Rehousing of materials resulted in changes to the extent of the collection, and the contents of boxes were combined. Additionally, Series III: 2004 Accretion contained several hanging files. The hanging files were removed, and their contents were placed together in archival folders to maintain the original groupings. Duplicate copies of publications and brochures were removed.
In December 2016, one folder of correspondence, articles, and notes related to the small press Green Mountain Editions was added to Series III: 2004 Accretion in box 52.
In March 2025, one folder of writings by Baxendall was found in repository as part of accession 2019.056. It was added to the end of the Series III: 2004 Accretion in Shared Tamiment Box 193.
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series I: Research Files, 1888-1976, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Content Note
This series consists of two sets of Lee Baxandall's research files. The first set of files make up the bulk of the series and focus on the works of Marxist scholars and artists. The files were compiled in the 1960s and 1970s and include Baxandall's typed and handwritten notes, scholarly articles, correspondence related to research inquiries, short draft segments, and copies of plays and essays by 19th and 20th century intellectuals. These files also contain a small amount material produced in the 1930s and 1940s including pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and collected correspondence related to Baxandall's research subjects. The largest portion of these files relate to Baxandall's research on playwright Bertolt Brecht.
The second set of research files relate more specifically to early-American socialist theater, art, and literature. These files largely consist of Baxandall's handwritten and typed notes on individuals and venues that championed Socialist theater in the early-20th century. Among these materials are several files on the works of painter Robert Koehler, with a particular focus on his oil painting "The Strike." These materials include correspondence with museums and owners of the artist's paintings, and relate to Baxandall's efforts to purchase and publicize Koehler's works. They also include an original 1888 letter to Koehler from painter James McNeil Whistler.
Notecards in this series contain abstracts on topics and individuals featured in Baxandall's research.
Aaron, Daniel - Behan, Dominic, 1948-1976, inclusive
Bentley, Eric - Brecht Society, 1962-1975, inclusive
Brecht, 1959-1964, inclusive
Brecht, 1949-1976, inclusive
Brecht, 1959-1973, inclusive
Brecht: The Mother - China, 1946-1974, inclusive
China - Cuba: Cultural Congress, 1960-1971, inclusive
Cuban Arts: Variety - Douglas, Emory, 1947-1976, inclusive
Dreiser, Theodore - Folsom, Michael B., 1946-1975, inclusive
Folsom, Michael B. - Gorelik, M., 1946-1973, inclusive
Gorky, Maxim - Hughes, Langston, 1935-1975, inclusive
Humboldt, Charles - Laxness, Hallador, 1945-1974, inclusive
League of American Writers - Margolies, David, 1933-1974, inclusive
Margiategui, J.C - New Art Examiner (Chicago), 1933-1976, inclusive
New German Critique - Portuondo, Jose Antonio, 1948-1976, inclusive
Potamkin, Harry Alan - Samson, Leon, 1949-1975, inclusive
San Juan, Epifanio - Stone, Joan, 1964-1978, inclusive
Stevenson, Philip - Vietnam, 1957-1975, inclusive
Vygotskii, L.S. - Zipes, Jack, 1936-1974, inclusive
Koehler "The Strike", 1888-1971, inclusive
Early-American Socialist Art and Theater, 1970-1973, inclusive
Art and Socialism: Notecards, undated
Art and Socialism: Notecards, undated
Art and Socialism: Notecards, undated
Series II: Translations and Lee Baxandall Publications, 1962-1976, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Content Note
This series contains drafts and correspondence regarding Baxandall's translations of Marxist scholarship and his work in Marxism literary criticism. The bulk of the translations in this series contain works on Marxist aesthetics by Stefan Morawski. Materials related to Baxandall's collaborations with Morawski also include extensive correspondence with the Polish philosopher. Additionally the series contains translations and research on the works of Wilhelm Reich and some additional correspondence related to Baxandall's writings and publishing career. This correspondence is mixed with an assortment of clippings and ephemera more generally related to radical theater from the 1970s.
Stefan Morawski: Marx and Engels, 1968-1970, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: "What is a Work of Art?", 1971-1972, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: "Artistic Value", 1966-1971, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: "The Criteria of Aesthetic Evaluation", 1968-1972, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: "Expression", 1972-1974, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: Mimesis/Realism, 1969-1970, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: L'Absolu et la Forme, circa 1970s, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: "Inquiries into the Fundamentals of Aesthetics", circa 1974, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: "I Presupposti Filosofica di Karl Liebknecht", 1973, inclusive
Stefan Morawski letters to Lee Baxandall, 1962-1973, inclusive
Wilhelm Reich: Sex-Pol, 1970-1974, inclusive
Correspondence Regarding Baxandall Publications, 1975-1976, inclusive
Stefan Morawski: Inquiries into the Fundamentals of Aesthetics, 1972-1973, inclusive
Clippings and Ephemera: Art and Radicalism, 1970-1975, inclusive
Series III: 2004 Accretion, 1950-2001, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Content Note
This series contains the remainder of Lee Baxandall's papers, which were donated to Tamiment Library in 2004. These materials contain an assortment of research files, drafts, notes, correspondence, and newspaper clippings related to Baxandall's writings. Writings in this series relate to Baxandall's work in literary criticism and include drafts of articles, essays, lectures. The series contains additional materials related to his collaborations with Stefan Morawski. The bulk of these materials relate to the anthology Marx and Engels on Art and Literature, which they co-edited together. These materials consist of drafts and correspondence regarding the licensing and the publication of a follow-up edition for the Documents in Marxist Aesthetics (DOMA) series. Drafts and research for subsequent volumes in the DOMA series are also included among these materials, but it appears that the later volumes were never completed.
The series includes drafts of Baxandall's plays and theatrical sketches from the 1960s and 1970s. These materials contain a number of short sketches, drafts, production materials, and documents related to stage royalties of his plays. Materials related to these plays include flyers, scripts, correspondence, and photographs of stage productions. The plays that are most well represented are Potsy and the Claws of the Eagle, Claws of the Jaguar.
Clippings and ephemera in this series consist of an assortment of newspaper articles, playbills, pamphlets, and flyers on radicalism in theater and the arts. Scattered throughout these materials is a small amount of Baxandall's correspondence, most of which is related to art criticism and written from his office at Green Mountain Editions, where he worked as a publisher in the 1970s. This series also contains several folders of personal correspondence between 1963 and 1978.
The series contains several partial alphabetical runs of research and writing files. These grouping may be incomplete, and may not correlate to other alphabetical runs elsewhere in the series.
