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Boris Blai Additional Personal and Family Papers

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Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
SCRC 23
Repository:
Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
Extent:
14.5 linear feet (17 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Boris Blai Additional Personal and Family Papers, SCRC 23, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Date:
1917-1994 (inclusive)
Creator:
Blai, Boris, 1893-1985
Form:
16mm, 35mm, Administrative records, Books, Clippings, Correspondence, Drawings, Exhibition catalogs, Manuscripts, Negatives, Objects, Photographs, Posters, Publications, Scrapbooks, and Speeches
Abstract:

Boris Blai, born in Russia in 1894, took after his father who was a famous artist and architect. As Blai showed great artistic ability, he was sent to study under Auguste Rodin. In 1918, after serving in World War I in the French army, he came to the United States and quickly made a name for himself. Though he first arrived in New York, he did not like it and he left for Philadelphia soon after. Due to his work with Rodin, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, asked Blai "to repair some Rodin sculpture." Through his friendship with R. Tait McKenzie, who he met while in the army, and his emerging work, Blai started getting invited to Philadelphia social parties. He became friendly with wealthy families such as the Wideners, the Wassermans, the Gimbels, and others. Through these contacts, he taught private lessons out of his home.

The Oak Lane Country Day School hired him as their director and faculty member in 1927. His work there inspired him to attempt to start a school where art was an integrated part of the curriculum, not just another class. One of his wealthy pupils, Stella Elkins Tyler, knew of his ambition, and donated her estate in Melrose Park, to be used for this purpose. In 1935, Blai founded and became the dean of the Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art, later a campus of Temple University. Blai always believed that everyone should use their hands as a creative outlet.

In 1943, Blai started giving art classes to soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J. He believed before most how important the creative outlet is, and used this technique to help heal soldiers who were having various mental disorders from being at war. He had great success with these students and the classes grew by the soldiers' request. In addition to being a faculty member and dean of Tyler and showing his own work internationally, in 1948, Blai founded the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences. This non-profit organization offers art classes and workshops for both children and adults in addition to exhibits of local and national artists.

Blai received many honors in his lifetime, according to him the most important one being the honorary degree (Doctor of Fine Arts) Florida Southern College bestowed upon him in 1950 along with Frank L. Wright. It was at this time that he and Wright became friends. In 1966, Blai founded the first graduate art school in New Jersey, The Boris Blai College of Contemporary Arts. Unfortunately, the college, located in Forked River, was not in existence long. Blai continued to teach and sculpt and show his work until he passed away in 1985.

This collection contains personal correspondence, a large amount of photographs of Blai's sculptures along with negatives, and additional personal papers, including correspondence with Frank Lloyd Wright.

The collection is arranged into 9 series as follows:

Series 1: Papers, 1924-1994, undated
Series 2: Publicity, 1933-1985, undated
Series 3: Publications, 1917-1989, undated
Series 4: Stella Elkins Tyler, 1936, undated
Series 5: Photographs, 1949-1975, undated
Series 6: Scrapbooks, undated
Series 7: Books, 1930-1955
Series 8: Reels, undated
Series 9: Oversize Materials, undated

Donated by Dr. Ruth Leventhal and Dr. Anita Simon, Boris Blai's stepdaughters, January 2009.

Collection processed and finding aid prepared in July 2010 by Holly Wilson. Finding aid revised according to contemporary archival standards in September 2017 by Katy Rawdon, Coordinator of Technical Services.

Boris Blai Personal Papers, SCRC 21, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

People
Organization
Subject
Place

Publisher
Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
Finding Aid Author
Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
Finding Aid Date
January 2024
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

The Boris Blai Additional Personal and Family Papers are the physical property of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Papers, includes correspondence with letters to and from Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition to a speech Bertha gave at a memorial, there is a folder filled with memories of Boris from friends and family that Bertha asked for. All of the Oak Lane Country Day School materials are also housed in Box 1. Box 2 consists of materials relating to the building of Beth Shalom, which Frank Lloyd Wright designed. Also included are papers for the insurance company that handled the loss of Blai's home in a 1962 hurricane in Harvey Cedars.

