Other Projects

Although the bulk of the Walt Kuhn Family Papers are related to Walt Kuhn's artwork and career as a painter, items in this series document Kuhn's other creative projects in theater, motion pictures, and graphic and interior design. In the 1920s, Kuhn designed and staged several vaudeville acts or "satirical ballets," which were performed in New York, Chicago, Atlantic City, and elsewhere. Included in this series are scripts, notebooks, sketches and drawings of costumes and stage sets, receipts, contracts, music, programs, a photograph, and a scrapbook. Notebooks contain sketches and production notes, contact information for theater people, and receipts signed by performers, among other notes. Scrapbooks contain clippings, programs, and one watercolor costume drawing. Other early theatrical writings and photographs can be found in Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records, and Kuhn describes his theater experience in detail in Walt Kuhn Letters to Family. In 1939, Kuhn wrote and directed a silent, educational motion picture film called "Walt Kuhn's Adventures in Art - Learning to See." Kuhn gave lectures with the film from 1939 to as late as 1947. Papers related to this project include drafts of scripts, notes, and visual materials used in the film, including intertitles, photographs and a collage. Drafts for another film, apparently never made, are also filed with scripts. Items relating to copyright of these projects are filed with Financial Records. From 1936 until 1943, Kuhn was employed by the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad Company through his connection with Averell Harriman, husband of Marie Harriman and UP's Chairman of the Board. He designed and decorated club cars and lounges for Streamliner trains, designed posters and brochures, and consulted for other projects. Kuhn's historically-themed club cars, "The Frontier Shack" and "The Little Nugget" involved two of his favorite historical themes, the old west and early stage comedians. Kuhn also designed graphics for UP's Sun Valley Lodge in 1937. Documents related to UP include blueprints, sketches, a poster, research notes, source materials, publicity, photographs, correspondence, pamphlets, tickets, sample materials, and notes. Related materials are filed in General Correspondence and Photographs and Scrapbooks. Theater and Motion Picture files are arranged by type of material, and UP files are arranged by project.