Correspondence (includes letters to and from Frank Lloyd Wright), 1924-1965.
Box 1 Folder 1
Correspondence, 1966-1994.
Box 1 Folder 2
Correspondence: Bertha Blai, undated.
Box 1 Folder 3
Correspondence: Tyler at Ft. Dix during WWII, undated.
Box 1 Folder 4
Boris and Bertha, undated.
Box 1 Folder 5
Receipts, undated.
Box 1 Folder 6
List of Property, undated.
Box 1 Folder 7
Mailing List, undated.
Box 1 Folder 8
Biography (includes an in-depth biography "Your Happiness Is In Your Hands: A Biography of a Sculptor-teacher" by Erma Perry), undated.
Box 1 Folder 9
History (includes a speech by Bertha Blai after Boris's death), undated.
Box 1 Folder 10
Boris: Medical Records, undated.
Box 1 Folder 11
Remembrances of Boris, undated.
Box 1 Folder 12
Oak Lane Country Day School, 1928-1933.
Box 1 Folder 13
Oak Lane Country Day School, 1934-1947.
Box 1 Folder 14
Oak Lane Country Day School, 1978-1989.
Box 1 Folder 15
Oak Lane Country Day School: Methods and Curriculum Papers, undated.
Box 1 Folder 16
Synagogue Beth Shalom: Correspondence, undated.
Box 2 Folder 1
Synagogue Beth Shalom: Publicity, undated.
Box 2 Folder 2
Synagogue Beth Shalom: Publications, undated.
Box 2 Folder 3
Synagogue Beth Shalom: Sketches, undated.
Box 2 Folder 4
Synagogue Beth Shalom: Notes/Quotes/Ideas, undated.
Box 2 Folder 5
Awards/Honors (New Jersey State Legislative Award in Extra Large Box 18-7) (Art Alliance Award photographs in Box 9-8 ), undated.
Box 2 Folder 6
Tyler Alumni, undated.
Box 2 Folder 7
Barnegat Lighthouse, undated.
Box 2 Folder 8
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, undated.
Box 2 Folder 9
Loveladies and Lighthouse, undated.
Box 2 Folder 10
Roman Bronze Works (company that Blai purchased his metal from), undated.
Box 2 Folder 11
"Evolution" (one of Blai's Sculptures), undated.
Box 2 Folder 12
Harvey Cedars (papers relating to the 1962 hurricane that destroyed his home), undated.
Box 2 Folder 13
Widener College, undated.
Box 2 Folder 14
Burlington College, undated.
Box 2 Folder 15
Boris Blai Memorial Loan Fund, undated.
Box 2 Folder 16
Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 2 Folder 17

Scope and Contents

Publicity, includes publicity related to Beth Shalom, Barnegat Lighthouse, LBI Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Lakeland and Tyler.

Beth Shalom, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Barnegat Lighthouse.
Box 3 Folder 1
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Lakeland and Ludd Spivey, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Tyler at Ft. Dix during WWII, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Tyler Articles, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1
Newspaper Clippings, 1933-1959.
Box 3 Folder 1
Newspaper Clippings, 1960-1985.
Box 3 Folder 1
Newspaper Clippings: Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 3 Folder 1

Scope and Contents

Publications, includes several publications including several articles which were published by Blai.

Publications by Blai (includes "Happiness is in Your Hands"), undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Art in Focus, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
The Artists Magazine, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Boris Blai College of Contemporary Art, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
The Century Club Bulletin, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Contemporary Life, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Du Cret School of the Arts, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Glassboro State College, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
The Journal of Health & Physical Education, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Kenilworth Art Association, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
The Lehigh Navigator, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Music Publishers Journal, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
New Jersey Music and Arts (includes an article written by Blai about wood carving), undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Ocean County College, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Philadelphia Art Alliance, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Philadelphia Museum of Art, undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Philadelphia Page One, undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Your Schools in Cherry Hill, undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
National Education Association, undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Exhibition Catalogs and other artists, 1917-1944.
Box 5 Folder 1
Exhibition Catalogs and other artists, 1959-1989.
Box 5 Folder 1
Blai's Exhibits, undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Russian Pamphlets (pamphlets written in Russian), undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Temple University, undated.
Box 6 Folder 1
Temple University: Temple Alumni Review, undated.
Box 6 Folder 1
Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art, undated.
Box 6 Folder 1
Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art: Gargoyles, 1947-1949.
Box 6 Folder 1
Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art: Gargoyles, 1950-1952.
Box 6 Folder 1

Scope and Contents

Stella Elkins Tyler, consists of all of Blai's materials relating to Stella Elkins Tyler, including some correspondence and photographs.

Letters (includes a Christmas card from 1936 that was taken out of a frame), 1936, undated.
Box 7 Folder 1
Exhibit Catalogs, undated.
Box 7 Folder 1
Newspaper Clippings, undated.
Box 7 Folder 1
Photographs (see Extra Large Box 18-8), undated.
Box 7 Folder 1
Photographs: Sculptures, undated.
Box 7 Folder 1

Scope and Contents

Photographs, includes photographs of his sculptures and are organized by their title. These boxes also include photos of Blai himself with his friends and family.

Photographs: Sculptures: Seal Girl, undated.
Box 8 Folder 1
Photographs: Sculptures: Organic Maiden, undated.
Box 8 Folder 2
Photographs: Sculptures: Evening Garment, undated.
Box 8 Folder 3
Photographs: Sculptures: Angel in Fountain, undated.
Box 8 Folder 4
Photographs: Sculptures: Eve With Adam, undated.
Box 8 Folder 5
Photographs: Sculptures: Evolution, undated.
Box 8 Folder 6
Photographs: Sculptures: Margot Fontayne, undated.
Box 8 Folder 7
Photographs: Sculptures: Wood Carvings, undated.
Box 8 Folder 8
Photographs: Sculptures: Triangle Girl, undated.
Box 8 Folder 9
Photographs: Sculptures: Mary Wigman, undated.
Box 8 Folder 10
Photographs: Sculptures: Rhythm of the Sea, undated.
Box 8 Folder 11
Photographs: Sculptures: Johnnie Ring, undated.
Box 8 Folder 12
Photographs: Sculptures: Pavlova, undated.
Box 8 Folder 13
Photographs: Sculptures: Girl With Bear, undated.
Box 8 Folder 14
Photographs: Sculptures: Patty Green, undated.
Box 8 Folder 15
Photographs: Sculptures: General Meade, undated.
Box 8 Folder 16
Photographs: Sculptures: Dr. & Mrs. McCarthy: Busts and Photos, undated.
Box 8 Folder 17
Photographs: Sculptures: Mandell: Photos and Clay Bust, undated.
Box 9 Folder 1
Photographs: Sculptures: Various (See additional materials Extra Large Box 18-9), undated.
Box 9 Folder 2
Photographs: Photos for Modeling: Philip Klein and Soloff, undated.
Box 9 Folder 3
Photographs: Senator Davis, undated.
Box 9 Folder 4
Photographs: Final work of Glassboro Students - June 1975 (see the negatives in Box 11-5), June 1975.
Box 9 Folder 5
Photographs: Frank Lloyd Wright, undated.
Box 9 Folder 6
Photographs: Lakeland with Frank Lloyd Wright, undated.
Box 9 Folder 7
Photographs: Philadelphia Art Alliance, undated.
Box 9 Folder 8
Photographs: Tyler at Ft. Dix during WWII, undated.
Box 9 Folder 9
Photographs: Blai's Friends and Family, undated.
Box 9 Folder 10
Photographs: Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 9 Folder 11
Photographs: Early Years in Russia and Paris, undated.
Box 10 Folder 1
Photographs: Sculptures: Long Beach Island Foundation, undated.
Box 10 Folder 2
Negatives: Dedication of the Arts & Sciences Bldg., July 4, 1949.
Box 11 Folder 1
Negatives: Pictures taken at first exhibit of Arts & Sciences Group, August 6, 1949.
Box 11 Folder 2
Negatives: Pictures of art center nearing completion (1st building), August 8, 1949.
Box 11 Folder 3
Negatives: Last pictures taken at Foundation before closing for the season:, September 10, 1949.
Box 11 Folder 4
Negatives: Miscellaneous (see photographs from "Final work of Glassboro Student June 1975" in Box 9-5), 1975.
Box 11 Folder 5
Negatives: Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 11 Folder 6
Negatives: Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 11 Folder 7
Negatives: Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 12 Folder 1

Scope and Contents

Scrapbooks, contains complied by Blai and the Tyler students and faculty.

25th Anniversary to Blai from Tyler students and faculty, undated.
Box 13 Folder 1
Long Beach Island Foundation, undated.
Box 13 Folder 2

Scope and Contents

Books, contains various books that were included in the collection.

Fox, Robert B. Take My Hand. Deseret Book Company, 1965. (signed by Robert Fox), 1965.
Box 14 Folder 1
Oliveroff, Andre. Flight of the Swan: A Memory of Pavlova. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1932.
Box 14 Folder 2
La Vierge En France. New York: Demotte Inc., 1930.
Box 14 Folder 3
Thrift, Charles T. Jr. Through Three Decades: At Florida Southern College: Lakeland, FL. Lakeland, FL: The Florida Southern College Press, 1955. (signed by Ludd Spivey – Florida Southern College Dean), 1955.
Box 14 Folder 4

Scope and Contents

Reels, contains 16 and 35 mm film reels.

Casting, undated.
Box 15 Folder 1
Casting, undated.
Box 15 Folder 2
Portrait Sculpture in Clay by Dean Blai of Dr. Robert L. Johnson, President of Temple, undated.
Box 16 Folder 1

Scope and Contents

Oversize Materials, contains materials stored in an oversized box shared with the Boris Blai Personal Papers.

Papers: Awards/Honors (See additional materials in Box 2-6), undated.
Box 18
Stella Elkins Tyler: Photographs (See additional materials Box 7-4), undated.
Box 18
Photographs: Sculptures: Various (See additional materials Box 9-2), undated.
Box 18
Photographs: Photographs taken from frames, undated.
Box 18
Photographs: Loveladies Harbor, NJ, undated.
Box 18

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